James Cameron is joining Stability AI’s board of directors

Today, Stability AI — the company behind Stable Diffusion — announced that Cameron has signed a deal to become the newest member of its executive leadership team. In a statement, CEO Prem Akkaraju described Cameron’s coming on as a “monumental statement” for the AI industry as a whole and described the director as someone who “lives in the future and waits for the rest of us to catch up.” Cameron cited his long history of experimenting with emerging technologies as part of what inspired him to join Stability AI’s ranks and pointed to “the intersection of generative AI and CGI image creation” as the next big breakthrough set to revolutionize the filmmaking industry. 

It’s not currently clear how Cameron’s arrival at Stability AI might influence the company, but the news comes at a time when studios have begun to show interest in working with AI firms more closely. Last week, Lionsgate announced a partnership with Runway to develop a generative AI model trained on its catalog of films and TV series, and earlier this year, Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Tony Vinciquerra said that the company intends to deploy the technology as a massive cost-saving measure.