The new Netflix anime short called The Dog & The Boy has drawn criticism and anger for its use of artificial intelligence-generated art.
As reported by VICE, Netflix has released a three-minute short called The Dog & The Boy, which, as Netflix Japan tweeted on Jan. 31, uses “image generation technology for the background images of all three-minute video cuts!” As the credits roll at the end, the video shows the process of the AI-generated artwork, depicting a snowy background with a railway, beginning with a hand-drawn layout before moving to AI generation with final revisions by hand. The short credited “AI (+Human)” as the background designer, AI-generated artwork company rinna Co., Ltd. and a total of seven named AI development supporters including two from Osaka University. Netflix Anime Creators’ Base produced the short, with Production I.G. and Wit Studio credited as the support.
The Dog & The Boy instantly elicited outrage from fans and animators alike who, in the words of Jinath Hyder, saw it as “a slap in face of lifetime’s worth of blood, sweat & tears anime artists spend honing their craft.” Numerous artists have called AI-generated art unethical due to how AI art tools lift images from the internet without the artists’ permission. In January, three artists came together to file a class-action lawsuit against Stability AI, DeviantArt and Midjourney’s usage of Stable Diffusion tool, claiming it violates copyright law.
What Are the Concerns About Using AI Art?
Many artists and animators have expressed fear that AI could soon replace them in the industry. Filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro has condemned AI art, saying, “I think that art is an expression of the soul. At its best, it is encompassing everything you are. Therefore, I consume, and love, art made by humans. I would think it, as [Hayao] Miyazaki says, ‘an insult to life itself.'”
Though anime has grown increasingly popular through franchises like Demon Slayer: Mugen Train and Jujutsu Kaisen becoming box office hits, the industry has long faced accusations of overworking and underpaying its animators. According to Anime News Network, in-between animators earn approximately $1.80 per frame; for 300 frames, this would earn them approximately $540. An animator in Japan revealed they earned approximately $6,000 in their first year of working in the industry; around $670 per month. Due to the tight production schedules and, in some cases, studios taking on more than they can chew, staff have been forced to work long hours, with a director from Attack on Titan: Final Season revealing in a now-deleted tweet that he went home after three days working in the studio.
In September 2022, Netflix Animation laid off 30 employees with the intent to reorganize its animation film production team under a single leader, Traci Bathazor, the recently appointed vice president of animated film production.
Source: VICE, Anime News Network
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