F Newsmagazine: “During the 2020 Pandemic, many forms of entertainment were forced to halt production. With millions isolated, the vitality of these industries became clear.” The image below shows a large group of protestors holding signs that read statements like ‘Stand with Animation’, ‘Animation by Humans Not AI.’, and ‘Animation with Soul.’
5 comments:
This is a super important topic to be discussing right now with all the developments in technology and our society. I appreciate that this article is in comic form, aligning with the topic well and making its form of commentary through the format. The comic book style made it more fun for me to read and easier to get through, showing the benefits of illustrations and art. I am glad that there is consideration about the negative impact of AI on artists and animators. In theatre, this is less of an issue for us because our work is still physical, however, artists should all stand for one another even if we think the issue doesn’t affect us. In my own life, my father is an editorial cartoonist and illustrator. He has had a lot of hardship with the decline of magazine popularity and physical reading mediums. With the rise of AI, there is even more frustration with stolen art, job replacement, and copyright trouble. Because of this experience in my family, I have a strong resentment for AI and how it’s being used against artists and their work. I hope that with time and new generations seeing the negatives of AI, there can be regulations placed on its use in art.
I really enjoyed reading this! I wasn’t expecting it to be a comic strip format when I read the article title, and it’s a super creative and relevant way to communicate the message. AI taking over entry-level jobs in Animation is really sad and also concerning; if the entry-level positions aren’t being filled by humans, there won’t be humans to promote to the higher-level jobs later down the line. I understand that cost cutting is important to businesses, and at the end of the day a studio is a business, but I would like to think that there are other ways or middle-ground solutions to this problem. Also, the issues brought up about long course waitlists, professors making students feel guilty about using accommodations, and the feeling that students need to neglect themselves for their coursework and don’t feel comfortable voicing their discomfort feels all too relatable for a CMU student. I’m not sure at all what the solutions would be for any of these issues, but I am glad that the issues are being voiced and discussed and I hope for positive progress for the Animation industry.
I really really love the art style and color used in this comic!!! the blue and yellow are so nice. The emphasis on AI replacing entry-level positions feels chillingly similar to concerns in fields like journalism and software development, where automation is being prioritized over human nuance. It reminds me of the ethical debates in tech surrounding AI, where efficiency and cost-cutting often overshadow the long-term consequences for both workers and creativity. Similarly, animators are sounding an alarm that applies to every industry: when corporations prioritize profits over people, everyone loses. The “Stand with Animation” movement is a powerful reminder that art has value beyond dollars—it builds connections, empathy, and joy. By protecting and nurturing animators today, we ensure future generations continue to see stories “with soul” on their screens. That’s a cause worth standing for.
This is such a major concern for the entertainment industry with how rapidly developing AI content is. The way animators are so commonly overworked in movie making is so unacceptable, but with how much AI content is rising and hos unfortunately the quality of it is improving its becoming easier and easier for corporations to replace their animators with AI. Even then the few corporations that don’t use AI are able to rather easily take advantage of their animators because of how sparse the job market is. I find it rather sad that this kind of environment is seen even in students getting educated in animation in college. These young adults aren’t being taught how to advocate for themselves in a harsh industry, they are just learning to let themselves be walked over and that needs to change. I hope the animation guild is able to really help animators get livable wages and create a better working environment as time goes on for the future animation industry.
Before this article, yes I knew that AI affects so many different art forms, but never really thought about how the animated film industry could even think to choose AI rather than fostering healthy artistic endeavors in actually hiring and keeping human animators in the business. I understand the idea of being able to make more money and actually keep it, but even viewers of these films have and will most probably continue to see that it lacks soul. Obviously, I’d love to see AI art and the technology behind that improve so that it can depict more emotion, but then what’s an artist to do? Artists, a little bit more than less say 5 years ago, are being given more respect for their craft, especially with the rise of new technologies, but aren’t being compensated fairly for their very hard, time-consuming work. I hope this issue resolves with the craft being more respected in the end.
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