Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull says creative professionals should do more than wait for AI to reshape their industries: they should master their craft, use the new tools and work with developers and artists to help shape how the technology is built and applied. For film workers, that engagement could help address practical production challenges while bringing the industry’s concerns into the development process.
Catmull: build craft and take part in AI’s development
In an interview on Tuesday with Higgsfield AI CEO Alex Mashrabov, the 81-year-old discussed how creative workers can approach careers in the age of AI. Alongside learning the skills of their profession, he said, they should learn to use the tools and collaborate with the people developing them and the artists working with them.
Catmull said the frustrations filmmakers encounter when AI tools fall short can point to problems that need solving. When developers work on those gaps, the tools can improve. He sees this cycle — using technology, identifying its limitations and building solutions — as part of how the industry advances.
From Lucasfilm’s computer division to Pixar
Catmull has spent decades at the forefront of computer animation. He joined Lucasfilm in 1979 to lead its computer division, which was developing technology for the film industry. In 1986, Steve Jobs acquired the division and established it as the independent company Pixar. Catmull became a co-founder and its president.
That experience has shaped his view of technological change. Major transitions, he said, tend to bring both new opportunities and new problems. AI is unlikely to be different. But filmmakers who stay involved as the technology develops can have a say in how it takes shape and is used.
AI’s capabilities raise concerns about skills
Catmull compared AI with the rise of the internet and social media. The internet was expected to democratise the spread of information, and he said it did — but it also enabled misinformation to spread more widely. For him, the lesson is that technology does not produce a single outcome. How people participate in its development and use can influence whether it serves more valuable purposes.
His comments come as workers reassess AI’s effects on employment. Some worry that using AI to assist with their jobs could help train tools that eventually replace them. Workplace analysts, meanwhile, say that for now AI is more likely to change and support many roles than eliminate them outright.
Another concern is skill erosion: employees who rely too heavily on AI, particularly early in their careers, could see their judgment and problem-solving abilities suffer. Catmull’s position does not dismiss those concerns. Instead, he argues that workers should develop professional skills while taking part in the evolution of the technology. The limits of creative AI tools, how they are used and their effect on workers’ skills remain practical questions for the industry.