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Ben Affleck has defended his decision to use AI in his new Netflix movie Animals – insisting it’s just “another form of computing”.
The Hollywood actor/director stepped behind the camera to take charge of his latest offering for the streaming giant – a crime-thriller which he also wrote and stars in alongside Gillian Anderson and Kerry Washington – and he’s admitted he used artificial intelligence “for lots of things” while making the film.
He told Bloomberg: “I used [AI] for lots of things in that movie. I’m a little bit hesitant to point out what they are – or even talk about it – because in my business, we’re trying to foster the illusion of reality, right?
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“It’s sort of like if you went to a magic show and the magician walked out and said: ‘Just before I start, I want you to know there’s another bunny under here. (And] this guy’s a plant.’
“You know, it’s sort of ruined, right? But yes, we did use it, and in fact, I thought it was a good example {of how to use AI ethically] because it’s a very human movie.”
Affleck went on to add that as soon as filmmakers gain “a sense of control” over the technology, they are able to see past all their concerns, adding: “[It] moves from this nebulous, abstract, terrifying alien – you know: ‘It’s going to kill us all,’ all this propaganda – and they actually see what it is [and chills out].”
He explained: “It’s another form of computing … a technological advancement that’s really in keeping with the longstanding series of technological improvements we’ve made in the film and television business.”
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However, the moviemaker insisted director will never be able to simply “type [in a prompt] and make a movie that people want to see.”
Affleck’s comments come after he sold his AI company InterPositive to Netflix for a reported $600 million.
He founded the Los Angeles-based company in 2022 to develop AI-powered tools designed to assist filmmakers in the production and post-production process and the Netflix deal was completed earlier this year.
Affleck will continue as a senior adviser to Netflix, providing ongoing guidance on the development of the technology.
Speaking in a video shared by Netflix alongside the acquisition announcement, the actor/director said the technology is designed to support filmmakers rather than generate content automatically.
He added: “It’s not about text-prompting or generating something from nothing. AI, people mostly think of it as making something from nothing: ‘I’m gonna type something into a computer and it’s gonna give me a movie’. That’s not what this is.”
