Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said he is not yet sure how artificial intelligence and generative AI will impact TV and film content on the platform, but he believes it could provide powerful tools for creators.
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On the Netflix earnings call Thursday, executives were asked about the company exploring the use of generative AI on the platform and how it could impact both discoverability as well as the content. Sarandos responded by citing the use of technology in the animation sector, and how the field has evolved from hand-drawn animation to CGI.
With that evolution, he also argued that the animation had not gotten cheaper and that the number of jobs in the field has grown, amid overall fears of cost-cutting and creators being replaced by AI.
“I think that AI is going to generate a great set of creator tools, a great way for creators to tell better stories,” Sarandos said. “And one thing that’s sure, if you look back over 100 years of entertainment, you can see how great technology and great entertainment work hand in hand to build great big businesses.”
“There’s a lot of filmmakers and a lot of producers experimenting with AI today. They’re super excited about how useful a tool it can be, and we’ve got to see how that develops before we can make any meaningful predictions about what it means for anybody. But our goal remains unchanged, which is telling great stories,” he added.
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He added that audiences care most about quality rather than technology when viewing content.
“I think that shows and movies, they win with the audience when they connect,” he said. “It’s in the beauty of the writing. It’s in the chemistry of the actors. It’s in the plot, the surprise and the plot twist, all those things. And I’m not saying that audiences don’t notice all these other things, but I think they largely care mostly about connecting with the storytelling. And I’d say they probably don’t care much about budgets, and arguably, maybe not even about technology to deliver it.”
In terms of discovery, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said the company has been using similar technologies for many years to drive engagement and that they believe generative AI can improve upon that.
“We think generative AI has tremendous potential to improve our recommendations and discovery systems even further. We want to make it even easier for people to find an amazing story that’s just perfect for them in that moment,” said Peters.
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