Netflix has used generative artificial intelligence (AI) in one of its sci-fi series for the first time, with the company's co-CEO Ted Sarandos saying that AI can help “make films and series better, not just cheaper.”
Sarandos confirmed that the streaming giant used AI to create a scene in its sci-fi show The Eternaut.
“We remain convinced that AI represents an incredible opportunity to help creators make films and series better, not just cheaper,” he said.
The team working on the Spanish language series, which depicts the survivors of a devastating toxic snowfall, used AI to generate a scene of a building collapsing in Buenos Aires.
“That VFX sequence was completed 10 times faster than it could have been completed with traditional VFX tools and workflows,” Sarandos said during the earnings call on Thursday. “Also, the cost of it just wouldn’t have been feasible for a show in that budget.”
The executive added that it was the first AI final footage to appear on screen in a Netflix original series or film.
Sarandos also stressed that AI gave the show convincing effects, which just wouldn’t otherwise be achievable for a project of this size and budget.
“The cost just wouldn’t have been feasible for a show in that budget,” Sarandos explained.
He also quickly dismissed the potential fears that AI is going to replace workers in the film or TV industries. Goldman Sachs previously estimated that 300 million jobs could be lost to AI over a 10-year period, affecting 25% of the global labor market.
“This is real people doing real work with better tools. Our creators are already seeing the benefits in production through pre-visualisation and shot planning work, and certainly visual effects. I think these tools are helping creators expand the possibilities of storytelling on screen, and that is endlessly exciting.”
And it seems like the film industry isn’t necessarily against AI — for example, some Hollywood movie studios have asked YouTube to move revenue from AI-generated movie trailers to their accounts, instead of taking them down.
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, also announced that the use of generative AI will neither “help nor harm the chances of achieving a nomination” during the 98th Oscars, scheduled for March 15th, 2026.
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