Netflix confirmed that it used AI to speed up the production process for a particular scene. Debate about this online has accused the company of cost-cutting and robbing artists of a job. Some claimed that the only process that was sped up was interference from higher-ups, as you can’t yet finetune an AI model’s output to your personal liking.
Netflix has decided to continue utilizing AI for production, despite the backlash. Disney is also reportedly in talks with Runway AI, though the company says that it has no plans for incorporating AI into its products at this time.
Netflix has made some very controversial decisions in the past: from canceling excellent shows, to hiking up its pricing, to displaying ads even on paid plans. Continuing to use AI is just another one of these decisions, one that will very likely be adopted by rivals soon.
As AI models continue to advance at an unprecedented rate, I think it’s only a matter of time before it is prevalent in every aspect of society. The recent improvements in AI agents — models that can perform complex tasks on computers — only further risks putting many people out of work.
As with many technological advancements before — the camera, the record player, and the automobile jump to mind — AI will face strict condemnation. However, AI is here to stay, and will power many devices of the future. Netflix, in my eyes, is just one of the first to adopt a practice that is about to become very commonplace.
