Streaming Service Acquires Ben Affleck’s Startup

Netflix has scooped up Ben Affleck’s AI startup, InterPostive, that he quietly launched in 2022.

Hollywood is having some anxiety about the use of AI in making films and Ben Affleck sat down with Netflix chief product and technology officer Elizabeth Stone and chief content officer Bela Bajaria to discuss the role the tech may play in the creative process.

“I understand the skepticism because I share it,” Affleck tells interviewers. “Because I had some experience with people in the precursor to AI visual effects community. I got to go and see some early versions of what was being done with generative AI.”

He will stay on as a senior advisor.

Deep Level of Expertise, But No Artistic Dimension

He was pretty shocked at the deep learning and level of expertise to create new content but not the artistic dimension needed to make a film. “I was worried that this was going to grow outside of the ecosystem of fillmakers and artists,” he said.

You’re not making something from nothing, but basing the work on your own material, he said.

Creating an AI Model for Movies

Affleck, who directed and starred in the Oscar-winning film “Argo,” ​founded InterPositive in ​2022 by ⁠creating an AI model trained to understand visual logic and editorial consistency. He said that he did it while maintaining ​cinematic rules under real-world production challenges, Reuters reports. These include things like bad lighting, which AI can correct.

The focus is on filmmaking, not the performance of actors.

What actually happens remains to be seen, but filmmakers and movie buffs are curious to see how AI tech changes the film industry.