A24 defends Google AI partnership after backlash: ‘We’d rather have a seat at the table’

A24 has defended its AI partnership with Google following an outpouring of sentiment against the move.

A spokesperson for the company behind this summer’s $300m-plus global smash Backrooms said, “This is a research partnership. We’re working side-by-side with Google DeepMind’s researchers to learn, iterate, and build, having an active hand in shaping new tools and workflows.”

The statement continued, “Our relationship with our audience is something we don’t take for granted. This partnership exists because we want to dictate what tools get built for artists, and so they have a voice in shaping them rather than having tools handed to them. We’d rather have a seat at the table than on the sidelines.”

The statement, first reported by Wired, follows the news this week that A24 and Google have struck a research and development partnership that DeepMind vice president of product Eli Collins said would “help artists develop new workflows and techniques”.

However detractors have taken to the internet to lambast the partnership, claiming it tarnishes A24’s status as a pioneering and authentic purveyor of cutting-edge entertainment.

Google is also investing $75m in A24, hitherto the film world’s most secretive company. Critics worry the arrangement could give the tech giant access to A24’s highly confidential decision-making and artistic processes and impact its storytelling.

However A24 says that is not the focus of the partnership. The statement continued, “Truth is we don’t necessarily love any of the current AI outputs onscreen in Hollywood. I don’t even know if ultimately we’d create tech on that front. This partnership is about learning and helping pain points in workflows behind the scenes more than anything else.”