Netflix infuriates artists and fans with AI anime
AI-generated artwork is controversial for several reasons; not least because of concerns that it could put creatives out of work. So it's easy to see why people could be upset by a major producer and streaming platform using the tech to create an anime film. But that's what Netflix has just done, and with an excuse that people just aren't buying.
Yes, Netflix Japan has announced that it used AI-generated art in a new short anime film. To avoid paying artists? Not at all. It claims the move was to "help the anime industry" amid an ongoing labour shortage. Unsurprisingly, anime artists and fans aren't impressed (for more on AI art, see our guide to how to use DALL-E 2).
Netflix アニメ・クリエイターズ・ベース×技術開発のrinna株式会社×WIT STUDIOによる共同プロジェクトアニメ『犬と少年』のショートムービー。人手不足のアニメ業界を補助する実験的な取り組みとして、3分間の映像全カットの背景画に画像生成技術を活用！ pic.twitter.com/GYuWONSqlJJanuary 31, 2023
It might seem that until now AI-generated art has mainly being used to create surreal mashups that don't get much further than social media, but there's a real fear that the ever-advancing tech could end up putting creatives out of work. Perhaps the most worrying evidence of that so far is the news that Netflix Japan used AI-generated art for the backgrounds of its new short anime film Dog and the Boy.
