The animation industry is facing an existential threat in the form of generative AI.
Entertainment execs remain adamant that the tech is the answer, allowing fewer workers to accomplish more in less time — a thinly-veiled attempt, critics charge, to pinch pennies and churn out lower quality content.
Marketing teams are also frequently caving to the irresistible draw of text-to-video generators, a cutting of corners in ways that are both uninspired and easy to spot. And as the backlash to generative AI continues to grow, especially in creative fields, those attempts are bringing in far more negative than positive attention.
Case in point, fans of the Major League Baseball team the Toronto Blue Jays were outraged after the team’s social media account posted an animated short, as part of a brand tie-in with Nestle-owned beverage company Nestea.
