Openness to AI comes with reservations
Censuswide surveyed 2,001 people ages 16 to 24 across the UK for the British Council between September 16 and 22, 2026. All watched films or television regularly or occasionally.
The results show that expectations of better viewing do not necessarily translate into a willingness to watch AI-heavy productions. While 46% believed AI could improve the overall quality of what they watch, the same proportion said extensive AI involvement would make them less likely to watch a film or TV program. Content made primarily by people remained the preference of 71%.
Almost three-quarters wanted human creativity to stay at the center of film and television production. More than 60% said awareness of AI use would make an emotional connection with a production harder, and more than six in ten worried that the technology could leave different productions looking or feeling too alike.
Respondents were evenly divided over AI's potential effect on the UK's screen identity: 36% thought a greater role would make British film and television more distinctive globally, while 36% expected the opposite. Meanwhile, 81% believed they could detect AI use at least sometimes, including those who said they could do so often or always.
Different expectations for production tools and creative work
Acceptance varied by task. Nearly half were very or fairly comfortable with AI assisting with budgeting, scheduling and audience analysis; only a minority expressed discomfort with those uses.
Using AI to change or reproduce an actor's appearance, voice or performance drew a different response, with more than half uncomfortable. Discomfort also outweighed enthusiasm for AI-generated music and sound effects, artificial voices, and scripts and dialogue. Most respondents wanted artists and creative teams to lead decisions about the technology.
Some protections for writers and performers are already in place. Agreements reached with the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA after the 2023 Hollywood strikes established the industry's first comprehensive generative AI rules. Under the WGA agreement, AI output does not qualify as "literary material" and cannot itself earn writing credit. SAG-AFTRA's agreement generally requires informed consent and negotiated, appropriate compensation before producers create or use a performer's digital replica.
Disclosure across screens
The nine-in-ten support for disclosure covered two approaches: declaring every use of AI or disclosing it when it contributed to a major creative decision. More than seven in ten wanted disclosure for theatrical films, with similar levels of support for television programs and films on streaming services.
The expectation extended beyond traditional screen productions. Two-thirds wanted online creators' videos and advertising or branded content to declare AI use. Respondents also expected transparency for short-form videos on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.
Nearly three-quarters were interested in a formal label or certification explaining how a production had used AI.
According to the European Commission, the EU AI Act's transparency rules took effect in August 2026. They require generative AI providers to make AI-generated content identifiable. Certain content must also carry clear, visible labeling, notably deepfakes and AI-generated text published to inform the public about matters of public interest.
Filmmakers debate whose judgment matters
The findings enter an industry debate in which prominent filmmakers and actors have taken different positions. At Cannes, Demi Moore urged consideration of ways to work with AI, arguing that "against-ness breeds against-ness". Christopher Nolan, promoting his almost CGI-free film The Odyssey, described generative AI as a "Trojan Horse made of glass" and praised younger viewers' ability to recognize "AI slop".
Danny Boyle has put younger audiences' judgment ahead of his own. He used generative AI for roughly 30 seconds of Ink, animating a couple of old photographs and creating mice running around a newsroom. He told Vanity Fair: "It doesn't really matter what I think about AI. It matters what 20-year-olds think about it."
Cinema attendance helps explain the attention to that audience. The British Council cites a 2025 Fandango survey in which 87% of US Gen Z respondents had visited a movie theater at least once over 12 months, compared with 58% of baby boomers.
Fandango's Spring 2026 Moviegoing Trends & Insights Study also reports those attendance rates, alongside 82% for millennials and 70% for Gen X. That study surveyed more than 7,000 US adults ages 18 to 70 from January 8 through 21, 2026, and found that Gen Z averaged 7.0 films in theaters in 2025.
In British Council research conducted the previous year, young people ranked film and television as the UK cultural export with the greatest potential to influence global culture over the next decade. Nearly twice as many selected it as selected digital content creation.
A role for artists in shaping technology
The British Council argues that young audiences, whose views are rarely central to discussions of AI in filmmaking, should have a voice alongside the artists and creative communities affected by it. These viewers are also growing up with the technology and will become the industry's future directors, producers, writers and performers.
The organization connects the findings to its work on artist-led innovation, including Why Technology Needs Artists: 40 International Perspectives. The report examines how artists and creative communities can influence emerging technologies rather than merely adapt to them, including by making AI systems more culturally inclusive and helping build public trust in new tools.
