This week, we’ve been featuring AI-themed content from Kidscreen‘s June/July issue. We’re wrapping things up today with a debate between two veteran industry execs about what AI means for the kids biz. If you want to read more on this topic, see yesterday’s piece on how the tech is being used in the industry right now and Monday’s deep-dive into copyright issues. 

AI: FRIEND

By: Carl Reed

Much like life itself, media production is constantly evolving. As a content creator, I have witnessed the tide of change firsthand, and AI heralds the next stage of our industry. Time and again, groundbreaking technologies have spawned skepticism, only to eventually be accepted and celebrated. Whether it was fear surrounding the transition from traditional to digital illustration and animation, or the birth of digital photography, every new frontier has been met with anxiety, but has subsequently expanded our lives.

The debate over AI mirrors the unease that accompanied past advancements. Job loss is an all-too-familiar refrain that comes with technological progress. And while it’s true that innovations may make some production roles obsolete, they simultaneously usher in new opportunities, often outshining their precursors.

It’s crucial to understand that progress is not a zero-sum game. Embracing AI doesn’t mean abandoning traditional techniques; rather, it enriches our creativity, allowing creators to delve into new depths of expression and collaboration. To address the concern of theft, I propose that AI-generated art is not inherently plagiaristic. In many cases, AI models generate art by drawing from an array of sources to create work that is both distinctive and transformative, like a new artist drawing inspiration from the old masters. Musicians have long used sampling as a tool to create new music from older compositions. As long as sampling is done responsibly, it’s not seen as theft, but as a unique, wholly separate piece of art, which often revives interest in the source material.

As with any powerful tool, it’s inevitable that some people may use AI irresponsibly. However, this reality should not deter creators from harnessing the technology’s potential. Instead, artists should continue to rely on existing legal protections to safeguard their work, whether the infringing work is AI-generated or not. By proactively defending their intellectual property rights, creators can ensure that AI models are used responsibly, preserving their artistic integrity while still embracing the potential of AI.

In the realm of animation production, AI can revolutionize the creative process. By combining human talent and AI technology, animated content can be created faster, cheaper and with more agency and creative freedom. AI can be used to democratize content production, allowing small teams to compete with mighty studios. Innovating with AI technology can lead to entire new methods of storytelling, and challenge our preconceptions about children’s media.

Although AI’s accessibility may lead to an increase in lower-quality, more amateurish content, market forces ultimately decide what content will be successful. The discerning taste of children, for instance, ensures that most content must be high-quality, keeping professional artists in demand. With AI tools, skilled artists can reach new heights and produce innovative and superior content.

AI also has the potential to challenge the cultural dominance of major studios by democratizing the industry and leveling the playing field for smaller teams and independent artists, resulting in a more diverse and inclusive creative landscape.

As an artist who has labored for years to hone my craft—yet who also advocates for AI—I firmly believe that the future of art lies in curiosity, collaboration and innovation, rather than fear and trepidation. In the wake of the release and widespread adoption of AI models such as Stable Diffusion, Pandora’s Box has not only been opened, but also open-sourced, and it cannot be closed. By cultivating open-mindedness and adaptability, we can collectively usher in a new era of artistic expression, driven by the transformative potential of AI.

AI: Foe

By: Colin Williams 

AI really scares me. I admit that I sometimes find the relentless advancement of technology generally a bit scary—probably because I don’t fully understand it. But that’s not the case with AI. I do understand it, and it’s downright terrifying.

AI has quickly become THE big thing of 2023, and it’s already transforming our world. But it was a recent announcement that some kids producers are planning to integrate AI into their productions that really disquieted me, thinking about what we sacrifice if we go down that road.

We’ve seen some wild tech-related predictions come true (except maybe flying cars). When I was in primary school, I designed a poster of the future that included tinfoil clothes, touchscreens and flashing lights everywhere—most of which are now the norm. Artificial intelligence has long been the stuff of science fiction movies, but it’s now starting to feel like computers could very well take over our world—and even, without being too dramatic, herald the end of humanity.

We live in a beautiful, creative world full of music, film, art, poetry and story. We love a night in the pub yarning with friends, going to see live music or art, or getting lost in a film. And the reason we love these things so much is because they do us so much good. They feed our souls. They’re therapeutic and life-giving because they’re personal, and we discover things about ourselves through doing them. Story, music, film and art can make statements, celebrate and grieve. They’re often personal to the creator, and we get absorbed into their world. They’re escapist, relatable, divine.

In kids production, we tell stories to the next generation, which is a privilege not to be taken lightly. We know that stories, art and music have the power to influence, inform, change ideals and bring hope. They are our strongest weapons for good—and sometimes for change—and artists everywhere have been using the arts to shape our world since the origins of humanity.

So, what happens when we dare to use a computer algorithm to create these things? We’re already seeing a copyright minefield of freaky AI-generated art emerge. And it’s only a matter of time until some genius feeds all the songs ever written into a computer and asks it to “create” an original melody in a particular style (or maybe we’re already there).

Therefore, anyone can “create” art that is technically original. But it’s entirely empty—devoid of meaning, emotion or purpose. It’s nothing more than a random blurring of stuff already existing that is done so cleverly it fools us into thinking it’s genuine. But it’s not. And it can’t be.

The ChatGPT homepage even admits that it “…sometimes writes plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers. Fixing this issue is challenging, as during RL training, there’s currently no source of truth.” Since AI algorithms are built by humans, these algorithms can easily be intentionally or inadvertently biased by those who train them.

So, do we lose truth along with the joy and healing power of the arts in exchange for the opportunity to save money and make cheaper shows for kids? Should we even risk that? Creating, understanding and appreciating art and culture are fundamental to the childhood experience, and responsible for all the wonders of our world—and millions of well-decorated refrigerators!

If we let computers start creating these things for us, then is that what the end of humanity looks like? I guess it’s not such a far-fetched worry after all.

Carl Reed is a writer, director and Oscar-winning producer who has been creating content for more than 20 years. He is a co-founder of Lion Forge Comics and Lion Forge Animation, and founder of Composition Media, where he currently serves as CEO.

Colin Williams is the founder and creative director of Sixteen South, based in Northern Ireland and Ireland. He’s the creator of Odo, The Coop Troop, Lily’s Driftwood Bay and WildWoods, and an executive producer on many other wonderful projects.