Emily Blunt has revealed that she deliberately avoided using artificial intelligence while filming a crucial sequence for Steven Spielberg's upcoming sci-fi film Disclosure Day, saying she is "terrified" of AI.
As per Variety, the actor recently discussed a pivotal scene in the film in which her character begins speaking in a non-human language. Blunt plays a Kansas City TV meteorologist who is suddenly overtaken by a mysterious extraterrestrial force while broadcasting a weather segment live on air.
Describing the sequence, Blunt said, "It's a four-minute oner that we shot that leads up to that moment where she's gradually sort of disintegrating," in an interview, according to Variety. She explained that there were multiple ways to create the unusual vocal effects for the scene but chose not to rely on artificial intelligence.
"There are various ways you could do it. You could go the AI route, which I'm a bit terrified of. I thought I could make some really strange sounds," Blunt said, as quoted by Variety. Instead, the actor worked directly with the film's sound team to create the effects organically.
"I said maybe I could come in, and we'll just do a range of weird sounds. And it's what we did," she said, adding, "I did sort of the clicking sounds; I did sort of humming sounds, consonant sounds, and strange breathing sounds", as quoted by Variety.
According to Blunt, strategically placed microphones captured the sounds, which were later developed by the film's sound designer. "The sound designer went away and created that weird sound," she added.
Disclosure Day is scheduled to arrive in theatres on June 12. Alongside Blunt, the film stars Josh O'Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, Colman Domingo, Wyatt Russell and Henry Lloyd-Hughes.
The film's official logline reads, "If you found out we weren't alone, if someone showed you and proved it to you, would that frighten you? This summer, the truth belongs to seven billion people. We are coming close to ... Disclosure Day."
Spielberg developed the story with screenwriter David Koepp, marking another collaboration between the pair following Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
The project is Spielberg's 37th directorial feature and adds to a filmography that includes major science-fiction titles such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, ET the Extra-Terrestrial, Minority Report, AI Artificial Intelligence and Ready Player One.