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Many are wondering how AI and generative AI might impact the future of entertainment, including film and TV. One of the biggest players in the space, Netflix, has now commented further on the matter, saying it’s hard to predict, but the company believes AI advancements could have a major role to play.
“I think that AI is going to generate a great set of creator tools, a great way for creators to tell better stories. 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,” he said during Netflix’s latest earnings briefing.
Sarandos used movie animation as an example. When films moved from hand-drawn to computer-generated, animation didn’t get cheaper–it got more expensive and required more people.
Many have expressed concerns about how AI could displace jobs in Hollywood. In the 2023 Hollywood strikes, writers earned protections against AI as one of the key victories of the new deal. It remains a hot-button issue.
In a previous interview with The New York Times, Sarandos said AI is not going to be able to write a better screenplay than a human could, nor can AI deliver a better performance than a human actor. “AI is not going to take your job. The person who uses AI well might take your job,” Sarandos said.
“I’m pretty sure that there’s a better business and a bigger business in making content 10% better than it is making it 50% cheaper,” he said “So remember, I think that shows and movies, they win with the audience when they connect. 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.”
Sarandos went on to say that in general, audiences care more about storytelling than the minutiae of the underlying technology bringing these stories to life.
“They probably don’t care much about budgets and arguably, maybe not even about the technology to deliver it. So my point is they’re looking to connect. So we have to focus on the quality of the storytelling,” he said.
Sarandos went on to say it’s too early to be able to make any “meaningful” prediction on how AI could shake up the film and TV worlds. “But our goal remains unchanged, which is telling great stories,” he said.
In other Netflix news, the company recently confirmed it has 80+ games in development, including a Squid Game multiplayer title set for release later this year.
