On August 9, according to media reports, Disney set up a task force to study artificial intelligence and how to apply it to the entire entertainment group.。Earlier, there was a wave of strikes in Hollywood, and one of the demands of the strike was to limit the development of AI in the entertainment industry.。

Earlier this year, long before the Hollywood writers strike, Disney was looking to develop AI apps in-house and form partnerships with startups, according to people familiar with the matter.。

It is understood that Disney has recruited more than 10 positions related to artificial intelligence or machine learning.。These positions involve a number of business units, including Disney Studios, theme parks and engineering groups, Disney-branded television and advertising teams, and more.。According to job postings, the company's ad team is looking to build a "next-generation" ad system powered by artificial intelligence.。

An internal advocate for the program said traditional media companies such as Disney will either have to tackle AI or risk being eliminated.。He believes artificial intelligence is one of the tools to help control the soaring cost of film and television production, and the cost of a big movie like "Raiders of the Lost Ark: Turntable of Destiny" or "The Little Mermaid" could soar to $300 million.。Such costs require huge box office returns to break even。Cost savings will be realized over time, he said。

And for Disney's theme park business, AI could gain higher customer support or create new interactions。

A former Disney employee mentioned Project Kiwi, which used machine learning to create a small free-roaming robot, Baby Groot, that mimicked the movements and personality of the character Groot in the movie Guardians of the Galaxy.。Machine learning is a branch of artificial intelligence that allows a computer to learn without programming and provide information to its vision system so it can recognize and navigate objects in its environment.。

AI has now become a "powder keg" for Hollywood, with writers and actors seeing the technology as a threat to their jobs.。This is a central issue in contract negotiations with the Screen Actors Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America, both of which are currently on strike.。

For the sensitive topic of artificial intelligence, Disney is very cautious when mentioning it in public.。Speaking about the film, the director of visual effects for the latest Raiders of the Lost Ark film highlighted the painstaking efforts of more than 100 people behind the scenes, saying they spent three years trying to make actor Harrison Ford younger, allowing the over-eighty actor to reveal his youthful self in the first few minutes of the film。

Disney will invest in new technology from a very early age。In 1928, the company debuted Steamboat Willie, the first animated feature featuring a synchronized soundtrack.。Disney now holds more than 4,000 patents covering theme parks, movies and merchandise, according to a search of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records.。

Bob Iger, now in his second term as Disney CEO, mentioned embracing technology as one of his three priorities when he was first named CEO in 2005。

Three years later, the company announced a major R & D program with the world's top tech universities, funding labs at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.。The Pittsburgh lab closed in 2018.。

Disney's U.S. research team has also developed a mixed reality technology called "Magic Bench," which allows people to share a space with virtual characters on the screen without the need for special glasses.。

Disney's research firm in Switzerland has been exploring artificial intelligence, machine learning and visual computing, according to its website.。For the past decade, it has been researching and creating "digital humans," which it believes are very similar to real people, or fantasy characters performed by actors.。According to people familiar with the matter, this technology is used to enhance the effect, not to replace humans。

Disney Imageering last year launched the company's first initiative in artificial intelligence-powered character experiences, the D3-09 cabin robot in the Star Wars Galaxy Star Cruiser Hotel, which can answer questions on video screens and learn and change based on conversations with guests.。