The Golden Globes published new eligibility guidelines for AI use that boil down to: AI won’t automatically disqualify a film or show, as long as “human creative direction, artistic judgment, and authorship remain primary throughout the production process.”
The rules explicitly cover generative AI and put submissions on notice that the Golden Globes Eligibility Committee may ask for additional information to assess AI’s role. “Failure to provide requested information in a timely manner may result in ineligibility.” In other words, you can use the tools, but you may also be volunteering for homework.
Acting categories get the sharpest line. Performances must be “primarily derived” from the credited performer; if a performance is “substantially generated or created by artificial intelligence,” it’s not eligible. The guidelines also prohibit performances created through unauthorized use of a performer’s digital likeness, voice replication, or biometric data, whether or not that performer is credited.
AI is allowed only when it “enhance[s] or support[s]” a performance that remains “fundamentally human-driven,” under the performer’s creative control, and authorized by the performer — language that reads like it was designed for the messy middle of modern post-production, not sci-fi hypotheticals.
For non-performance categories, the Globes apply the same general standard: the “core creative contributions” — including direction, writing, composition, and animation — must “originate primarily from credited human individuals,” with AI in a supporting role rather than a substitute.
Separate from AI, the Globes also changed podcast eligibility. Eligible podcasts will be drawn exclusively from a Luminate-determined “Top 30 Podcasts” list based on metrics during the Jan. 1–Sept. 30 eligibility period, “to the extent such metrics are available and verified as accurate.”
The Golden Globes will air Jan. 10 on CBS and Paramount+. Submissions open June 1 and are due Oct. 30. Nominations will be announced Dec. 7.
Read more at Variety.