It’s no secret that artificial intelligence, or AI, is a controversial topic these days, and Ben Affleck‘s support for it is causing a big stir right now.
Social media users have been debating the actor’s ethics after reports claimed Netflix is getting ready to pay $600M for his AI filmmaking startup, InterPositive. As the firm developed, the actor emphasized how useful the tools of the firm can be, yet still faced a lot of backlash for encouraging the use of AI in the film industry. Now that things are progressing, fans of his and the firm are backing him up.
The Difference Between Dragging Through Your Day And Feeling Great On Your Feet? These Arch Support Insoles
Reports Claim Netflix Will Be Purchasing Ben Affleck's AI Filmmaking Startup
It's no secret that artificial intelligence is one of today's hottest topics, as people are debating the circumstances in which to use it, and if it should be used in big industries like the film industry.
Over the last few years, the Good Will Hunting icon has been helping to develop InterPositive, an AI movie-making firm that is said to help film and show creators who need assistance in fine-tuning their editing and post-production process.
"I knew I had a responsibility to my peers and our industry, to protect the power of human creativity and the people behind it," he stated in a new message with Netflix. "In creating InterPositive, I sought to do just that."
Earlier this month, it was revealed that Netflix was going to buy InterPositive, a move Ben fully supports after years of developing the firm. Though the price involved in the deal hasn't been confirmed, reports came out this week that the massive streaming service will pay $600M.
Fans Defend Ben From Backlash Over His Firm
Once the news broke about Netflix buying InterPositive and the potential $600M deal, some internet users continued to criticize the Batman star, as many find it "unethical" and "terrifying" to introduce any AI technology into the film industry.
Despite the backlash, Ben has continued insisting that the tech used in InterPositive will not take jobs from anyone, and it also won't have anything to do with script writing or acting performances.
"[I] was worried that this was a technology that was gonna grow outside of the ecosystem of filmmakers and artists," he explained in a video with Netflix, before explaining how InterPositive works. "I saw what I thought was a real opportunity and a real, authentic danger. You have to create your movie essentially first before you can really build your model around your movie using AI. And once you do that, you have your model, you control it."
Due to his seemingly good intentions, fans of his defended him on social media platforms like Reddit.
"It's spellcheck for editing continuity, that's it," wrote a user.
"This is the kind of thing AI is actually useful for," added another. "Not evil, not horrible, just a tool that can be used to make things better."
"This is one of those cases where the AI tool is actually really useful for filmmakers and not taking jobs," commented a user. "It's basically a continuity tracker that lets you know if two shots don't match up right or if you're missing a shot. It should keep budgets down and generally help everyone on set."
