Netflix just gave its reasons for using generative AI in a TV show — and it could be a watershed moment

Tom's Guide

a day ago

AI video has come a long way in recent years. As the quality has risen, so have people's concerns about its implications for the creative industries. Now, it looks like the tech is making its way further into Hollywood with Netflix giving it its blessing.
In an earnings call, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos opened up on how the Netflix team behind the TV show The Eternaut utilised AI to speed up the production process.
The use of AI appears in one scene in the show. It depicts a building collapsing and was made in collaboration between Netflix's internal production team and a group of producers using AI to help create the scene.
Sarandos claimed that, through the use of AI, the scene was completed 10 times faster than would have been possible with traditional tools. It was also done at a much lower cost.
Through the use of AI, the scene was completed 10 times faster than would have been possible with traditional tools. It was also done at a much lower cost.
'We remain convinced that AI represents an incredible opportunity to help creators make films and series better, not just cheaper. There are AI-powered creator tools. So this is real people doing real work with better tools,' Sarandos said during the call.
'Our creators are already seeing the benefits in production through pre-visualization and shot-planning work, and certainly visual effects. It used to be that only big-budget projects would have access to advanced visual effects like de-aging.'
Netflix's other CEO, Greg Peters, has also said that the company is using generative AI in other parts of the business.
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This includes personalization, search and advertisements. However, this is the first time Netflix has publicly used AI in the production of one of its shows.
Just a few years ago, the quality of AI video was so poor that any reasonable person would have spotted it in a TV show or film. However, that is no longer the case.
The likes of Google's Veo 3 have shown how far not just AI video has come but even AI audio generation.
Recently, the first copyright-free AI video generator was announced. It claimed to be able to produce AI video at movie-level quality and aimed to help movie makers speed up the production process and reduce costs.
While it is not clear which AI software Netflix used in this process, the quality was high enough to be undetectable.
Netflix has seemingly become pretty comfortable with the use of AI. It uses AI art generators for the intro of its Marvel TV show Secret Invasion, and has been rolling out AI features across different parts of its platform.
Based on the success of this latest project, and the company's positive attitude towards it, I wouldn't be surprised to see Netflix delve deeper into the use of AI in future projects.
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