The House of Mouse lets in AI
Disney just announced a licensing deal with OpenAI that will allow users of OpenAI’s Sora to generate short videos of its characters.
Just in case you’ve forgotten what’s in Disney’s IP library, it’s way more than Mickey and Goofy. It spans Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and a bunch of other properties. Not everything is included in the deal, though. For example, you’ll get the illustrated Tony Stark, not the Robert Downey Jr. version.
The deal is good for three years, but this could be just the start. The House of Mouse also bought a $1B stake in the company, while stating its intention to “become a major customer of OpenAI.”
So, while you’re prompting Sora to make a video of you beating Dumbo on a baking show, Disney is going to be cooking up new products using AI…
Are you bullish or bearish on this development?
Replies
On the one hand, who can blame them? Lower production costs and speed to market is a pretty tempting promise. On the other hand, AI (as it currently stands) doesn't seem ready for professional production.
One only needs to look at the recent McDonald's Netherlands Christmas ad. The ad was AI-generated, pretty obviously so. It has been mercilessly roasted by general audiences for its poor production and conceptualisation. Sure, I've seen AI productions that demonstrate greater finesse (it appears the ad at an ideation level was AI-driven too), but AI does seem to leave an indelible, uncanny watermark on everything it touches.
That's not even to mention the societal cost of delegating to AI creative work which people find meaningful and which pays well.