Gabe Newell believes directors who don’t master AI will soon be left behind – according to the Steam founder, artificial intelligence will disrupt filmmaking ten times more than the CGI revolution ever did.

Gabe Newell has always been a tech visionary, and when he talks, it’s worth paying attention. This time, the Steam founder tackled the growing influence of artificial intelligence in production—not just endorsing today’s tools, but stressing how pivotal AI will be for the future. In fact, he claims AI will be ten times more transformative for film than CGI ever was.

Newell made these remarks in a unique interview with Zalkar Saliev, now on YouTube (via PC Gamer), which surprised the industry by debuting on a channel with just 19 subscribers (now over 1,700). Beyond revealing his daily life on a yacht, the Valve boss also pointed out that young people have every reason not only to use AI, but also to understand its technical backbone.

“I think the more you understand what’s underneath these current [AI] tools, the more effective you’ll be at leveraging them, but I think we’ll be in this funny situation where people who don’t know how to code, and who use AI to strengthen their programming skills, will become more effective value developers than people who have been programming for decades,” Newell says.

“Even if you’re purely a user of [AI] tools, you’ll find the benefits are many. But your ability to use them will improve as you understand the methods and mindset of those developing machine learning systems.” Newell calls learning AI and investigating how it works “highly complementary” skills.

He warns that filmmakers who don’t learn AI will face trouble soon. “If you’re a filmmaker and you don’t understand how to use AI, you’re really going to struggle in the not-too-distant future.” Those who know how to apply AI will solve unique problems and recognize the strengths and limits of core tech models—unlocking real breakthroughs in filmmaking.

“I think [AI] will be 10 times more significant than the impact of CGI on film production, in terms of the value of mastering these technologies and how they could affect the trajectory of your career in the film industry.”

Finally, Newell points out that young people are already learning to master AI. “If you’re a user of [AI] tools, it’ll help you understand its capabilities when others are reading Variety to figure out its impact on the industry. Meanwhile, a 19-year-old will be in his room thinking, ‘Guys, you don’t get it. I use this tool—and if you’re not a regular user, you’ll miss opportunities as it evolves.’”

Source: 3djuegos