'We remain convinced that AI represents an incredible opportunity': Netflix used AI special effects in original series instead of paying VFX artists

"Using AI powered tools, they were able to achieve an amazing result with remarkable speed," Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in a July 17 earnings call. He was referring to the recent Argentinian Netflix original The Eternaut, which includes a scene with AI-generated visual effects showing a building in Buenos Aires collapsing.

"The cost of it just wouldn't have been feasible for a show on that budget," Sarandos said of the decision. "So that sequence actually is the very first GenAI final footage to appear on screen in a Netflix original series or film."

The scene in question takes place in episode 6 of The Eternaut, at approximately 59:49 during a series of flashback shots in the final ten minutes of the show. There are no readily available clips of it online at the time of writing, but you can skip to it on Netflix if you want to see for yourself.

The AI-generated bit is easy to miss since the collapsing building is only seen in two shots that are each hardly a second or two long. Considering how brief this segment is, it's clear that Netflix was just that keen to tout the tools' usage in any context for marketing purposes.

Generating the VFX with AI was reportedly "10x faster" than it would have taken for a traditional VFX team. While it sounds like the production team may have hired a VFX team for this scene if they had had the budget for it, Netflix claims using AI isn't just about saving money.

As Sarandos went on to state, "We remain convinced that AI represents an incredible opportunity to help creators make films and series better, not just cheaper. They're AI-powered creator tools. So this is real people doing real work with better tools."

This is just the latest turning point in Netflix's shift toward AI–back in May, Netflix announced a plan to start rolling out AI-generated ads in 2026. Clearly, the streamer isn't backing off on AI, and it just goes to show that actors, writers, artists, and creators are right to be worried about their careers and the future of the entertainment industry.

On one hand, artists using tools with AI elements to speed up processes like creating visual effects isn't anything new. However, when AI is used to avoid paying real artists, you risk losing the human touch that's crucial to the creative process (and push talented creators out of the industry).

That's exactly what many creatives and unions have been trying to prevent over the past few years, like IATSE, which represents behind-the-scenes workers in the entertainment industry, including a growing number of VFX teams. More and more VFX artists in the union are negotiating for protections against AI, like teams at Marvel and Disney and, more recently, the Saturday Night Live VFX crew.