As artificial intelligence continues to reshape the global creative landscape, industry leaders across Asia are embracing the technology not as a threat, but as an ally to innovation. That was the prevailing message at the opening sessions of the Busan Asian Contents and Film Market’s AI conference, where executives from top firms showcased the transformative potential of AI for film, television, and digital content production.
Jerry Chi, head of Japan at Stability AI, set the tone with a keynote address highlighting AI’s capacity to streamline workflows and inspire new forms of creativity in visual effects and character design. Stability AI’s multimodal tools, such as the widely-used Stable Diffusion image generation model, are already making inroads into Asia’s content creation industries. According to Chi, these advancements signal a turning point for the integration of generative AI in storytelling.
“Generative AI and machine learning are fundamentally changing how we approach ideation and digital effects,” Chi said, echoing sentiments shared by Stability AI’s CTO Hanno Basse. “Asia’s rich and diverse cultural heritage offers fertile ground for AI to assist creators in blending traditional and modern elements to produce content that might not be imagined in other regions.”
Chi demonstrated Stability AI’s latest video tools, which can convert simple 3D animations into complex visual styles, underscoring the growing sophistication of AI-driven production. “Controllability and editability are extremely important in getting AI to be practically usable in film production,” Chi explained, detailing how elements like camera angles, object movements, lighting, and scene consistency are critical factors being refined by ongoing research.
Notably, Chi emphasized that AI’s role extends beyond individual creators sharing experimental videos. He revealed that major studios are now exploring AI’s capabilities for large-scale productions. “We’re in discussions with some of the biggest studios. They’re starting to use AI in a serious way, and I believe it’s only a matter of time before AI becomes a staple tool in the industry,” Chi stated.
The session concluded with a nod to filmmaker James Cameron, who recently joined Stability AI’s board of directors. “While AI tools can streamline processes and automate certain elements, the essence of storytelling fundamentally relies on human emotions, experiences, and imagination that cannot be replicated by machines,” Chi said, quoting Cameron.
AI as a Strategic Asset in Content Creation
The keynote set the stage for a series of discussions on the broader implications of AI in the Asian content industry, featuring speakers from Dentsu Inc, Chinese streaming platform iQiyi, and Korean visual effects company WYSIWYG Studios.
Aaron Zhu, business development producer at Dentsu Inc, and Zhu Liang, VP at iQiyi, outlined how AI is already enhancing content development processes. For iQiyi, AI’s effectiveness has been particularly notable in adapting novels into scripts—a previously labor-intensive process that now benefits from AI’s ability to extract information, identify plot points, and analyze character relationships. Zhu Liang noted that AI has improved reading efficiency by more than nine times, leading to better decision-making during pre-production.
Park Kiju, CTO of Future Technology Research Lab at WYSIWYG Studios, emphasized that AI will soon become a ubiquitous creative assistant throughout the filmmaking pipeline. “AI is going to democratize the filmmaking industry and support storytellers worldwide. It will help tell stories that couldn’t be told before by removing technical barriers and lowering costs,” Park said.
Asia’s Growing Leadership in AI-Driven Content
As discussions at the conference made clear, Asia is positioning itself as a leader in the adoption and integration of AI within creative fields. The region’s cultural diversity, combined with a robust digital infrastructure, offers unique opportunities for AI to be deployed in novel and contextually relevant ways.
Chi underscored this point, celebrating the region’s blend of traditional and modern influences. “In Asia, there’s so much history and so many different languages and festivals to draw from. This rich diversity of inputs can inspire new kinds of AI-driven creative work,” he said, urging creators to think expansively about the technology’s potential.
Charting the Path Forward for AI in the Arts
While the enthusiasm at the conference was palpable, the industry’s embrace of AI is not without its challenges. Issues like ethical data use, algorithmic biases, and the need for human oversight were acknowledged as critical areas requiring further attention. But overall, the conference made it clear that for Asia’s content creators, the question is no longer whether to use AI, but how to harness it effectively.
As the Busan AI conference concluded its opening sessions, one sentiment emerged clearly: AI is not an adversary, but a powerful collaborator. The future of creativity lies not in competition between humans and machines, but in their partnership—one that has the potential to redefine the boundaries of what’s possible in storytelling, filmmaking, and beyond.
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