Netflix CEOs Sound Off on Where Streamer Will Use Generative AI

Netflix CEOs say AI has "tremendous potential" for its recommendation system.

By Nicole Drum

The use of AI in entertainment has been a growing issue in recent years and now, Netflix CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos are sounding off on where the streamer will use generative AI technology. During a recent quarterly Q&A, Peters and Sarandos spoke about the use of generative AI, noting that there's use for it in Netflix's recommendations on the platform, though they also noted that they have to see how uses for AI develops before they can make "any meaningful predictions".

"We've been using similar technologies. AI and ML, for many years, to improve the discovery experience and drive more engagement through those improvements," Peters said. "We think that generative AI has tremendous potential to improve our recommendations in discovery systems even further. We want to make it even easier for people to find an amazing story that's just perfect for them in that moment. But I think it's also worth noting that the key to our success stacks, right? It's quality at all levels. So, it's great movies, it's great TV shows, it's great games, it's great live events, and a great and constantly improving recommendation system that helps unlock all of that value for all of those stories."

Sarandos further commented on the impact of AI on entertainment more broadly, noting that they are "super excited" about AI as a tool, but that they need to see how everything develops before predicting its use going forward.

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"It begs the question about, you know, the impact on creative with AI coming going forward, which is hard to predict, obviously, but I would say this, I think that AI is going to generate a great set of creator tools, a great way for creators to tell better stories," Sarandos said. "And one thing that's sure, if you look back over 100 years of entertainment, you can see how great technology and great entertainment work hand in hand to make, to build, great big businesses, you could look no further than animation. When animation didn't get cheaper, it got better in the move from hand drawn to CG animation, and more people work in animation today than ever in history. So, I'm pretty sure that it is making it 50 percent cheaper. So, remember, I think that shows and movies, they win with the audience when they connect, and it's in the beauty of the writing, it's in the chemistry of the actors. It's in the plot, the surprises and the plot twist, all those things. And I'm not saying that audiences don't notice all these other things, but I think they largely care mostly about connecting with the storytelling. And I'd say they probably don't care much about budgets, and arguably, maybe not even about the technology to deliver it."

He continued, "So, my point is, they're looking to connect. So, we have to focus on the quality of the storytelling. There's a lot of filmmakers and a lot of producers experimenting with AI today. They're super excited about how useful a tool it can be, and we've got to see how that develops before we can make any meaningful predictions of what it means for anybody. But our goal remains unchanged, which is telling great stories." 

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