Alongside directors, Oscar winners, visual effects and computer graphics wizards, the undisputed protagonist of the latest edition of the View Conference at the OGR in Turin was artificial intelligence. Directly present in the titles of about ten meetings, she hovered in most of the panels and talks focused on creativity and the future of digital art and special effects. There were opportunities to reflect on characters created with the help of AI or the possibility of having artificial intelligence create trailers. Above all, we have questioned the role of creativity in the AI era.
Science and science fiction 40 years after Terminator, James Cameron and the fear of AI: “I warned you, you didn’t listen to me” by Emanuele Capone 31 July 2023
From video games to films
In particular, in the Art and AI panel, we questioned what space will remain for artists and creatives with the inevitable arrival of increasingly high-performance AI. Speakers also include Daryl Anselmo, Canadian-American artist, art director for The Walt Disney Company, Electronic Arts, Zynga and Improbable Worlds, over his 25-year career. Above all, Anselmo is a great believer in the creative application of emerging technologies. «I come from the video game industry, I started in 1995, when we were moving from 2D graphics to 3D graphics, which marked a big change for the entire industry. During my career in the gaming industry I have seen motion capture, digital painting and a lot of other transformations arrive, which I have always dealt with. Since 2021 I have started to explore and experiment with the potential of artificial intelligence.” After all, cinema, like the world of video games, is closely related to technology, whether it was the first cameras or computer graphics. And it is used to great transformations, but in the case of AI it is a technology that directly impacts the creative aspect, in this sense it can be considered a novelty different from the previous ones. «I don’t think we have understood exactly what will happen yet, we are only in the initial phase. At this moment it makes us discuss what it means to be human, what it means to be creative, what the ethical limits and bonds are – explains Daryl Anselmo -. We agree that this is a very powerful technology and has great potential. It’s a bit like fire, it can be very useful, but it can also harm. Now it remains to understand how to best use it.”
The idea Writing a film together with generative AI: an exhibition to try by Luca Indemini 23 June 2023
Creating stories
In the sector the recurring question is whether AI can actually replace human creativity, to what extent, in which sectors. «I believe that human beings are interested in the stories of other human beings. This is the purpose of artistic creation: to express ourselves for a human audience – reassures Anselmo -. I think we need to look at artificial intelligence as a tool that helps us find the words to use to express ourselves, to share our experience in a way that perhaps we haven’t been able to do in the past.” Above all, AI can represent an opportunity for smaller teams or studios, which did not have the possibilities or the necessary funds to compete at a high level: now they have a series of tools at their disposal to make themselves heard. Or at least, this is a hope for Anselmo: «The reality is that we are in a very competitive sector and in a capitalist society. And I think there are several forces that are working in the industry right now to use AI as a weapon against artists. And this is really unpleasant.”
Artificial intelligence Is Netflix really hiring people to create series with AI? Let’s clarify by Emanuele Capone 01 August 2023
A new tool
The hope that emerged from the various discussions during the View days is that AI will be normalized in the production process and that at the same time the centrality of human creativity will be recognized. Which can be assisted and increased. Anselmo is an advocate of the creative use of AI-based workflows, which already foresees a paradigm shift in the concept of creativity. To imagine new worlds or new characters, we will need to be able to give the right information to artificial intelligence so that it can somehow expand our creativity.
«Even in ChatGPT or Midjourney, there is a close relationship between the quantity and quality of input and the output obtained. I can type just one word and get a fairly random response. Or, especially with Stable Diffusion, I can train a custom model on all my artwork, on my curated dataset, using a set of detailed and very descriptive information. I can also intervene on the image that is produced, making corrections. In this way I will obtain a much more detailed result and closer to my original idea – explains Daryl Anselmo –. And I think that’s what we’re trying to do and what we want as artists: the ability to use these tools and control them at a level that helps us articulate what’s in our heads in a way that wasn’t possible before. And that’s pretty exciting.”
Looking to the future, Anselmo is preparing the launch of a studio specializing in synthetic media and automation. He is still trying to imagine what it will be like and in which areas he will move, but he has some ideas. «Lately I have been advising many startups in the gaming industry, reviewing their pitch decks and helping them determine the generative AI policies they need to adopt and the tools they need to have to be ethical. The theme of training seems central to me. I’m still trying to figure out what to do with this knowledge, but there is certainly interest in this area.”