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In an interview with Forbes Japan, Evangelion creator and veteran anime director Hideaki Anno gave his opinion on the integration of artificial intelligence in production, saying that it will be ‘acceptable’ for AI to take over work done by humans.
When asked about the impact of AI on the broader industry, including anime and films, Anno noted that since Artificial Intelligence already exists, “we have no choice but to accept its presence” even though views on how the technology should be put to use might differ.
Because AI is very convenient to use, the director acknowledged that there will definitely be a fear of it taking over human jobs in various areas, and if that were ever to happen, it would be acceptable.
“You probably wouldn’t be able to distinguish between a script written by AI and one written by a human,” the director said, adding that since “humans are essentially doing things similar to AI,” it might be “acceptable to have AI take over human jobs.”
The Evangelion auteur isn’t the only one to look favorably upon the technology. Certain sections of the anime industry views AI as a solution to rising issue of animator shortage. This includes former Netflix Chief Anime Producer Taiki Sakurai and even director Makoto Shinkai, who said that he would one day love to make a movie utilizing artificial intelligence.
However, Anno felt that there were certain limitations when it comes to the use of AI, pointing to the matter of copyrights.
“As long as copyright exists, I think rule-making is necessary, but perhaps it’s about using it within the scope of what you can train it on yourself. You can’t just do whatever you want,” he said.
The director then proceeded to give an example of how, if a major studio like Toho were to train an AI model exclusively on its own decades-spanning library of Godzilla footage to generate a new feature film, the process would be legally sound.
“No one would complain, right? Or rather, no one could complain,” Anno noted. “It’s Toho’s intellectual property, after all.”
Comparing AI’s advent to that of CGI:
Meanwhile, Takashi Yamazaki (director of Stand by Me Doraemon, Godzilla Minus One) drew parallels to the industry’s historic shift towards CGI, noting that use of AI is facing a similar skepticism.
“It feels very similar to when CG first appeared. The miniature model people were like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ They thought we were trying to make amazing things the easy way, that it was a cheap trick,” Yamazaki, who was part of the interview with Anno, said.
However, he noted that it won’t be easy to create high quality art without significant efforts even while using AI. Once again, he drew comparison with how CG artists have to put a lot of time and effort to refine their final product before it is good enough for everyone to see.
“The shots that took a tremendous amount of struggle to create always get the best reception,” Yamazaki added.
Anno points to AI’s shortcomings:
While Anno accepted AI as a generative force, noting that there might come a time in the future when it could churn out “300 or 400 patterns overnight” for a given scene, he felt the technology would still lack artistic judgement.
“If you ask, ‘Which of these patterns is the best one?’ AI cannot make that choice. That part, humans have to do.”
Anno theorized that as AI evolves to generate complete visuals, film production crews would eventually be stripped down to just two essential roles: the producer and the director. In this future, he explained that the director’s job would simply be to give the final “good to go” approval, while the producer provides the funding.
According to him, the core human value would shift from creating the work to taking liability for it. The director emphasized that “responsibility” remained the one function AI could not replicate or take up, arguing that since the audience is human, a person must be present to take accountability for the final product.
He also joked that if AI indeed does take over the director’s role in the future, he might have to become a producer to make a living, though he voiced skepticism about the technology ever evolving that much.
In this same interview, Anno also talked about how he did not create anime with western sensibilities in mind. He was of the opinion that audience to adjust to the content, and not the other way round.
Anno’s comments on AI come at a time when there is a divisive view on what role the technology should play. While on one side Japan has condemned OpenAI and other companies for training their models on Japanese IP without permission, they have actively been exploring how better to integrate the technology into their workflow.
This includes using AI for manga translations, for producing anime and even to streamline productions.
There have also been instances where companies have decided to bypass artists and implement AI, as evidenced in the recent case of Amazon’s AI dubs for Banana Fish and several other anime on their platform, making artists genuinely fear what the future might hold for them.
Source: Forbes Japan
