Netflix is ​​buying Ben Affleck’s artificial intelligence startup

Netflix announced today that it has acquired InterPositive, Ben Affleck’s AI company specializing in film and TV production tools. The deal will see all 16 current engineers and researchers on InterPositive’s team move to Netflix. Affleck is also set to join the streamer as a senior advisor.

in Statement about the acquisition Regarding the reasons for establishing InterPositive in 2022, Affleck said that he was inspired to enter the technology field after “observing the early rise of artificial intelligence in production” and finding a shortage in many tools. Affleck felt that he “has a responsibility to his peers and our industry, to protect the power of human creativity and the people behind it.” He believes Netflix’s history of “responsibly implementing and scaling technology” makes it the ideal partner to take InterPositive to the next level.

“I wanted to create a workflow that captured what was happening on set, using a vocabulary that matched the language that cinematographers and directors actually spoke, and included the kind of consistency and controls they expect,” Affleck explained.

Unlike AI models designed to generate text-based visual output, InterPositive’s technology focuses on ingesting dailies (raw footage from ongoing production) and creating assets that can then be integrated into the post-production process. In a video with Netflix chief technology officer Elizabeth Stone and chief content officer Bela Bajaria, Affleck said using custom InterPositive models can enable filmmakers to more effectively mix, color correct and develop special effects for their projects.

Templates can be used to manipulate backgrounds, reframe shots, and edit visual elements such as dramatic wires that shouldn’t be visible. Affleck says this can be done more quickly and easily using his company’s product. But he also emphasized that InterPositive models are meant to help actors focus on their performance without worrying about “all the logistical, difficult, technical stuff.”

InterPositive’s main attraction is that because its models are specifically trained on individual projects, they can produce assets that are unique and tailored to the filmmaker’s vision. Models need dailies to produce anything useful, which means they also need humans. Netflix has not yet announced when and how it will deploy InterPositive technology in its internally developed projects. But when the time comes, the streamer will likely have to rely on audiences not knowing or caring Watch more movies and series designed with artificial intelligence technology.