00:00In Japan, many anime studios have embraced the use of artificial intelligence for specific tasks.
00:07One of these studios is K&K Design Studio.
00:10Vice President Hiroshi Kawakami says using AI saves a lot of time and effort.
00:17The anime producers give directions to the AI and check its work to ensure that it's done correctly.
00:26This 5 second anime clip requires around 50 color drawings, which can take up to a week to do.
00:33But now, AI can add color and movement in just a day. All it takes is two drawings.
00:40The anime industry suffers from long working hours and low salaries.
00:44It's difficult for the studios to hold on to young artists.
00:48AI can help maintain the anime boom, says Roland Kelts, professor and Japanese culture expert.
00:54He has written a book about anime.
00:57They call it in-betweener work, when you draw frames in between the keyframes.
01:03And that kind of work can be done by AI very effectively and save the studios money and time.
01:11A lot of people think of anime as these big hits, etc.
01:14But there are thousands of anime producers every year.
01:17And many of them are just for late night TV.
01:21They're pretty cheap.
01:23So those can probably be easily reproduced with AI.
01:28Technology isn't seen as a threat in Japan, says Kelts.
01:32This openness is rooted in the country's indigenous religion, Shinto.
01:35Shinto is centered on worshipping kami or spiritual entities.
01:40They inhabit all kinds of objects, man-made or not.
01:43And everything is accepted to be part of nature.
01:46Japanese creativity is quite fluid.
01:49The very first anime hero was called Astro Boy.
01:52And the character was half boy, half robot.
01:55And the idea was not so threatening to Japanese.
01:59Still, people are afraid of losing their jobs.
02:03A survey in 2023 found that 60% of Japanese artists are worried about job losses associated with AI.
02:12Copyright is another area of concern.
02:15Does AI steal other artists' unique style and work?
02:18The same survey found that 90% of Japanese artists are concerned.
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