Jeffrey Katzenberg penned a lengthy letter about the current state of AI in both Hollywood and Silicon Valley on Wednesday, warning that “to resist technology is to risk irrelevance.”
“There is growing fear and resistance surrounding AI within the creative community. I deeply understand it, because I’ve spent countless hours walking through animation studios watching gifted artists bent over their desks, rebuilding a single second of film for the tenth time because the ninth version wasn’t quite right,” the DreamWorks co-founder wrote on X. “From the outside some see resistance. From the inside, it is love. People do not fight this hard for things they don’t care about. The pushback coming out of Hollywood represents the collective effort of people who are deeply passionate about their craft.”
Katzenberg went on to list multiple examples of artificial intelligence impressing him as of late, while also sharing what he learned from Steve Jobs and Walt Disney and what he sees for the future.
“I have spent the better part of the last decade in Silicon Valley, but the heart of my career has been in Hollywood. Being deeply connected to both worlds means I have deep loyalties to each and a responsibility to speak honestly to both,” the former Walt Disney Studios chair added. “In 2023, I said that these new AI tools would cut the time and cost of producing world-class animation by as much as ninety percent within three years. Some colleagues were alarmed, many were furious.”
Elon Musk even retweeted the post, which further noted: “To resist technology is to risk irrelevance. Just look at Kodak or Blockbuster. To embrace technology is to open doors of new possibility. Just consider Apple and Netflix.”
“Three years ago, the leaders building AI would have called what they are achieving today, improbable, if not impossible. Impossible is no longer improbable,” Katzenberg continued. “Today, the line between reasoning and creating is real. Even the leading technologists acknowledge we are not there yet. There is no scientific path to crossing this divide that anyone in the field can articulate today. Understanding that gap is where we will find common ground.”
He added bluntly: “Hollywood needs to accept that AI is not going away.”
“Assuredly, I don’t have all the answers, but I am confident that the creative opportunities will expand yet again,” he concluded. “How we come through this is a choice. The north has the new tools. The south has the creative soul. The best future will draw on the best of both worlds.”
