Netflix has confirmed the use of generative AI in one of its original productions. While it is being reported that it’s the first time the company has used the technology, that is likely not true.
However, the news that the streaming giant turned to generative AI to create a video of a building collapsing in Buenos Aires during an episode of The Eternauts, an Argentinian sci-fi show, marks a shift in Netflix’s willingness to embrace the controversial tech.
Co-Chief Executive of Netflix, Ted Sarandos, says the implementation of AI allowed the production team to complete the scene roughly ten times faster than traditional visual effects methods.
“The cost of it just wouldn’t have been feasible for a show in that budget,” Sarandos says per the BBC. “That sequence actually is the very first AI final footage to appear on screen in a Netflix original series or film. So the creators were thrilled with the result.”
But while this is the first time Netflix is publicly admitting to using generative AI, the company has been suspected of using it long before the summer of 2025. In April 2024, Netflix was accused of using AI to edit photos in the What Jennifer Did documentary and a 1980s sitcom was remastered and upscaled using AI technology — which led to some very strange, garbled imagery in the show.
It may well be the first time that Netflix has used generative AI to create a scene traditionally reserved for the VFX department — but it would be difficult to know since the tech has gotten pretty good and the company’s output is ginormous.
Sarandos emphasizes that AI is an opportunity for creators to produce higher-quality content at lower costs. “We remain convinced that AI represents an incredible opportunity to help creators make films and series better, not just cheaper,” he told analysts yesterday during the company’s quarterly earnings presentation.
The announcement comes amid broader industry debate over the role of AI in filmmaking. In 2023, concerns over the use of AI were central to a major Hollywood labor dispute involving the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The union called for stronger regulation to prevent AI from undermining human labor in the industry.
Critics have warned that AI could displace jobs and exploit existing creative work without consent. Tyler Perry, for instance, halted an $800 million expansion of his Atlanta-based studio in 2024, citing concerns about the impact of generative AI tools on the workforce.
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