Film studio use of AI to promote Civil War backfires

The use of AI by film studio A24 to promote its film Civil War caused controversy and met with widespread criticism.

The film follows a team of journalists as they travel through a war-torn East Coast to reach Washington DC, where they hope to interview the authoritarian president before rebels descend on the White House.

Film studio A24 posted six images to its official Instagram page, each depicting apocalyptic scenes in major US cities. However, the images were found to contain geographical and other errors, leading people to accuse the company of using AI and for failing to accurately depict the film. 

A24 was also accused of using AI to replace human jobs.

The incident sparked concerns about AI’s role in entertainment, notably its impact on jobs, and the need for transparency in the use of the technology. Media professionals said the use of AI was 'a huge misstep for [A24's] reputation'.

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• https://www.thedrum.com/news/2024/04/19/marketing-ai-pros-deem-a24-s-ai-generated-civil-war-promo-images-repulsive-insulting

• https://news.artnet.com/art-world/a24-civil-war-ai-posters-2472425

• https://gizmodo.com/civil-war-movie-a24-ai-posters-controversy-alex-garland-1851419329

• https://mashable.com/article/civil-war-ai-posters

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• https://futurism.com/the-byte/a24-ads-civil-war-ai-images