Ted Sarandos Says AI Cannot Replace Filmmakers: “There Is No Shortcut For The Human Experience”

deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix chief Ted Sarandos has weighed in on artificial intelligence’s place in Hollywood. Sarandos discussed the contentious topic with Rob Lowe on an upcoming episode of the actor’s SiriusXM podcast Literally!

with Rob Lowe. Deadline has an exclusive excerpt from the interview, where Sarandos called AI a “‘creators’ tool, not a ‘creative’ tool.” Lowe points out that, after last year’s dual writers and actors strikes where AI was a big sticking point, the conversation is far from over, to which Sarandos replies, “Probably rightfully so.” “I think that the creators who learn to use these tools better than everyone else are gonna win…not companies who create, but people who create,” he said, stressing that he doesn’t think AI will replace human filmmakers, because “it’s feasible that AI can replicate or imitate those things, but there’s something about the authenticity and the reality of human experience that people see, and they can also see when it’s inauthentic.” Using Netflix’s Squid Game as an example, Sarandos explained that the authenticity and specificity of the Korean show is what led it to be a global hit.

The series is still the streamer’s most-watched of all time. That, Sarandos argues, is not something that AI will be able to replicate. “I think that people will try to use AI to do shortcuts for the human experience, and the truth is, there is no shortcut for the human experience,” he added. “It would not be good for the business to have movies and films spit out of an AI.

The relationship with that programming, with those stories, will not be intense, will not be personal, will not make you cry at night.” However, Sarandos does see a version of Netflix where users may be able to use AI on the