LogInThink animal hybrids from Spy Kids 2, only a million times worse.
If three years ago, back when the confrontation between human creatives and generative AI was still in its infancy, someone told me that very soon, undeniably the most iconic and prestigious visual effects company of all time, Industrial Light & Magic, would side with AI, I would've bet my kidney that it would never happen. Apparently, I would've had to go on a strict diet had that been the case, with Rob Bredow, ILM's Chief Creative Officer, openly promoting AI slop during his recent TED talk for millions to see.
During the talk, first spotted by 404 Media, Bredow dedicated a significant portion of his time to showcasing Star Wars: Field Guide, an AI-generated video the CCO describes as a short film created by a single artist – and I use the word "artist" very loosely here – in two weeks, depicting what a probe drone would have seen on an unexplored Star Wars planet.
As for the content of this "film," well... Do you remember Spy Kids 2? Now imagine Steve Buscemi's animal hybrids, only a million times worse. AI-made zebra-gorilla, peacock-snail, diamond-encrusted sloth, tiger-bear, spider-monkey (hey, my Spy Kids comparison gets stronger by the minute), crocodile-turtle, bird-lemur, and a host of other grotesque abominations beyond human comprehension.
While at the concept level, most of the creatures demonstrated by Bredow do indeed sound interesting, the way they were brought to life – not through human imagination but by machines – gave them the stereotypical AI gloss and oversaturation that would make one question whether they came from the Bombardino Crocodilo bestiary or from the studio that gave birth to the VFX industry as we know it. Attached below are some of the screenshots from the "film":
Over in the comments, the community’s reaction was about what you'd expect. Echoing the criticism ARK: Survival Evolved's AI-generated trailer received back in March, Industrial Light & Magic was lambasted not only for pushing AI slop, but also for the "film" looking far worse even when compared to some of the other AI-generated images shared by random people online.
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