Koen's Corner

Disney recently hit an ALL TIME low

I got a serious bone to pick with Disney. For the longest time now, I have been extremely forgiving towards many awful shit they have done. Whether it’s within their movies, or executive decisions made. But recent news just really hurt me on such a personal level that I cannot defend anymore.

In case you haven’t heard yet; Bob Iger has announced that Disney is gonna incorporate generative AI in Disney Plus. Giving subscribers the ability to generate short form content with Disney characters, using OpenAI’s Sora. A decision so morally bankrupt, I cannot even imagine what Iger was smoking when he believed this to be acceptable.

It’s an understatement to say that audiences are pissed at this decision. Nobody ever asked Disney to do this, and everyone was under the impression that of all people Bob Iger would know better. However here he is proving everyone wrong, and impressing us with just how disconnected he really is with what audiences come to expect.

Creating art is HARD

As someone who creates my own content, this insults me on a very personal level. Content creation is hard. It takes tons of hours and effort to make something amazing. Be it drawings, videos, sculptures, or even something as simple as photography. And I expected Disney of all companies to recognize what true art is real is about.

The best art is not generated using AI algorithms. Instead, real art should ALWAYS be made with your bare hands/paws/claws. It’s not easy to make something. But it is ALWAYS very much worth doing, and it’s always gonna pay off in some way. In the form of a confidence boost, praise from other people around you who will see your creation and love it. And most importantly; you will learn a new, exciting, and fun skill in the process.

Bob Iger’s disrespect of a legacy

Bob Iger has actively decided to give a giant middle finger to Walt Disney, and the company as a whole. By partnering with OpenAI and Sora, he has proven that he has ZERO respect for the very artform that he once claimed he loved as much as Walt Disney himself.

Although he has stated that this decision will have great benefits in the long term, and that this change was inevitable, he still had the choice to not follow through on this. Instead of not doing what other big, toxic corporations are doing, Iger has decided to follow suit in this AI slop nightmare. Setting an example for other corporations who for what we know are plotting the exact same thing.

Now I am not the kind of cynical wolf. I much rather look at these sorts of situations from a more positive perspective. But it is also important to be realistic, and look at a situation like this for what it is; a terrible start to a future where generative AI slowly takes over the creative industry. A future that Walt Disney himself never would have improved of, and that he would very actively fight against. His hard work does not deserve this treatment, nor do any of the creatives that work(ed) for Disney.

Fuck you, Bob Iger.