In a first, Netflix dives into generative AI with new sci-fi series debut

Netflix has used generative AI to create VFX in its upcoming sci-fi series El Eternauta, marking its first official move into AI-driven production, without replacing human creators

In a first for the streaming platform, Netflix has used artificial intelligence (AI) to create parts of a television show, with company executives saying the move will help make production more affordable and efficient without replacing human creativity, The Guardian reported. The show in question is El Eternauta, a new Argentine sci-fi series, and it marks Netflix’s official entry into AI-powered storytelling.

 

Netflix’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos announced the development while discussing the company’s second-quarter financial results. He said that El Eternauta, which tells the story of a group of survivors navigating a deadly, toxic snowfall, used generative AI tools to create complex visual effects, such as a building collapse in Buenos Aires.

 

“Using AI-powered tools, they were able to achieve an amazing result with remarkable speed,” Sarandos said, as quoted by the report. “That VFX sequence was completed 10 times faster than it could have been completed with traditional VFX tools and workflows.”

 

He added that without AI, the cost of those effects would have made the production unaffordable for a show with a modest budget. 

 

AI to support, not replace, creative workers

 

The use of generative AI in films and TV shows has raised concerns about job losses, especially among professionals in the visual effects and post-production industries. These concerns were central to the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes in 2023, where workers demanded safeguards against AI replacing their roles, The Guardian reported.

 

However, Sarandos stressed that AI was being used to support — not replace — real people working on these projects.

 

“This is real people doing real work with better tools,” he said. “Our creators are already seeing the benefits in production through pre-visualisation and shot planning work, and certainly visual effects. I think these tools are helping creators expand the possibilities of storytelling on screen, and that is endlessly exciting.”

 

Strong quarter for Netflix

 

Netflix reported $11 billion in revenue for the quarter ending June, a 16 per cent rise compared to the same period last year. Much of the growth was credited to the popularity of the final season of the Korean thriller Squid Game. The company also noted that its advertising business, though still small, is growing quickly and is expected to double in size by the end of the year, the news report said.

 

Netflix’s experiment with AI in production could mark a new era for the streaming industry, one where technology enhances creativity without replacing it.   

 

YouTube vs Netflix: Streaming giants battle for your TV screen

 

Netflix once claimed its biggest rivals were not streaming platforms, but sleep and socialising. That narrative has now changed. YouTube has emerged as Netflix’s strongest competitor, with both companies locked in a high-stakes battle for viewers’ time on television sets, The New York Times reported.

 

Together, YouTube and Netflix made up 20 per cent of all US TV viewing in May, according to Nielsen — YouTube led with 12.5 per cent, followed by Netflix at 7.5 per cent. Unlike traditional competitors, YouTube’s lead has widened significantly in recent years, thanks to its vast, diverse content, the news report said.

 

Both firms are now entering each other’s territory. Netflix is courting YouTube creators like Ms. Rachel and the Sidemen, while YouTube continues to dominate in short-form, user-driven content. Each is becoming more vocal about the other, signalling an intensifying rivalry.

 

As YouTube shifts from platform to studio and Netflix leans into creator-driven content, the battle for dominance on the biggest screen in the house is just heating up.