Netflix Uses Generative AI in Original Show for the First Time

In a company post-results conference call, Netflix’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos announced that the company has used generative AI for the first time in one of its original productions. The Argentinian series “El Eternauta” features AI-generated footage as part of a visual effects shot.

According to Sarandos, the use of AI allowed the series’ producers to complete a scene of a collapsing building 10 times faster and for a substantially cheaper cost when compared to traditional VFX. “The cost of it just wouldn’t have been feasible for a show in that budget,” he said during the company’s second-quarter investor call.

Sarandos emphasized that Netflix sees AI as a tool to enhance creative work, not to replace it. “We remain convinced that AI represents an incredible opportunity to help creators make films and series better, not just cheaper. There are AI-powered creator tools. So this is real people doing real work with better tools,” he said. “Our creators are already seeing the benefits in production through pre-visualization and shot-planning work, and certainly visual effects. It used to be that only big-budget projects would have access to advanced visual effects like de-aging,” he added.

Co-CEO Greg Peters has also expressed interest in ways the company could leverage AI technology in the future. According to Peters, Netflix is also using AI to personalize user search results and ads, with the intention of rolling out “interactive ads” later this year.

The use of generative AI has remained controversial, particularly in Hollywood. Last year saw the biggest writers’ strike in the industry’s history happen simultaneously with a massive strike by the Screen Actors Guild, both of which prominently featured concerns over the use of generative AI.

Though Netflix seems optimistic regarding the use of the technology, other production companies have displayed their own reservations. In June, both Apple and Universal Studios sued AI firm Midjourney over its alleged use of copyrighted materials to train its models.

However, AI integration might be a key component in the future profitability of streaming services. According to a recent report, Apple’s alternative to Netflix, Apple TV+, costs around $1 billion every year, with the streaming service remaining unprofitable since its launch.