Hello and welcome to today’s episode, where we explore how Industrial Light & Magic has embraced AI just like any other tool. Back in 1993, ILM stunned Spielberg with a computer-generated T. rex and stop-motion pioneer Phil Tippett famously quipped, “I feel like I’m going extinct.” Instead of replacing artists, CGI expanded their toolkit, and ILM has continued fusing old and new technologies ever since.

Rob Bredow, ILM’s SVP of creative innovation, sees today’s AI debates in the same light. “Innovation thrives when old and new technologies are blended,” he says. After a fan’s AI-enhanced Mark Hamill deepfake outshone ILM’s traditional model in The Mandalorian, the studio hired that creator and used generative AI to de-age Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The AI captured Ford’s micro-expressions while artists polished skin texture and eye moisture—Ford himself said it “really felt like me.”

The lesson? AI is just another tool in the toolbox. As long as we use it ethically, these innovations will light up screens worldwide—and keep human creativity rolling in the credits for years to come.
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