Marvel has been criticised for using AI to generate the artwork during the opening credits of its new series.
Secret Invasion, the latest entry in the company’s cinematic universe, premiered on Disney+ on Wednesday.
As is custom with many of the franchise’s shows, episodes open with the names of the cast and production crew against the backdrop of comic book-inspired artwork.
But rather than the work of real artists, Secret Invasion’s credits backdrops are made by AI.
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Executive producer Ali Selim defended the decision, claiming it played into the themes of the show, which sees shapeshifting aliens called Skrulls invade Earth.
“When we reached out to the AI vendors, that was part of it,” he told Polygon.
“It just came right out of the shapeshifting, Skrull world identity, you know? Who did this? Who is this?”
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‘Slap in the face’ to artists
Marvel, which is owned by Disney, enlisted visual effects firm Method Studios to make the opening credits.
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Some viewers were quick to voice their opposition to the use of AI, amid fears it could have a huge impact on jobs across the creative industries.
Stephen Ford, a director, described it as “a slap in the face to literally every artist Disney has ever worked with”.
He said it “overshadows the hard work everyone did on this show”.
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Independent artist Kelly McKernan tweeted the use of AI was “absolutely disgusting”, saying it could have been “a paying job for many artists”.
Another viewer said Disney and Marvel have “endless cash” and should “hire any of the endless talented artists” out there rather than use AI.
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Chief executive Bob Iger revealed plans to save $5.5bn to improve the profitability of Disney+, the streaming service which lost more than $1bn in the final quarter of 2022 as subscriptions fell.
Sky News has contacted Disney for comment about the backlash to Secret Invasion’s use of AI.
The show, starring Samuel L Jackson, Olivia Colman, and Emilia Clarke, has received mixed reviews from critics.
Fears over AI’s impact on creative jobs
Artists have been among the most vocal in their concerns about AI since the technology has started to become increasingly powerful and accessible.
Comic book artist Dave McKean told Sky News earlier this year that tools like Midjourney and DALL-E 2, which let users generate realistic art using simple prompts, could be a “redefinition of what creativity is”.
“There’s never been such a huge gap between the sheer lack of effort or work or anything going in and the huge sophistication that then results coming out,” he added.
Musicians have also expressed fears over a spate of AI-generated tracks flooding the internet, including ones featuring cloned voices of The Weeknd and Drake, while actors including motion capture master Andy Serkis have warned the technology
LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.
More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.
The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.
They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.
“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”
It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.
Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.
“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.
