A London-based film company MSC has formally label its films as “No AI Used” at this years EFM, launching a new initiative that challenges the film industry to draw a clear line between human authorship and machine-generated content.
At this year’s European Film Market in Berlin, The Mise En Scene Company (MSC) unveiled the label across its entire market slate marking the first time any sales company, distributor, or studio has publicly certified that AI was not used at any stage of development or production.
The initiative is being launched in one of the most visible locations at the market: two large billboards in Potsdamer Platz advertising MSC’s lead titles, Forelock (starring David Krumholtz) and Billy Knight (starring Al Pacino & Charlie Heaton). Both prominently display the “No AI Used” label.
According to MSC, the goal is not to oppose technology, but to protect human authorship as a cultural and economic category at a moment when AI-generated content is flooding creative industries.
“We’re entering a tectonic shift,” the company’s CEO Paul Yates told That's Books and More.
“Human artistry is about to become more valuable and more vulnerable than ever. If we don’t define it, label it, and protect it, it will simply disappear into the noise.”
The company says the initiative was inspired by UK filmmaker and digital rights advocate Baroness Beeban Kidron, as well as the Human Artistry ‘Stealing Isn’t Innovation’ campaign, both of which have criticised government approaches to copyright and AI training.
MSC is now calling on all film companies, festivals, and governments to work toward a centralised, internationally recognised certification system for human-made cultural works, similar to organic food or fair-trade labelling, so audiences can know when what they are watching was made without generative AI.
“The dominant AI narrative is about speed and cost, half the time, half the price,” the CEO said. “That logic turns art into churn. Film has to define itself as the opposite of that, or it loses its soul and its economic power.”
However, the company makes it clear that it is not anti-AI.
“We support AI as a tool,” the CEO added. “But we believe it’s essential to clearly distinguish AI-generated material from human expression.
"Without clear labelling and standards, we risk being overwhelmed by a flood of synthetic culture. A24 was right to add it into the credits but we believe we need to take this idea further.”
Dr Alessandro Spano, Legal Expert in Ciber Law, AI and Innovation, King’s College London & CityUHK commented on the move stating: “The relationship between human intelligence and artifical intelligence in the creative industries reminds me of the Schrödinger's cat story. It really is a paradox. Is the cat dead or alive? It is both. It is a measurement problem.
Is human intelligence in the creative sector dead or alive? It is both. It is another paradox. It is another measurement problem. With the 'No AI Used' initiative, Paul Yates’ The Mise en Scène Company is pioneering this debate.”
MSC has begun discussions with other international partners about expanding the label beyond film into publishing, music, and visual art.
