A Brief Reflection on the Closure of Technicolor Creative Studios in America

I want to take a few minutes to share a brief reflection, an "Italian" one, on the news of the closure of Technicolor Creative Studios in the U.S.

Beyond the social impact, which is undoubtedly a dramatic aspect we are increasingly witnessing across various industries, the real question I ask myself as a designer is:?How should we interpret this signal?

When I heard the news, the first thing that came to mind was something I recalled from the?Action Days in Lugano, an event focused on AI. A speaker there mentioned a Hollywood actor (unfortunately, I don’t remember his name) who had invested a significant amount of money in a?VFX company. However, the project was never actually realized because, due to the rapid advancement of AI, it was deemed?financially unsustainable in the long run.

From my perspective, the closure of Technicolor Creative Studios can be interpreted in two ways:

• A genuine financial failure, but considering the quality of work produced and the talent of the professionals involved, this explanation doesn’t entirely convince me.
• The first crack in a major structural shift that could unfold in the coming years.

This could mark the beginning of a new chapter, where the VFX industry and the entire multimedia content production sector are reshaped according to a new paradigm; one in which far fewer designers are needed for highly technical tasks.

After all, one undeniable consequence of AI is that by automating tasks, fewer people are required to perform them.

This brings me to a broader reflection that has been on my mind for some time:

In the rapidly evolving digital world ahead of us, what will be the role of human beings?

Could we end up in a scenario where humans are merely at the service of machines, rather than the other way around?

Personally, I would rather envision an AI that fosters new creative roles—one that allows humans to merge their visions with new inspirations that would be difficult to conceive otherwise. An AI that frees up space for culture, imagination, and artistic exploration, rather than replacing human ingenuity.

What do you think?

G.Ricci