AI and education
The creative industries sector is undergoing a veritable revolution with the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), whose resolution capabilities surpass anything we could have imagined just a short while ago, particularly in the creation of 2D and 3D images, known as generative AI. These technologies are advancing at an unprecedented pace, offering ever greater functionality and control over image creation. With each passing week comes a host of new features, as well as the expectation of new promises such as the generation of photorealistic animations lasting several minutes, never seen before. The temptation to integrate these tools into 2D and 3D production is great, but for the most part these technologies are still too immature, still in the development phase.
Although not yet fully integrated into production pipelines, these generative tools promise a future in which they will revolutionize the creation of video games and animated films in 2D, 3D and VFX. Indeed, the potential for transforming these technologies into production tools will have a profound impact on all creative professions in the sector.
How can so many young companies suddenly create their own software? To date, only large companies such as Microsoft, Google and Meta have the IT resources and talent to develop and refine the fundamental AIs on which all the tools developed today are based. In the field of production tools for the creative industries, such as film and video games, Adobe stands out for its generative AI tools that respect copyright and intellectual property. Their strategy of owning a proprietary database (Adobe Stock) gives them a significant advantage over their competitors, that of guaranteeing the right to make commercial use of the images produced by their tools. This revolution is marked by almost daily announcements of new AI tools.
How are professionals, schools and students reacting to these changes?
The 1st striking fact is that some film and video game investors prefer to observe developments over the coming months before financing new projects that could cost half as much thanks to AI. Professionals sometimes express concern about the sustainability of their jobs, recalling the fate of the mat painters in the first Star Wars films before the digital era. For their part, schools are adapting their strategies around two main axes: communication with students and the integration of AI tools into their curricula. One of the first direct consequences is the weakening of concept artist training courses with the arrival of image-generating AIs such as Midjourney and DALL-E. Previously, becoming a concept artist was already an option. Previously, becoming a concept artist was already a challenge in itself for young graduates, requiring solid industry experience to enter the profession. Now, with the advent of generative AI, it's a double challenge for new Concept Art graduates, and senior Concept Artists are also impacted. For example, a Game Director can use an AI to quickly obtain visual proposals, even if he doesn't own the rights to them. These concepts are discussed directly with editorial management and then used to drive the studio's creative teams, after a few tweaks by the Concept Artist, who can also contribute his ideas, but in the background. This ability to create concepts ultra-fast thanks to AI changes the work dynamic by shortening the concept creation process within the studio, particularly with editorial management in the research phases. This scenario raises the question of whether creative proposals will be impoverished or, on the contrary, enriched. It all depends on the context and size of the studio. Other professions, such as modeling, texturing, rigging and animation, are also experiencing varying impacts, with notable advances in animation. AI-assisted programming is also still in development, but is making rapid progress, and the music creation professions are being impacted, with melodic compositions approaching those of a human.
Training courses that claim to teach AI often focus on the use of AI tools rather than on AI creation itself. As AI tools are updated on an almost weekly basis, long training courses quickly become obsolete, and short courses are better suited to familiarizing oneself with these tools. Training courses lasting more than a week are counter-productive, given the immaturity and pace of evolution of these technologies. So beware of hype.