Jeffrey Katzenberg, co-founder of DreamWorks and founding partner of WndrCo, published a lengthy article titled "The World is Changing: Artificial Intelligence and Creativity," stating that Hollywood must accept that artificial intelligence will not disappear and shift its focus from preventing tools to negotiating usage terms.

He wrote about seeing a complete animated segment with lighting and composition in his Silicon Valley office, feeling reminiscent of the first time he saw the computer-generated 3D character in "Luxo Jr." in 1986. That day, an artist he had known for thirty years texted him asking, "Are we done for?" He replied, "Of course not." In 2023, he asserted that new tools could reduce the time and cost of world-class animation by up to 90% within three years, causing panic and anger among some colleagues.

He framed history as a battle over terms rather than a battle over bans. In 1906, John Philip Sousa criticized the phonograph as a substitute for skill and soul, with the real demand being royalties, which led to the 1909 copyright law. With the advent of sound films, the live work of thousands of musicians in global cinema orchestras was replaced by a pre-recorded soundtrack, prompting unions to publicly oppose "canned music"; while those jobs did not return, it gave rise to musicals, modern scoring, sound design, and a larger Hollywood. He specifically mentioned Kodak and Blockbuster resisting technology, while Apple and Netflix embraced it.

Walt Disney, as recorded in Disney archives, only discussed characters, emotions, and whether the audience believed, not pencils; when Katzenberg was head of animation, he collaborated with the then-young Pixar on CAPS, replacing hand-drawn cels with computer-generated systems, expanding the canvas with "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," and "The Lion King." DreamWorks later shut down hand-drawn animation and fully transitioned to 3D, with some achieving their best work and others not making the leap. He quoted George Lucas: what matters is not how to do it, but why to do it.

He separated reasoning from creation: reasoning seeks correct conclusions based on existing facts, while creation faces a blank page with no single answer, relying on taste, intuition, and personal expression. He believes today's models are almost entirely on the reasoning side, with generation being statistical imitation, lacking empathy, dedication, and serendipity. The gap remains, and the tech field cannot provide a crossing path; a common ground should be built on acknowledging this line. Northern California has produced tools but not artists; Southern California has the century-old craftsmanship that models rely on. The positive path must incorporate storytellers by design: attribution, consent, and compensation. The debate over the existence of tools is a trap; first, acknowledge that terms must exist, then argue what fairness is.

WndrCo was established after selling DreamWorks in 2016 and has invested in over fifty companies; recently, it invested in Reactor, which can generate video in real-time, and he has publicly discussed starting a new video venture with the former head of Sora. He humorously noted that Quibi proved he is not omniscient. He concluded with a quote from Steve Jobs: technology must be combined with humanity for the heart to resonate.

In market mechanisms, this is a preview of pricing for copyright and labor terms. The buyers are model and tool companies needing legal training data and film distribution; the sellers are unions, studios, and rights holders with film libraries. Funding has shifted from pure content production to an intermediate layer of "real-time generation plus Hollywood taste." Beneficiaries are production alliances that can negotiate consent and revenue sharing, while the old structure of making one film every five years per person is under pressure, as are generative platforms that do not pay for training materials.

Additionally, in 2023, he stated in a public forum: about 500 artists produced one world-class animation every five years, but in three years, they may not need to use even one-tenth of that. This lengthy article places the same prediction within labor history and copyright history, framing the 2023 writers' and actors' strike as a contemporary version of Sousa's proposition.

Source: Public Information