Netflix is Building an AI Animation Studio... Should We Be Worried?

The conversation around AI in Hollywood is not stopping anytime soon.

According to a new report from Animation Magazine , Netflix is currently staffing up for a new, experimental animation wing called Inkubator that will run on AI.

While an animation wing should not be a surprise for the studio, leaning heavily into AI seems like an interesting and controversial shift in how the big players are looking to integrate tech into their actual production pipelines.

Let's dive in and see what’s actually happening.

What is "Inkubator"?

Inkubator is being described as a "small, nimble team" designed to explore how generative AI can streamline the animation process.

Netflix released a statement saying, “The initiative will provide creators with an artist-focused environment to experiment in, where they can explore how new tools and workflows, alongside traditional animation creative practices, can be leveraged to enhance their storytelling capabilities.”

Basically, Netflix is trying to find a way to make massive, family movies on the cheap.

The goal seems to be finding ways to automate parts of the animation pipeline to see if they can get projects out the door faster and cheaper.

They'll start with shorts and go from there. Those shorts could function as IP or proving grounds for talent.

You can view their job listing here! This is who they are looking to hire:

• Producer - Inkubator
• Software Engineer 5 - Inkubator
• Technical Director - Inkubator
• Production Supervisor - Inkubator
• Head of Technology - Inkubator
• CG Artist, Experimental - Inkubator
• Compositor - Inkubator

Why This Matters Right Now

We’ve seen startups try to do the "Netflix of AI" before, but having the actual Netflix lean into this is a different beast entirely. It follows a trend we’ve been seeing all year, where even A-list talent like Sandra Bullock is suggesting that it’s time for Hollywood to stop running from the tech and start "leaning in."

And it takes that to the next level and shows one of the major studios leaning in around an area that would cut human jobs and costs of making animated movies.

We already know that real-time animation tools like Unreal Engine have done wonders for shows like Love Death + Robots , but those tools still require a massive amount of human artistry to look good.

And even though tasks like background generation, lighting, or character rigging can be tedious, they're great proving grounds for new animators, and they're also where a distinct look and feel of an animated movie can be seen and felt.

'Love Death + Robots' Credit: Netflix

To me, that's usually the area that people want AI to take over.

The fear with a dedicated "AI studio" is that the human element becomes secondary. And that all of this could be an exploratory way to cut jobs and standardize certain things, with AI used to cross-pollinate and generate the basic animated elements of projects under one roof.

It might give Netflix a proprietary look, sort of like Pixar, but it does so at the cost of human jobs.

Now, what about the other point of view?

Cheapening the animation project may lead to more jobs down the line and more animated movies produced by the studio.

The idea that they're going to make a ton of shorts first is a great way to get your work seen on Netflix, but they will need a ton of artists to pull this stuff off.

It’s easy to look at this and see the end of the road for traditional animators. But as Daniel Kwan recently pointed out, we’re in a period where we have to "grieve the future we thought we’d have" to figure out what comes next.

If Inkubator is used as a tool to handle the "grunt work" so that artists can focus on the big creative swings, it could be a win.

We could find more diverse and interesting artists as a result.

But if it’s just a way to churn out "good enough" content without paying for a full room of artists, then we’re looking at a much bleaker version of the AI bubble bursting.

Summing It All Up

Netflix is clearly betting that AI isn’t just a fad, but a fundamental part of the future of animation. Whether Inkubator turns out to be a hotbed for innovation or just a cost-cutting experiment remains to be seen.

For now, if you're a filmmaker or animator, the best move is to keep an eye on how these roles are defined. Are they looking for artists who use AI, or are they looking for prompt engineers to replace artists?

What do you think? Is an "AI-powered" studio the next logical step, or is Netflix playing with fire?

Let us know in the comments.