That benchwarmer could work just as hard with the same dedication as Kobe. We don't know because it's rarely talked about unless the player is a superstar. Dedication to your craft is only one of the boxes you have to check to be good at something.
Babies feel emotion by instinct. No one has to teach them how to cry when they're hungry or their diapers are soiled. If they didn't have this ability most would starve to death within 3 months.
The difference from an AI image and the cartoons you speak of is that they are created by humans who intuitively understand that these emotions. The reason it hurts when Optimus prime or Bambi's mother dies is because the screenplays are written by writers who know first hand what it's like to feel that kind of loss. Dialogue is expressed by actors who felt the same. The background music is performed by musicians and composers who understand how to express this loss through music. The animators have a limited pallet compared to a human face, but when you add these elements together it creates an emotional scene.
I don't know Tyler Perry's intentions with AI. What I can tell you that using it for background performers is no small thing.
I was one of about 300 crowd extras in the Kurt Russell movie miracle. They had a sit in a section of the Vancouver Agrodome while they filmed a series of scenes. 3 hours later they would have us move to a different section and film in the scenes again. In post the used CGI to blend the shots and make it look like the stadium was full. It took 6 weeks.
The extras are cheap, but the production also pays the crew, actors, and support staff. If they could have used AI to simulate the crowd in some of those shots and cut the shot down to two or three weeks it could have saved millions.
Best of all, they wouldn't run afoul of SAG or IATSE because the tech doesn't replace anyone they represent. At worst they might negotiate a higher hourly rate to make up for the lack of downtime. Even if they did the production still saves money and the talent gets paid more for less work so it's a win.
But no. I don't think it will ever be possible or practical to replace a supporting or lead actor.
The point is the bench player doesn't necessarily work on his craft. For the record, im not saying that is universally true. It's just an example of someone who puts in their 8 hours and nothing more. It goes without saying someone can change their behavior. My real point is there are people who just show up for work and there are people who strive to be the best or love what they do. There are people who care enough about their craft that they'll do it for nothing.
Taking it back to rap JCole is an example of a rapper who seems to take his craft seriously. I didn't want to get into who fits what I'm describing, but Blueface doesn't seem to care about his craft and more or less said as much. An extreme example that I shouldn't use , but what are the chances Chrisean Roc really cares about her craft. Not saying JCole wouldn't use AI when it benefits, but I don't see him allowing AI to write for him or replace him so he can avoid going in the booth. I could see the other two doing that especially since Chrisean is more of an entertainer. I'm clearly going to the bottom, but that is what I've been speaking on.
Babies do not instinctively understand emotions. They learn them from you. That is why you are encouraged to interact with your babies. If you are thinking of crying as an display of emotions, initially it is not. It's just their method of communicating.
The AI is not creating things on its own. Humans are telling the AI what it wants. The humans will then decide what is useful or what needs to be modified. You are talking as if the AI is sentient. That's is not what I'm speaking on. In this instance, AI is not operating independently of the human. The elements you believe the AI would miss will be corrected by humans. Even with that, AI seems to be moving so fast that human intervention may happen less and less over time.
From the perspective of what our original point of showing human emotions, yes background actors is a small thing. My point was you didn't seem to be looking at actors as a whole and seemed to be strictly focused lead actors. However, I still stand by my stance the AI will be able to replicate human enough for lead roles. Again, any error the AI creates would be modified by a human. The way you are talking is like whatever the AI creates I'd the finale product and there's nothing that can be changed.
Like I said before, the different guilds are already considering the threat of AI. That said, the guilds are basically unions right. I don't know that studios have to listen. They likely will, but that doesn't speak to the independent movie/tv creators. AI in general would need to be addressed by law makers who seem to be more focused on issues that should be left to the individual citizen. The politicians seem to be more concerned about how elections will be impacted from AI rather than other aspects of society. I don't recall hearing much from them until America's favorite white girl Taylor Swift was negatively impacted.