The argument about using generative AI, where a program aggregates from sources around the world to create something like text, videos, images, etc., is current. Should production companies use it to cut corners? Is the product really inferior? (Yes, it is.) And why do CEOs seem determined to use it no matter what? Well, the final question has been a big one and producer Chris Miller has answered it. Beyond the Spider-Verse will not use any generative AI.
IndieWire reported on May 30 that Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Tony Vinciquerra told investors that the studio was “looking for ways to produce both theatrical and television films more efficiently, mainly using AI.” Obviously, that scared people, especially for movies like the third one Spider-Verse. Those films, which have beautiful images, are difficult to make. Would this mean that Sony would push to use generative AI for “efficiency”? Chris Miller had something to say about that, which we saw for the first time Gamespot.
Miller he responded on Twitter: “There is no generative AI Beyond the Spider-Verse and there never will be. One of the main goals of the films is to create new visual styles that have never been seen in a studio CG film, not to steal the generic plagiarized average of other artists' work.”
It is worth noting that the Spider-Verse movies have used AI programs, but no generative AI. Instead, they incorporated intelligent and ethical usage machine learning to eliminate repetitive tasks and help artists better adhere to 3D geometry.
According to effects supervisor Pav Grochola“We determined that in order to speed up the artists' productivity throughout the project, we would use machine learning to help our animators come up with an initial predicted result that would give them a reasonable first pass at creating inking lines on the characters.”
We won't see the end of the AI debate in film and television for some time. As a tool, machine learning can help artists achieve the desired result faster. But generative AI undermines the work of hundreds of real humans, not to mention all the people whose work the machine displays. And so far, at least, people can tell the difference.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor at Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture dive Laser Focus podcast. You can find yours film and television reviews here. follow him Instagram i Mailbox d.
