Pixar cofounder Ed Catmull, 81, says the smartest AI-era career move is to help build what comes next
· Business Insider
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- Ed Catmull has spent decades navigating major technological change.
- He says new tools, from the internet to social media, bring both promise and problems.
- Here's his career advice for anyone worried about navigating the AI wave.
Pixar cofounder Ed Catmull, 81, has some career advice for anyone worried about AI.
In a Tuesday interview with Higgsfield AI CEO Alex Mashrabov, Catmull shared the mindset he believes creatives will need as the technology reshapes their industry.
"The main piece of advice is, besides learning the craft, it's that things are coming whether we like it or not, and our best act is to engage fully with it," Catmull said. "And we engage by learning the craft, adding to it, working with the tool makers and with the artists and forming what it is."
Catmull said that when filmmakers run into AI's limitations, their frustrations can point the way to the next breakthrough because someone will eventually build a solution.
"That's how we move forward," he added.
In 1979, Catmull joined Lucasfilm to lead its computer division, which developed technology for the film industry. In 1986, Steve Jobs bought over the division and established it as an independent company, Pixar, with Catmull as a cofounder and its president.
Having spent his career at the forefront of computer animation, Catmull said major technological shifts always have two sides: They can create new possibilities while also bringing new problems.
"We'll have the same thing here without a doubt," he said. "But it will get adapted because I do know that there are legitimate filmmakers who accept the fact that if you engage with the technology as it develops, you help form it."
Catmull likened it to the rise of the internet and social media.
"When the internet first came out, the term you heard was it's going to democratize information. It's true. It did. It also democratized disinformation," he said.
Catmull said that is simply "the nature of the beast," and he expects AI to be no different.
"Our question is: Where are we on the side? Where are we, in terms of engaging, developing it, and moving towards things which are of great use?" he said.
Catmull's advice comes as workers are grappling with whether using AI will help them stay competitive or put their jobs at greater risk.
Business Insider has previously reported that some workers worry they are training their own replacements, although workplace analysts say the technology is more likely to change and support many roles than eliminate them altogether — at least for now.
There's also a growing concern about AI deskilling, where overreliance on AI can erode judgement and problem-solving skills for employees who are early in their careers.
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