During Disney’s latest earnings call, CEO Bob Iger talked about the next steps for the Disney+ streaming service, and he said the entertainment giant has had “productive conversations” with potential AI partners. according to hollywood reporterDisney+ may soon host user-generated short-form AI videos.
“The other thing we’re really excited about is that AI is going to give us the ability to do, is provide a much more engaged experience to users of Disney+, including the ability for them to create user-generated content and consume user-generated content — mostly short forms — from others,” Iger said. He did not say which companies Disney is in talks with or offer any specific timeline for the arrival of Gen-AI features.
There are already plenty of ways for people to create and share AI slop videos, so this isn’t a new concept he’s promoting. But it’s a surprising direction for Disney, which has long been concerned about protecting both its image and IP. The company has already taken legal action against several different AI platforms, including cease and desist character.ai and copyright infringement lawsuits against Midjourney and Hailuo. Iger said he hoped any partnership would “reflect our need to protect IP” and that it would certainly be an attractive deal for Disney. But even within the confines of its own platform, it’s still a challenge for the company to encourage Gen-AI creations of familiar characters.