Netflix says it has used generative AI effects in one of its shows for the first time.
AI was used in the Argentine science fiction show The Eternaut to create a scene of a falling building.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the scene was created at much lower cost and 10 times faster than would have been possible with usual effects tools. And he said a low-budget show like The Eternaut wouldn’t have been able to make such a scene without using AI.
However, he said the use of AI was not just about cost, saying it could “help creators make films and series better, not just cheaper.”
The use of AI in the entertainment industry has some worried that it creates content based on other people’s work without their permission. Some are also worried that it could cause people to lose their jobs.
However, Sarandos said AI is a tool that is helping creators tell stories. “This is real people doing real work with better tools,” he said.
The Eternaut is a science fiction story based on a comic from the 1950s, about an alien invasion of Buenos Aires. One week after the show was released, it was number one on Netflix’s top 10 list of non-English-language shows.
Netflix saw a 16% increase in revenue, to $11 billion, in the three months to the end of June, compared to the same three months last year. The company said the increase was partly thanks to the third series of the popular South Korean show Squid Game.
