Netflix's 'Dog and Boy' Anime Sparks Controversy Over Use of AI-Generated Art

In 2016, Hayao Miyazaki, co-founder of Studio Ghibli and director of beloved anime classics like Princess Mononoke and Kiki’s Delivery Service, sparked global attention with his reaction to an AI animation program. “I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all,” he expressed to the engineers who demonstrated the software. “I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself.” Fast forward five years, and the intersection of artificial intelligence and anime production is back in the spotlight.

Recently, Netflix released Dog and Boy, an animated short described as an “experimental effort” to tackle the ongoing labor shortage in the anime industry. “We used image generation technology for the background images of all three-minute video cuts,” Netflix Japan stated about the project. While the short offers an emotional narrative, it has incited controversy. Critics, including many on Twitter, accused Netflix of using AI to sidestep compensating human artists.

Furthermore, the credits for Dog and Boy have drawn scrutiny. While the video acknowledges that human animators played a crucial role in revising the AI-generated backgrounds, the background designer is credited as “AI (+Human).” The credits also mention Rinna Inc., an AI artwork company, alongside several AI researchers.

Concerns about AI devaluing artistic work are particularly pronounced among anime creators. The labor shortages identified by Netflix stem from unsustainable practices within Japan's animation studios, which often rely on unpaid freelancers to produce much of the content that defines anime.

According to data from the Japanese Animation Creators Association, in-between animators—responsible for creating fluid scenes—earn around ¥200 (less than $2) per drawing. Given that many frames can take over an hour to complete, the average annual income for an in-between animator is about ¥1.1 million (roughly $10,000). To put this in perspective, Japan's poverty line in 2019 was set at ¥2.2 million.