If virtual production is a plot twist, then generative A.I. content requiring no production is a post-credits scene teasing the mind-blowing sequel to come. And if M. Night Shyamalan is writing this human drama, then maybe one day we’ll realize we’ve been artificial intelligence the whole time.
To welcome 2024, we’re highlighting some of the biggest plot twists in filmmaking of this new year — things no one saw coming just a few short years ago. One of the biggest is A.I., and one of the most ambitious A.I. businesses is Runway.
Runway, an A.I. content creation startup recently valued at $1.5 billion, now has the capability through its Gen-2 software to turn text into video, which is impressive in quality, and only getting better every day, as an increasing number of users issue prompts, upload reference images, and offer feedback to improve the technology’s capabilities.
Understandably, this rapid leap into the unknown is leaving artists of all kinds more than a little bit nervous about their job security and relevance moving forward.
“If we don’t stand tall right now, we are all going to be in trouble,” SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher told reporters this past summer. “We are all going to be in jeopardy of being replaced by machines.”
