Not wanting to make a fool of myself, I tend to avoid predictions. One prediction I had zero fear of making was that Hollywood would grab hold of, embrace, and welcome AI like Rosie O’Donnell embraces chocolate cake.
Depite all the Big Hollywood Talk about how AI is dehumanizing, there was no way in hell the studios would dismiss a tool that brings down costs considerably. AI is faster, AI is infinitely cheaper than hiring people, and AI doesn’t call in sick or file fake sexual harassment lawsuits.
Besides, no one has ever explained to me the moral difference between using CGI and AI, and that’s because there is no moral difference.
And so, this week we get the news that the Disney Grooming Syndicate has embraced AI again, this time by way of a partnership with Adobe as its “Official AI Innovation Partner.”
“Disney and Adobe announced a multiyear strategic alliance to collaborate across a range of emerging technologies — including ‘responsibly developed AI’ — in support of Disney’s creative teams,” reports the far-left Variety. Then comes paragraph after paragraph of exhausting jargon and happy talk meant to confuse and distract:
Building on the companies’ longstanding relationship, Adobe will be an “official AI innovation partner” of the Walt Disney Co. under which the creative and design software giant will provide Disney early access to its latest AI, creative and media technologies. This includes Adobe Firefly (generative AI for creatives), Adobe Firefly Foundry (proprietary AI models), Adobe Premiere (video editing) and Adobe Photoshop (digital imaging) — along with dedicated engineering and research resources — to support the Disney production pipeline.
Does anyone know what any of that means? because I sure don’t. How about this…?
“Disney has always embraced innovation, and this alliance with Adobe builds on a longstanding relationship between two companies that share a deep commitment to creativity,” said Becca Vodnoy, SVP of corporate alliances for Disney. “By bringing together Disney’s world-class storytellers and beloved brands with Adobe’s technology, we have an exciting opportunity to give our creative teams new ways to explore and develop their ideas and bring Disney stories and experiences to life for guests and fans around the world.”
Pure gobbledygook. So I asked Grok what it meant. Grok’s first explanation made no sense. So I asked Grok to dumb it down. Now we’re getting somewhere…
“Disney’s teams (especially the people who design theme parks) already sketch ideas on paper. The AI can quickly turn those rough sketches into polished concept art that looks like official Disney style (Mickey, Star Wars, Marvel, etc.),” Grok explained. “They’re also building private AI models that only know Disney’s characters, worlds, and art styles. That way the AI won’t invent weird or off-brand stuff, and everything stays under Disney’s control.”
Bottom line: “It speeds up the early design process for parks, rides, movies, and ESPN stuff so ideas can move from ‘rough sketch’ to ‘ready to show the bosses’ much faster.”
Grok then falls for the spin with the claim that none of this will replace Disney artists or create AI-designed movies or rides.
Except it will.
Of course it will.
If AI takes a rough sketch and turns it into something polished, what happens to the artists who previously did that polishing?
Any increase in production speed means fewer work hours and the layoffs that follow.
What’s more, if AI is able to do things with Disney characters and worlds, what happens to the artists who currently do that?
Sure, the idea people stay in place. But there is no question that AI is replacing all those artists who whip those ideas into “ready to show the bosses” shape. And AI will also come up with countless ideas about what to do with those Disney characters and worlds.
Disney is so full of shit.
For the record, I am firmly in the pro-AI camp; I just don’t lie about it.
