‘All In’ on Automation: Netflix Accelerates Production with Generative AI Amid Industry Scrutiny

Netflix says it is the “most GenAI-forward in the entertainment industry.” That’s putting it mildly: while Netflix is doubling down, much of the rest of Hollywood is shattered and vehemently against. Widespread distrust and antipathy towards generative AI (GenAI) in the entertainment industry exists due to fears that AI will eliminate jobs and make it far too easy to copy the work of artists. For Netflix, GenAI’s ability to “help creators to be more creative, to save money, to speed up production,” is far too much to pass up.

Netflix is already using generative AI technology in their production pipeline and is no longer in the experimental phase. For a recent sci-fi series in Argentina called The Eternaut, Netflix created an entire VFX shot of a collapsing building with the help of GenAI. The effect would have been “too expensive with regular effects” but was completed in a tenth of the time according to Polygon, making it a cost-effective way to achieve high-quality VFX. Netflix has also employed GenAI for visualizing sets and wardrobe during pre-production in another of its series, Billionaires’ Bunker. Netflix is even using GenAI for some unnoticeable post-production jobs, like de-aging in Happy Gilmore 2.

Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, put it succinctly at a summit for Netflix creators: “AI will help us and our creative partners tell stories better, faster, and in new ways, with better tools at our disposal.” He is at pains to point out “that having better tools doesn’t automatically make you a great storyteller if you’re not,” which is something that Hollywood is notably divided on.

Netflix in many ways is standing in stark contrast to the rest of the entertainment industry. Unions like SAG-AFTRA have been feeling pressure for months, and more and more actors have come out with very intense feelings, especially in light of the recent OpenAI video model Sora 2 that allows for unprecedented video generation. The concern from writers, VFX artists, actors, and more, has focused on how this technology could make their jobs obsolete. But there is also concern about how these models have been trained on copyrighted content without permission or royalties, and that actors and performers could be duplicated with deepfake technology with no control or say in the matter.

Netflix says it is putting rules in place for its production partners to abide by when using GenAI for responsible implementation. Netflix production partners must agree to a series of protocols such as strict rules against infringement and the need for an “express, written agreement from any talent that a digital replica or simulation of the talent will be used in a production.” Netflix is making the most of an efficiency game and is betting that augmenting artists with better tools will be the only way forward in this new era.