This Director Is Using Humor to Expose How AI Can't Act

This Director Is Using Humor to Expose How AI Can't Act

March 5, 2026 · 23 min

About this episode

Sergio Cilli discusses using humor to address anxieties about AI in acting through his viral audition series.

We've all seen the headlines about A.I. and wondered what it all means for your career. There's a lot of anxiety and uncertainty about what AI synthetics can actually accomplish. Writer-director and Emmy-winning creator Sergio Cilli, decided to find out by auditioning them. In his viral video series "Will AI Actors Replace Us?!," which has reached 45 million views, Sergio puts AI synthetics through typical audition scenarios and watches them fail spectacularly at basic tasks like loading a dishwasher or performing emotional scenes. He joins the show to discuss how humor helps performers process anxiety about A.I., and why directors still prefer working with humans over robots. *The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of their organization or SAG-AFTRA. Any mention of products or services does not imply endorsement.

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Guest: Sergio Cilli

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