As the entertainment industry figures out when and how to use genetic AI in filmmaking, Netflix is leaning in. In its quarterly earnings report released Tuesday afternoon, Netflix wrote in letter to investors that it is “very well positioned to effectively leverage ongoing advances in artificial intelligence.”
Netflix doesn’t plan to use generative AI as the backbone of its content, but believes the technology has potential as a tool to make creatives more effective.
“It takes a great artist to make something great,” Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos said on Tuesday’s earnings call. “Artificial intelligence can give creatives better tools to improve their overall TV/film experience for our members, but it doesn’t automatically make you a great storyteller if you’re not.”
Earlier this year, Netflix said it used genetic artificial intelligence in finished footage for the first time in its Argentinian show “The Eternaut” to create a building collapse scene. Since then, the filmmakers behind “Happy Gilmore 2” used genetic artificial intelligence to make characters look younger in the film’s opening scene, while the producers of “Billionaires’ Bunker” used the technology as a pre-production tool to envision wardrobe and sets.
“We’re confident that AI will help us and our creative partners tell stories better, faster and in new ways,” Sarandos said. “We’re all in it, but we’re not chasing innovation for innovation’s sake here.”
Artificial intelligence is a contentious topic in the entertainment industry, as artists worry that LLM-powered tools that used their work as training data without consent have the potential to negatively impact their work.
With Netflix as a bellwether, it seems that studios are more likely to use genetic AI for special effects rather than replacing actors — even if an AI actor recently caused quite a stir among Hollywood actors, even though he hasn’t booked any gigs yet (that we know of). However, these behind-the-scenes uses of AI still have the potential to impact visual effects work.
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These discussions recently escalated when ChatGPT developer OpenAI introduced the Sora 2 audio and video production model, which was released without guardrails preventing users from creating videos of certain actors and historical figures. Just this week, Hollywood trade organization SAG-AFTRA and actor Bryan Cranston urged OpenAI to institute stronger guardrails against actors like Cranston himself.
When an investor asked Sarandos about Sora’s impact on Netflix, he said it’s “starting to make sense” that content creators could be affected, but he’s less worried about film and TV — or so he tells investors.
“We’re not worried about artificial intelligence replacing creativity,” he said.
Netflix’s quarterly revenue rose 17% year over year to $11.5 billion, though that fell short of the company’s forecasts.
