AI-Generated TV Series Stirs Debate in Indonesia

0:00It's April 12th. This is Sydney News Today. Local news powered by AI. Indonesia just dropped its first fully AI-generated TV series, called Leginda Bertua, retelling classic folktales like the legend of Timun Maz. It premiered back in January on free-to-air TV with 14 half-hour episodes already aired and you can stream them online too. The whole thing's animated using generative AI, from mud-swallowing giants to battling scenes, marking a big milestone for local broadcasting. Producers at Trance 7 kicked it off with human storyboarding, scripting and editing, then brought in prompt engineers folks from IT and camera, backgrounds, to guide tools like Chad GPT for still images and Google Vio for video clips. They tweaked colors, sound, and lighting afterward, and even consult folktale experts for accuracy. Think about one month per episode with a team of at least 10 people staring the AI. Viewers are split down the middle, some call it a quality AI show bringing fresh life

1:03to old stories, while others slam the stiff expressions, wonky, movements, and disjointed fights, saying it screams artificial, and can't match human nuance. Critics question if Indonesia lacks animators, or if this is just a cheap shortcut. Repro's like animation association leaders argue it's not true animation without that cartoony style or soulful acting, and directors worry. About ethics, job losses for skilled artists, and whether AI content counts as real art, or just factory output. Filmmakers emit AI helps with quick tasks, but lacks micro expressions and spontaneity. Meanwhile, the government's pushing binding regulations through their national AI strategy to balance innovation with creator protections, ensuring AI stays a tool in human hands rather than a full takeover. The folktale remix has folks debating the future of storytelling in real time.