Netflix nears $600m deal for Ben Affleck’s AI film tools startup, YouTube opens AI deepfake detection tool, AI actor Tilly Norwood’s digital universe set for expansion
Artificial intelligence is now reshaping every stage of film and TV production, from script development and planning to editing and viewer analytics. Streaming platforms are racing to feed global audiences, and AI tools that speed up workflows and reduce costs are becoming essential in the cutthroat competition. Actors face little direct threat. Synthetic performers and digital doubles are still experimental. The bigger change is in the production engine, with scheduling software, editing systems, and simulation tools transforming how films take shape well before release.
Netflix nears $600m deal for Ben Affleck’s AI film tools startup
Netflix is nearing completion of one of its largest acquisitions, buying AI filmmaking startup InterPositive for up to $600 million, sources familiar with the deal say. The streaming giant announced on March 5 that it had acquired the 16-person firm, co-founded by Ben Affleck, for undisclosed terms, with Affleck joining as a senior adviser. Bloomberg reports the headline figure depends on performance targets, with a lower upfront payment.
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InterPositive’s technology uses production dailies to build AI models that streamline post-production tasks like color grading, relighting, and visual effects. The deal comes after Netflix dropped its bid for Warner Bros Discovery’s studios and streaming assets last week, when Paramount Skydance upped its offer to $31 per share.
YouTube opens AI deepfake detection tool to politicians and journalists
YouTube is expanding its likeness detection technology to political and civic leaders as well as journalists to fight AI-generated deepfakes that risk misleading viewers ahead of elections. After identity verification, participants can review videos using their likeness, often created with generative AI to mimic voices or faces, and request removal if they violate privacy rules. Launched in December 2024 for top celebrities and athletes, then extended to leading creators with 4 million now enrolled via the Partner Program, the tool marks a major step up in tackling synthetic media abuse. YouTube declined to name initial invitees but promised a rapid rollout.
AI actor Tilly Norwood’s digital universe set for expansion
London-based AI talent studio Xicoia, creator of digital performer Tilly Norwood, has unveiled plans to expand her “Tillyverse,” a virtual realm where the AI character and new synthetic stars will live, collaborate, and build careers. The move goes beyond tech experiments, aiming to redefine intellectual property in the AI age by generating and nurturing talent. Launched last fall, Norwood has drawn fierce Hollywood backlash, with actors Emily Blunt, Whoopi Goldberg and Natasha Lyonne calling the bot a job threat. SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin slammed it for “manipulating something that already exists” and harming performers by taking what is not theirs. The expansion heightens union fears more than two years after AI-fueled strikes, as fresh contract talks begin amid calls for a “Tilly tax” on studios using AI actors.
Netflix faces backlash over AI use in Lucy Letby true crime documentary
Netflix faces backlash for using AI overlays to anonymize interviewees in last month’s true crime documentary The Investigation of Lucy Letby, despite the genre’s demand for raw truth. Netflix calls it a “creative decision” by directors, approved by participants “Sarah” (a victim’s mother) and “Maisie” (Letby’s friend) to shield identities under court orders or personal requests. Viewers slammed the animated avatars as “disturbing” and “grotesque,” questioning why actors or voiceovers were not used instead. Cash-strapped documentary makers increasingly rely on AI for transcription, research, and visuals to cut costs. While Netflix has the money to hire actors. Maybe they will listen.
Zoom rolls out photorealistic AI avatars
Zoom has unveiled a major expansion of its AI toolkit, launching photorealistic digital avatars that mimic facial expressions, lip-syncing and eye movements for users avoiding live cameras in meetings or async videos. The avatars, arriving soon, pair with deepfake detection alerts to spot audio or video impersonations. AI Docs, Slides, and Sheets will generate documents, presentations and spreadsheets from transcripts and company data, with a spring preview planned. Zoom’s AI Companion 3.0, whose monthly users tripled year-on-year last quarter, now integrates into the desktop app from web-only and the Workvivo platform, connecting to Slack, Salesforce, Gmail, and more for cross-tool queries.
Privacy regulators in 61 countries unite against AI deepfakes
Data protection authorities in 61 countries across four continents issued a coordinated warning to AI image generators this week. They called nonconsensual intimate imagery a grave privacy violation and vowed enforcement action as investigations intensify. The joint statement came from the Global Privacy Assembly’s enforcement working group. It flags AI tools in social media that enable the quick creation of defamatory or sexually explicit content featuring real people without consent. Authorities voiced special concern for children and vulnerable groups facing cyber-bullying or exploitation.
Canal+ partners with Google Cloud and OpenAI to bring AI to streaming app
French broadcaster Canal+ has struck deals with Google Cloud and OpenAI to integrate AI into its streaming app for sharper content personalization and production tools. Google Cloud will index its vast video library for tailored subscriber recommendations, while Google’s Veo 3 generative video system lets creators preview scenes or reconstruct historical moments from archival images. Canal+ chief technology officer Stéphane Baumier called the tie-up a “strategic partnership” that unlocks “limitless possibilities” after years of collaboration. OpenAI’s tools will power search and discovery across the platform.
Children increasingly feature AI in BBC 500 Words stories
Mentions of artificial intelligence in this year’s BBC 500 Words competition entries have jumped 50 percent from last year, researchers say, with children casting the technology as characters amid concerns over smartphone addiction. Oxford University Press analysis of the submissions, stored in a database of young people’s language, found ChatGPT appearing as narrators or protagonists in several stories, often clashing with humans. Sarah Hannafin of the National Association of Head Teachers called the trend a sign of children’s “real self-awareness and insight” into AI’s risks and benefits. The publisher stressed that such research is vital for understanding how children use language to reflect their world.
