The British Film Institute just dropped a major report on AI’s impact on the UK screen sector. The new study, “AI in the Screen Sector: Perspectives and Paths Forward,” was compiled by Angus Finney, Brian Tarran, and Rishi Coupland. It lays out nine urgent recommendations to handle AI’s rise in film, TV, and digital content.
BFI flags generative AI as a game changer but warns the sector needs fast, strategic action across ethics, training, IP, and investment.
BFI’s Director of Research & Innovation, Rishi Coupland, said: 
“AI has long been an established part of the screen sector’s creative toolkit, most recently seen in the post-production of the Oscar-winning ‘The Brutalist,’ and its rapid advancement is attracting multi-million investments in technology innovator applications.”
“However, our report comes at a critical time and shows how generative AI presents an inflection point for the sector and, as a sector, we need to act quickly on a number of key strategic fronts.”
Here’s the BFI’s nine-point roadmap:
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Set the UK as a global leader in IP licensing for AI to fix copyright issues where training data uses protected content without permission.
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Make AI’s carbon footprint transparent and create data-driven guidelines to cut emissions from energy-heavy generative models.
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Push cross-industry teamwork to build ethical AI that fits UK production needs and respects local stories.
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Launch an AI observatory and tech hub to close the info gap for creatives, especially SMEs and freelancers.
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Boost AI-related skills with formal training to help UK creatives adapt and thrive in AI-augmented jobs.
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Demand transparency on AI use in screen content to build audience trust and fight misinformation.
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Support the UK’s booming digital content sector by fixing fragmented AI training, funding, and standards.
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Unlock funding to fix scale-up issues and prevent talent and IP from leaving the UK’s creative tech scene.
- Empower independent creatives with accessible AI tools, training, and ethical AI products to lower barriers.
The report highlights AI’s role in recent films, noting its rapid growth but warns lack of standards and infrastructure could slow progress.
BFI’s recommendations come backed by the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee and the House of Lords, who recognize funding gaps and the risk of IP migration abroad.
The UK’s creative sector is at a crossroads. BFI wants fast moves on rights, skills, ethics, and funding to keep the country competitive in the AI-powered screen economy.
