By Gavin Boyle
TRON: ARES nearly included a character fully written by AI; however Disney scrapped the idea after concerns arose about bad press related to the character.
“The pace and scope of the advancements in AI and XR (extended reality) are profound and will continue to impact consumer experiences, creative endeavors and our business for years to come — making it critical that Disney explore the exciting opportunities and navigate the potential risks,” said Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman.
Disney nearly took the first major step in this direction while working on TRON: ARES as creatives floated the idea of including an AI-generated character. The character would have been filled in on the context and would have written lines in real time in response to the actors’ actions, which would have then been read by a human. The AI character would have served as a sidekick to Jeff Bridges’ character Flynn.
While many in the industry have been skeptical about the use of AI since it came onto the scene in late 2022, TRON: ARES would have been the perfect project to include it in as the storyline follows a rogue AI agent. The timing for the movie’s production, though, was the biggest reason this idea didn’t come to fruition as the 2023 dual writers’ and actors’ strikes were in full swing; use of AI in any capacity would have been met with extreme backlash.
Related: AI Comes to Disney. How Will It Change the Company?
Nonetheless, Disney appears to remain interested in incorporating AI into its workflow at some point. AI-generated deepfakes were nearly used in production of the live-action MOANA to reduce the workload on Dwayne Johnson by imposing his face on another, similarly jacked person’s body. While none of these scenes ended up in the final cut, Disney is inching ever closer to using the technology in a movie or TV show soon.
Disney CEO Bob Iger believes widespread use of the technology in the entertainment industry is inevitable. Rather than wait for public opinion to catch up, he would rather lead the charge and reap AI’s rewards early.
“Walt Disney himself was a big believer in using technology in the early days to tell better stories. And he thought that technology in the hands of a great storyteller was unbelievably powerful…” Iger said. “Don’t fixate on its ability to be disruptive — fixate on [technology’s] ability to make us better and tell better stories. Not only better stories, but to reach more people”
While fear of negative press kept an AI character from joining the cast of TRON: ARES, someday soon, these characters may be ubiquitous in the entertainment industry.
Read Next: Disney Launches Group to Coordinate Company’s Use of AI
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