Protests against the use of artificial intelligence in animation are planned at this week’s Annecy fest, Deadline understands.
A slew of AI-related talks are set to take place over the next 72 hours at the festival’s MIFA market and we are told that small groups of protestors are prepared to make their voices heard.
Figures from the animation industry are extremely worried about the impact of AI on the workforce. The main fears revolve around layoffs as more and more animated processes become automated, while there are also copyright concerns.
Last week, French outlet Écran Total reported that a coalition of unions, federations and international organizations from the animation, video game and other sectors are planning an open-air meeting close to the festival’s Bonlieu hub in Annecy on Thursday: “to draw attention to the destructive impact of generative artificial intelligence on the global animation industry.”
The group plans to read out a statement, extracts of which were reported by Écran Total.
“It is an undeniable fact: the animated film industry has been suffering greatly for several years,” it reads, citing challenges such as “massive layoffs, the offshoring of jobs, mergers, liquidations and receiverships that lead to the closure of studios and increasingly restricted budgets.”
“The rapid expansion of generative AI in animation is driven by the belief that it is a response to the crisis,” continues the statement, adding: “Generative AI is not a tool, nor is it efficient or profitable. It is a biased, destructive, and expensive copycat machine to operate. (…) It endangers the creative and technical professions in each of the industries cited, which will ultimately lead not only to an inevitable loss of knowledge and talent lost forever, but also to the privatization of all artistic processes and of thought itself.”
Signatories of the statement include America’s The Animation Guild, Belgium’s A.B.R.AC.A. (Association gathering authors and creators of animation), French animation guild l’AGrAF and screenwriters orgs La Guilde and Le Syndicat des Scénaristes.
Some 18,000 animation professionals and students are attending Annecy this year, and with AI expected to disrupt their futures, it is a major topic as the MIFA market gets underway Tuesday.
“It feels as though we’re toast,” said one senior animation exec on the ground. “People are talking about losing 50% of the workforce.”
This isn’t the first time AI concerns have hit Annecy. Last year, it was reported that audience members booed the screening of Chien Mechant’s French music video Etoile Filante, which was made using generative AI software.
