‘The Ultimate Goal Is to Make More Movies,’ Says CTO of Stability AI, the Tech Company for Which James Cameron Serves as a Board Member

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Hanno Basse, the Chief Technology Officer at AI tech company Stability AI (which has James Cameron on its board), spoke about their work and the advancement of generative AI in movie-making during this week’s HPA Tech Retreat. He stated, “Our aim is to help create more films.” Referencing the lengthy production time for movies like Cameron’s hit “Avatar” series, he added, “Many filmmakers have expressed a desire to produce more movies in the past, but the time it takes them to do so has always been an issue.

At the yearly Palm Springs gathering where AI was the main attraction, I found myself expressing my thoughts on topics like data authenticity and funding. I shared insights about the strides being taken in movie-making, suggesting that within the next two years, we might be using exceptionally powerful open source foundation models for this purpose.

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At the annual Palm Springs event focusing on AI innovation, I chimed in on matters of data origins and budgets, and hinted at advancements in film production. Predicting a future where open source foundation models will be performing remarkably well within two years, I eagerly await their arrival in this field.

Stability AI creates various AI models, such as those for images, videos, 3D, audio, and language, which include their standout model, Stable Diffusion. According to Basse, the key ideas are that these generative AI models should complement, not replace, the production process. He emphasized that Stability AI advocates for an “artist-focused” methodology as well as a “task-specific” approach, with recent advancements being in 3D tools and a trial version of aspect ratio transformation.

Stability AI boasts a number of prominent figures from the entertainment industry among its leadership. Besides Cameron, who’s reportedly very engaged, the chairman of the board is Sean Parker, an entrepreneur and co-founder of Napster. The CEO of Stability AI used to head VFX company Weta, while Prem Akkaraju was the former CEO. Notably, Basse himself has held CTO positions at Fox (before Disney’s acquisition) and Digital Domain VFX studio.

During his discussion, Basse expressed his viewpoints on various significant AI topics. He stated, “I don’t believe there’s anything unachievable in the current industry, particularly given the strides made in visual effects. I think [AI] isn’t about the impossible; it’s about finding ways to do things quicker and more cost-effectively.” If you examine today’s budgets for TV or film, approximately 87-90% of that spending goes towards human labor. It’s not about replacing people, but a large portion of this work isn’t particularly enjoyable.

During the conference, there was also considerable focus on text-to-video technology, which Basse believes is merely a passing trend due to the need for extensive control by filmmakers. “In reality,” he stated, “when it comes to creating a two-hour movie with top-notch production value that many people will be eager to watch, I think we’re still quite distant from that point, given the current capabilities of generative AI in this area.”

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At the seminar, there was significant emphasis on text-to-video technology. Basse considers it a fleeting interest because filmmakers require a high degree of control. “As for creating a two-hour movie with exceptional production value that will attract a large audience,” he argued, “we’re probably not close yet to achieving this with the AI technologies we have at present.

Basse added his thoughts on the matter of data provenance, suggesting that in the future, it might not pose as significant an issue as we currently perceive. He pointed out that the specific type of data needed will not be sourced through casual means like scraping YouTube, but rather from professionals within industries such as Hollywood. Furthermore, he noted that they are already in discussions regarding training data agreements with these individuals, with clear terms and conditions outlined on how this data can be utilized.

He added, “We are here to play ball, and to play by the rules of the industry.”

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2025-02-21 20:48