Disney has used Artificial Intelligence for the intro of Secret Invasion

This week the new Disney+ series based on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Secret Invasion, premiered. The premiere has not given much to talk about, possibly the result of some fatigue, but that is not what it is about here now. When people got to the intro animation, they found it to be especially weird, with many off-model designs, questionable art decisions, and even consistency errors.

People said it looked like it was made by a machine that creates images without really understanding what it's doing. And that's true because the credits for Secret Invasion were made with the help of generative artificial intelligence.

Disney already uses AI to generate an intro animation

Secret Invasion executive producer Ali Selim explained to Polygon this week that " the idea was to create something that reflected the theme of the series, aliens hiding among us. When we approached the AI ​​providers, that was part of it… it came directly from the identity of the shape-shifting Skrull world, you know? Who did this? Who is it? "

In theory, it makes sense, and it's not the first time generative AI has been used to create alien content; the game High on Life used it to create in-game artwork for posters and other secondary elements. However, it feels wrong to resort to generative AI at a time when writers are on strike and one of their demands is that AI not be used to replace them — something that is already being considered.

Method Studios, the company that created the credits sequence, told The Hollywood Reporter that " AI was just a tool used and that no artist's work was replaced ." Fans took to social media to demand that the credits scene be changed or removed.

It's important to clarify that animators already use AI to make their work easier, but they always maintain control over what it does, without using other people's work, and monitor the final result to make modifications. And although it seems that Method Studios used humans for the credits of Secret Invasion, Ali Selim commented that " we talked to them about ideas, themes, and words, and then the computer would do something ," which indicates that much of their work was done using generative AI with little control.

Source: Wired