Barcelona is gearing up to host an event that goes far beyond a simple technology showcase. The +RAIN Film Festival, held at the UPF's Poblenou Campus and other iconic venues like the CCCB, has established itself as the essential event for understanding what happens when algorithms sit down with creators . This year, the festival not only screens films but also opens up a crucial discussion about technological sovereignty and how AI can be a tool or, for some, an obstacle in the pursuit of artistic authenticity.
The reality is that visual communication has become so demanding that traditional production methods fall short. Today, brands and content creators are forced to generate material at breakneck speed to avoid being buried by social media algorithms. In this context, generative AI has emerged as an ally , accelerating brainstorming and drafting, allowing small teams to compete in a league previously reserved for giants with unlimited budgets.
Cinema and video games in the mirror of AI
One of the highlights of the European film scene is the premiere of works that use technology to reinterpret classic myths. Radu Jude, a director known for his outspokenness, uses generative models in his new version of Dracula to question the very nature of digital imagery. It's not about creating something beautiful for the sake of it, but about using AI to challenge the viewer and encourage reflection on memory and manipulation—something that's incredibly useful these days to avoid blindly accepting just anything we see on screen.
In the console world, the issue is heating up. Studios like Crystal Dynamics have had to step in to clarify how they use these tools in highly anticipated projects like the next Tomb Raider. According to them, AI stays in the early stages, that is, in the initial concept exploration phases . If they need to see if an object fits in an ancient tomb, they use AI for a quick sketch; but if the idea takes hold, the final work is done by a human artist to ensure the finished product has that human touch that machines can't yet replicate.
SEGA has also ventured into this area with the development of Crazy Taxi, although the community's reception has been somewhat lukewarm. The Japanese company has integrated technology to generate secondary elements within the environments , arguing that this allows its creators to focus on what truly matters: gameplay and narrative. However, a sense of suspicion pervades forums worldwide, as many fear that this optimization will ultimately compromise quality or jobs in the industry.
Artistic resistance and ethical dilemmas
Not everyone is willing to jump on the automation bandwagon without question. Kane Parsons, the young prodigy behind viral Hollywood phenomena, remains firm in his stance of not using AI to create his works. For him, while technology is fantastic for heavy technical processes like rendering, letting a program decide a film's aesthetic takes all the joy out of the craft. It's a view shared by other great masters, such as the manga artist Naoki Urasawa, who has released a work that is practically a manifesto against the era of technological convenience.
Urasawa, who has always championed the art of drawing, presents a dystopia where AI controls everything, reaffirming the value of craftsmanship. This resistance is not a whim, but a response to concerns about intellectual property and the training of AI models using works by artists who never gave their consent. In Japan, publishers are already mobilizing to protect their catalogs, making it clear that hand-drawn art has a soul that no processor can replicate, no matter how many terabytes of data it processes.
Meanwhile, streaming giants like Netflix are taking AI to a more pragmatic level. Their focus is on improving the user experience and assisting with localization and promotion. The idea is that the technology will help deliver content to viewers in a more targeted and efficient way, functioning as another cog in a distribution machine that never sleeps, but always under supervision that ensures the essence of the story isn't lost along the way.
The current landscape presents a complex coexistence where generative AI has ceased to be an experiment and has become a key component of the digital infrastructure. While festivals in Spain continue to debate ethics and authorship, the video game and film industries are already integrating these tools to survive the constant demand for content. Ultimately, it seems the trick lies in knowing how to use the machine without the machine using you, maintaining that human judgment and creative spark that, for now, remains what distinguishes a generic product from a work that truly touches our hearts.
