Jenna Ortega Labels AI ‘Soulless’ in Hollywood Critique

Jenna Ortega has ignited debate on artificial intelligence’s encroachment into filmmaking by deeming it devoid of human essence during a panel at the Marrakech International Film Festival. As the youngest jury member in the event’s 45-year history at age 23, she argued that AI lacks the capacity for the “beautiful, difficult mistakes” inherent in authentic creativity. Her remarks underscore escalating tensions in an industry grappling with technological disruption, where actors fear displacement by machine-generated performances.

Ortega’s critique stems from personal encounters with AI’s darker applications. Last year on The New York Times’ The Interview podcast, she recounted discovering fabricated, sexually explicit images of herself as a minor circulating online, an experience she described as “terrifying,” “corrupt,” “wrong,” and “disgusting.” These deepfakes, enabled by generative AI tools, prompted her to delete several social media accounts to shield her mental health. She contrasted this misuse with potential benefits, such as AI’s role in detecting breast cancer, insisting it must operate under “good intent” to avoid broader harm.

The actress’s festival appearance highlighted her evolution from child star to vocal industry advocate. She began her career at age nine as Harley Diaz in Disney Channel’s ‘Stuck in the Middle’, a role that required intensive media training, including directives to post daily content for promotional reach. By 12, she faced relentless online scrutiny, which intensified after her breakout as Wednesday Addams in Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’, amassing 40.6 million Instagram followers. Ortega now largely avoids the platform, prioritizing vulnerability over curated perfection in her public persona.

Hollywood’s AI integration has accelerated since the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, which secured contract language limiting synthetic performers without consent. Studios like Warner Bros. and Disney have piloted AI for script analysis and visual effects, with tools like Adobe’s Firefly generating backgrounds in post-production. Ortega warned that such advancements risk commodifying artistry, predicting audiences will reject AI outputs as “mental junk food.” She envisions a backlash fostering renewed support for independent filmmakers, who rely on unfiltered human narratives to captivate viewers.

Her statements echo broader union efforts to regulate AI, including the 2024 consent clauses mandating disclosure for digital replicas. Ortega, who turned 23 in September 2025, emphasized historical patterns of the industry veering “too far” before course-correcting amid “deep uncertainty.” At Marrakech, she served on the jury evaluating 21 feature films from 1,400 submissions across 77 countries, a platform amplifying her influence beyond acting. This role follows her executive production credit on ‘Wednesday’ Season 2, set for a 2026 release with expanded arcs for her character.

Ortega’s directorial aspirations, hinted at in prior interviews, position her as a bridge between generations in Hollywood’s shifting landscape. She credits early mentors for instilling resilience against typecasting, having navigated over 50 roles since 2012. The festival panel, moderated by Variety editor Clayton Davis, drew parallels to past disruptions like CGI’s rise in the 1990s, which ultimately expanded creative tools without supplanting performers. Yet, Ortega’s core assertion remains: a computer’s output, however advanced, cannot forge emotional resonance. “A computer has no soul, and it’s nothing that we would ever be able to resonate with or relate to,” she stated flatly.

This “dangerous Pandora’s Box,” as she termed it, has prompted calls for federal oversight, with bills like the 2025 DEFIANCE Act targeting non-consensual deepfakes. Ortega’s advocacy aligns with peers like SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher, who in strike negotiations decried AI as an existential threat to 160,000 members. Her Marrakech intervention, delivered to an audience of 3,000, reinforces a narrative of resistance: technology may evolve, but the irreplaceable spark of human imperfection endures.