Manipulation of Actors in Post

A brief article in TimesOnline about the digital manipulation of actor's performances in post production. Specifically a case where Jennifer Connolly is digitally manipulated to shed a tear in Blood Diamond.

Is this problematic? Does it really matter if the actor is manipulated digitally by a computer after their performance is captured? Compare that to an animated feature where the actor's only performance is their voice (funny how digitally synthesized voices are not yet at the same level as synthesized images) and everything else is created in a computer (any Pixar movie) or in clay (Wallace and Gromit).

How soon before the entire process is completely digital? No camera, no actors, no lights, no unions, no contracts. Just some algorithms churning away quietly.