Google and famed arthouse distributor A24 formally announced a new AI research partnership this morning, and already there’s a wave of opinion on it.
The deal will see Google investing roughly $75 million into the company to develop new AI-powered technologies through its DeepMind laboratory.
The benefit for A24 is that it’ll allow the mini-studio to use Google’s DeepMind research to create new tools and workflows for movie production & distribution.
What the deal does not do is give Google access to A24’s content library or its data.
Almost immediately, criticism came. Especially as A24 was a studio that rose to popularity via its smart use of social media and marketing.
Potentially trying to head off that criticism, A24 partner Scott Belsky told The Wall Street Journal that the move is about helping the studio in non-creative avenues such as developing applications for AI-generated storyboards.
“We think there are better uses that preserve creative control and support risk-taking/. [It] won’t look anything like the prompted generation type of AI that people feel uncomfortable with.”
The deal marks the first time Google has taken a stake in a studio – even as it remains a major player in online entertainment through YouTube.
A recent research study found that roughly half of adults under 30 believe AI will harm society, and two-thirds believe it is both advancing at too fast a rate and have little to no confidence the tech can be regulated.
