James Cameron’s films frequently push the boundaries of visual effects technology — particularly the “Avatar” series, featuring the iconic blue Na’vi characters brought to life via performance capture.

However, this does not mean Cameron embraces generative AI.

In a CBS Sunday Morning interview connected to the forthcoming release of “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” the filmmaker recognized that performance capture (where an actor’s performance is recorded to serve as a reference for digital artists) might seem akin to genAI. Yet, he stated it’s actually “the opposite.”

“For years, there has been this notion that, ‘Oh they’re doing something weird with computers, and they’re substituting actors,’” Cameron remarked. “When in truth, once you really delve into it and see what we’re doing, it’s a tribute to the actor-director collaboration.”

In fact, the CBS segment depicts members of the “Avatar” cast executing their underwater scenes in a 250,000-gallon water tank.

“On the far opposite end of the spectrum is generative AI, where they can invent a character, fabricate an actor, or create a performance entirely from scratch using a text prompt,” Cameron continued. “No, that’s terrifying … That’s precisely what we are not doing.”