AI may change Hollywood, but for the better, Runway CEO says
In Hollywood, concerns about artificial intelligence have been widespread among striking actors and writers. But the warning may be misplaced.
“It’s important to understand that technology is always enhancing humans, and moments like this have marred the Hollywood story before,” Cristobal Valenzuela, CEO of AI video company Runway, said at the Yahoo Finance Invest conference on Tuesday.
Runway, which develops generative AI tools focused on movies and images, is valued at about $1.5 billion. It has the backing of big-name investors, including Alphabet’s Google (GOOG, GOOGL), Nvidia (NVDA), and Salesforce (CRM) Ventures.
In June, the company raised $141 million in a Series C round. Its technology is designed for creatives, including advertisers, photographers and, of course, filmmakers.
Valenzuela says history suggests technological advances won’t end up leaving Tinseltown unemployed. He points to the development of film music as a prime example. In the era of silent cinema, orchestras played movie theaters. When films with sound, commonly known as “talkies,” came along, these bands fell out of fashion—but an entire industry surrounding film music and soundtracks began to take shape.
“It’s not about replacing the industry, it’s about enhancing and changing processes,” Valenzuela said. “So, I think the key now, and how I spend most of my time these days specifically in Hollywood, is to help transition into that.”
Much of the fear — and excitement — surrounding AI comes down to how quickly the technology is advancing, with ChatGPT’s popularity spurring a boom in generative AI last year. The rapid rate of development was especially true in AI-generated videos. If you want to compare it to the early days of photography, Runway’s AI models “were in the 20th century just a couple of years ago, and now we’re entering the 1980s of the camera revolution,” Valenzuela said.
The anxiety surrounding artificial intelligence goes beyond Hollywood. As the United States heads into an election year, AI-powered video is widely viewed as a growing and alarming misinformation risk.
The technology to do this, CGI, has been around for years, Valenziola said. His point is that AI leaders should ensure the output of their AI models is used appropriately, while bad actors or videos should be restricted. He added that concerns about fake videos should not lead to limits on technological progress.
Ultimately, the concerns and possibilities around AI video — and AI in general — seem to be in flux, and that’s because we’re still in the early days. This is especially true for Runway’s AI models and the company in general, Valenzuela said.
“We’re still in year zero… Having great software doesn’t necessarily make you a great company,” he said. “It’s the people who make the software and models themselves who create a truly great company.”
Allie Garfinkel He is a senior technology correspondent at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @agarfinks and on LinkedIn.
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