Even as concerns about the use of AI (artificial intelligence) in filmmaking grow, a new report has outlined that Amazon – one of the biggest players in the global entertainment space – will use AI to speed up the production of movies and TV shows. This comes despite fears that AI will cut jobs and permanently reshape the industry.
Amazon to use AI to speed up film, TV production
A new Reuters report says that at Amazon MGM Studio, veteran entertainment executive Albert Cheng is leading a team charged with developing new AI tools that he said will cut costs and streamline the creative process. A beta program is expected to launch in March, inviting industry partners to test its AI tools. The report states that Amazon hopes to share results by May.
Cheng described the AI studio as a ‘startup’ and said the team consists primarily of product engineers and scientists. Talking about the rationale behind the project, he told Reuters, “The cost of creating is so high that it really is hard to make more, and it really is hard to take great risk. We fundamentally believe that AI can accelerate, but it won’t replace, the innovation and the unique aspects that (humans) bring to create the work.”
Cheng added that the program could help Prime Video, Amazon’s streaming platform, overcome some of the inherent challenges of large-scale film and television production.
‘Not replacing humans’
Amazon has emphasised that humans will not be replaced from the process, and AI will merely be a tool assisting them. The company told Reuters that writers, directors, actors, and character designers will be involved at every stage of production.
The AI Studio is working with producers Robert Stromberg and his company Secret City, Kunal Nayyar and his company Good Karma Productions, and former Pixar and ILM animator Colin Brady, as it explores new tools and how best to implement them.
