By Embracing AI, Disney Has Officially Torched Its Own Legacy

Remember when Disney used to be so against people using its intellectual property for free that it would sue even daycare centers? Or how about when it fined an elementary school for showing the "Lion King" remake at a fundraiser (via CNN)? Heck, how about just last week, when (per Variety) Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to Google, alleging its AI platform was infringing Disney's copyright? Well, forget about all that, because apparently daycare centers and elementary schools are filthy thieves unless they enter a partnership with the Mouse House.

Last month, Bob Iger, the Disney CEO who refuses to simply retire already and who once called the 2023 actor and writer strikes "disturbing," threatened to put AI slop on the menu by announcing that Disney+ was working toward allowing AI-generated content on the platform. Now, it seems, the real-life Scrooge McDuck has opened Pandora's box and announced that Disney has reached an agreement with OpenAI to allow 200 Disney characters — including those of the Pixar, Marvel, and "Star Wars" variety — to be used on both its Sora generative AI platform and in images generated by ChatGPT. Of course, there's a whole lot of money tied up in all this as well, with Disney  investing $1 billion in OpenAI (via Variety).

Unfortunately, there's a real chance this move will prove hugely rewarding for the company. If Disney is good at anything, it's marketing, and you can be certain it will shove this billion-dollar investment down Disney+ users' throats, leaving them with little choice but to cave in and make their own AI slop.

So, sure, the short-term financial gain makes this a wise move by the guy who turned Disney into the House of Acquisitions. In the long term? We're now witnessing the decimation of the Disney legacy.

In truth, this is an embarrassing self-own. We've already seen Disney avoid implementing AI in its projects for fear of public backlash (namely, when it came to its live-action "Moana" remake). But how long will it take for people to turn on Disney and stop caring (or even start complaining) about AI slop? For a company that was built on creativity and has theoretically always been about lifting artists up (save for when Walt Disney himself served as an FBI informant on his own artists), this is a slap in the face of the Disney legacy. It's no wonder that "The Owl House" creator Dana Terrace has already spoken out against this and begun encouraging fans to pirate her Disney+ show rather than support the platform. Still, this is just part of the problem.

Tragically, it appears Disney doesn't care about the court of public opinion on this matter. Not only that, but it also seems a significant chunk of the public either doesn't know or care about the environmental and creative dangers posed by AI. Mind you, Disney will eventually care when it realizes it can't regulate what folks decide to do with their characters using AI. How long until people create videos of Disney characters engaging in violent and obscene acts (something "South Park" has already parodied)? Never forget or underestimate Rule 34, people.

Granted, we don't know yet how Disney plans to implement AI on Disney+. Nevertheless, it's hard to imagine the company will be able to catch and prevent every single instance of wrongdoing with its creations, so what will be the breaking point?

Iger may've helped Disney grow bigger than ever before, but with this move? He's taking the company down a road from which there's no return.