Ben Affleck says he had a ‘heart attack’ when he first saw what AI could do — then he used it in his movie

Ben Affleck stated he wants AI to assistance filmmakers and artists in the imaginative process.

Speaking at the Bloomberg Screentime event in Los Angeles complete the weekend, Affleck stated his company's AI tools are meant to assistance creatives activity additional efficiently, not create them obsolete.

Affleck stated his involvement in AI grew following he started a visual-effects company, and he was capable to use his community fig position to get a nearer appearance at the first activity coming out of Google and OpenAI.

"At first, I benevolent of had a bosom attack. I called Matt Damon, and I was like, dude, we have to do as many movies in the next few years since we're finished," Affleck said.

He stated he began wondering how AI could be used "in an ethical way" to help group create movies without shutting others out. His solution, he said, was to create his own dataset so the innovation could activity "hand in glove" alongside artists.

So, Affleck stated he "raised the money" and spent eight months shooting a ample gathering of footage, which he used to additional train existing AI models for particular filmmaking tasks.

He stated AI models archetypal study essential concepts, specified as colors, from huge amounts of footage. But to comprehend the finer points of filmmaking, the models need additional professionally attempt material.

"In command to get that information, I was concerned that most of the models being used had been trained on my peers' — group I cognize — activity and I was uncomfortable alongside that," Affleck said. "I thought, that's not really a viable business."

Instead, Affleck said, his business takes open models built on publically accessible footage and trains them for cinematic work.

Filmmakers can afterward additional train the tools on their own productions as they work, retaining the proprietary nature of their footage and the learning that comes from it, he said.

Affleck added that the AI is not meant to "replace people" nor "eliminate" them.

"I don't accept that there volition always be 'Just category it in and create a movie that group desire to see,'" Affleck said. "But the entire attempt rearward it was to do item ethical, to do item that did not displace people, but that allowed group in this economics and this earth to advantage from this technology."

In July, Netflix paid $587 myriad for Affleck's company, InterPositive.

Affleck stated he additionally used the AI tool "for many of things" on his upcoming film, "Animals," mostly during post-production, although he declined to say exactly how. "Animals" is set to be released on Netflix on October 9.

"I'm a small bit hesitant to item out what they are or equal conversation concerning it because, like, in my business, we're trying to foster the illusion of reality, right?" Affleck said, comparing it to a magician explaining how a trick works.

AI remains deeply divisive in Hollywood. Some figures, including James Cameron and Martin Scorsese, have supported its use as a imaginative tool, during others, specified as Guillermo del Toro and Christopher Nolan, have questioned its possible impact on jobs and imaginative control.