The creative minds at Lucasfilm have created so many memorable moments over the years. From creatures like Jawas to full environments like Coruscant, Star Wars is full of rich, iconic lore. However, now Lucasfilm is apparently considering throwing away their creativity and letting AI do the work for them.
Lucasfilm’s TED Talk
In a TED Talk in April hosted by Rob Bredow, Lucasfilm’s senior vice president of creative innovation, Bredow began by taking the audience behind the scenes of Star Wars: A New Hope‘s iconic opening shot. Then, he discussed how the use of AI can be “intimidating” for visual effects artists since it can generate effects in a matter of seconds, perhaps threatening the jobs of effects artists. He went on to deliver a history of Industrial Light and Magic, George Lucas’s special effects studio, discussing Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and various Star Wars projects such as Rogue One, Solo, and The Mandalorian. So far, so good.
Star Wars: Field Guide
Bredow stated that he believes “we are designed to be creative beings” and that he loves to see “technology and creativity working together.” This led to the premiere of Star Wars: Field Guide, an AI short film that supposedly took a Lucasfilm artist two weeks to make. Bredow called the film an example of “artist-driven innovation.”
So what does the film involve?
Mainly, it involves a lot of Earth animals spliced together. There’s a peacock head coming out of a snail shell, a polar bear with tiger stripes, a tarantula with a monkey head, and other similar abominations. It doesn’t feel like Star Wars; it feels like some mad geneticist conducting crazy experiments and calling it art.
The Future?
The top YouTube comment on the TED Talk quotes Darth Vader, saying, “Don’t be too proud of this technological terror you’ve constructed.” If Star Wars: Field Guide is supposed to be a proof of concept to demonstrate how AI can help artists create, it fails tremendously. We expect more imagination from Star Wars, not just random animal splices. If this is “artist-driven innovation,” then I fear for the future of ILM. Star Wars has always been about looking ahead and embracing new technology, but when the technology does the actual creating, then how long will it be before the artist is taken out of the innovation?
