Alternate summary: "Disney creates a task force to explore AI in direct response to their VFX workers' gaining representation, because fuck all workers."
Kind of a shit article that points to another article I'd rather it be linked in this post instead.
The article's use of the term "AI" to me is kind of a blanket term for machine learning/deep learning. While I'm pretty skeptical (and so should you be) of it's recent use in generative content, advertisements, and theme parks, as a person who takes a mild interest in 3D animation and deep learning, I want to be the devil's advocate here and just point out some amazing and legitimate uses of deep learning like motion capture and 3D object creation that could be applied to their workflow. Disney actually publishes some interesting papers like face re-aging quite frequently on their research studio website. I just hope that people don't hear the term "AI" or "deep learning" and immediately think of generative AI and its controversies and write them all off as evil.
Disney Imagineering last year unveiled the company's first initiatives in an AI-driven character experience, the D3-09 cabin droid in the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser hotel, which answered questions on a video screen and learned and changed based on conversations with guests.
"Not only is she a great character to interact with and always available in your cabin, which I think is very cool, behind the scenes, it's a very cool piece of technology," Imagineering executive Scott Trowbridge said at the time.