Actor, director and cinematographer Mark Gray holds a sign reading "No A.I." as writers and actors staged a solidarity march through Hollywood to Paramount Studios on Sept. 13, 2023.
Why now: One of the reasons AI may make in-roads into animation first is that currently, many live action films made with AI struggle to portray human characters convincingly — what’s known as “uncanny valley.” But if the main character is an animal, a cartoon person or an alien, it avoids this problem.
Why it matters: The process of greenlighting an animated movie or TV show is also intensely visual, and studio executives want to see a character or a world before approving a show, explained Ashley Cullins, who writes The Dealmakers column for The Ankler. Using AI to spitball character design, “ helps you get to proof of concept faster,” she said, speeding up a process that can be very labor, time and cost intensive.
Read on... for more on what animators in Hollywood are saying about the evolving technology.
When Conan O’Brien joked while hosting the 2025 Oscars that “we did not use AI to make this show,” it was an obvious reference to the selective use of artificial intelligence in Oscar-nominated films like A Complete Unknown, The Brutalist and Emilia Pérez.
“It's easier to replicate something that looks unreal than it is to replicate something that looks real,” said Alex Hirsch, the creator of Disney’s Gravity Falls. “Animation is unreal, therefore, it'll be easier to replicate something that approximates animation sooner than it is to replicate something that approximates live action.”
How AI is used in animation
One of the reasons AI may make in-roads into animation first is that currently, many live action films made with AI struggle to portray human characters convincingly — what’s known as “uncanny valley.” But if the main character is an animal, a cartoon person or an alien, it avoids this problem.
The process of greenlighting an animated movie or TV show is also intensely visual, and studio executives want to see a character or a world before approving a show, explained Ashley Cullins, who writes The Dealmakers column for The Ankler. Using AI to spitball character design, “ helps you get to proof of concept faster,” she said, speeding up a process that can be very labor, time and cost intensive.
Once there is a script, a producer could use AI could to replace a team of storyboard artists, who illustrate shots and create a blueprint for what will be filmed, with a single artist curating the output of an AI tool.
“I would never say that image generators are necessarily better than what my colleagues or I do,” said Sam Tung, a storyboard artist who serves on the AI task force and the negotiation committee for the Animation Guild. But, he added, “they're certainly faster and, at least right now, they look like they're cheaper.”
However, many animators lament how unoriginal many AI-generated images are.
"These things are only working because they went on the internet and they scraped all of our portfolios — every movie, every comic book, whatever. Like every image that any of us have ever created is what's used to power this stuff," Tung said.
Artists, writers and other entertainment groups have filed multiple AI-related lawsuits alleging copyright infringement that are working their way through the courts. And animators worry that by using AI for visual development and character design, animation studios will end up imitating existing characters rather than inventing something truly new.
"The point of art is a human communicating a feeling to another human, not an algorithm amassing a slurry of thoughts other humans have had before and reproducing a generic, predetermined outcome," Hirsch said.
AI and the Hollywood strikes
Because of the timing of when Open AI released Chat GPT in late 2022, concerns about AI became core to the writers and actors strikes in 2023. Animators, who were set to begin negotiating their own contract with the studios the next year, followed the strikes closely.
Screenwriters were concerned that they were going to be handed a script written by Chat GPT, and told to revise it, depriving them of a writing credit and earning them less money than if they’d written it completely themselves. They also worried studios would use AI to write scripts in their style.
Actors were more concerned by the potential of text-to-image AI generators like DALL-E and Midjourney. They worried studios could use their face and voice to place them in a scene they did not actually act out, without their consent and without compensation.
Ultimately, both the writers and the actors won key protections on AI. The Writers Guild of America’s contract prevents studios from forcing writers to use AI, ensures AI will not be considered the author of a script, and prevents writers’ previous work from being used to train AI.
SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union, won the protection that a studio cannot use an AI generated image of performers’ faces or voices without permission and without compensating them, including after their death.
What the animators got
But, unlike the screenwriters union, the Animation Guild wasn’t able to prevent studios from insisting that an animator use AI. Instead, they won the assurance that producers will meet with animators to discuss the use of AI and possible alternatives. The contract also doesn't allow animators to opt out of letting AI models train themselves on their art, which is something the writers won.
Some animators were pretty disappointed with their union’s contract, which passed with 76% of members voting for it.
“I am absolutely aware of animation studios that have fired workers in visual development because they realize they can get way more visual development using Midjourney, for example, and then just have one or two artists curating the work,” Hirsch said, adding that the contract “does nothing” to prevent this.
Copyright protections?
For now, studios remain hesitant to use AI to create the final versions of animated films, because the U.S. Copyright Office has ruled that AI-generated material cannot be granted a copyright except “where a human author has determined sufficient expressive elements.”
And if a studio doesn’t own the rights to an animated character, that could jeopardize their ability to profit off of their film through toy sales, for example, or could open them up to lawsuits by other artists alleging copyright theft.
To listen to the Imperfect Paradise episode, click below.
Hollywood taught us to be afraid of a super powerful artificial intelligence that will one day conquer humanity. So not surprisingly, many screenwriters and actors are very skeptical of AI, and concerns about AI were central to the Hollywood labor strikes in 2023. But animators may actually be the most at risk of losing their jobs to AI.
In this episode, we’ll talk about why the first AI generated movies you will see will likely be animated, and what it means for the people who make them, and for everyone else in Hollywood.
How AI Became a Hollywood Villain – Especially for Animators
Hollywood taught us to be afraid of a super powerful artificial intelligence that will one day conquer humanity. So not surprisingly, many screenwriters and actors are very skeptical of AI, and concerns about AI were central to the Hollywood labor strikes in 2023. But animators may actually be the most at risk of losing their jobs to AI.
In this episode, we’ll talk about why the first AI generated movies you will see will likely be animated, and what it means for the people who make them, and for everyone else in Hollywood.
Mariana Dale
explores and explains the forces that shape how and what kids learn from kindergarten to high school.
Published February 12, 2026 4:22 PM
Ricardo Lopez said he's been a teacher for about a decade. The 2025-26 school year was his second at Synergy Quantum Academy.
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Topline:
A former South L.A. charter school teacher says he was fired after he opened a campus gate so students could leave and join a protest of federal immigration activity.
What happened? Last week, Synergy Quantum Academy students joined regional walkouts protesting the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. But with the South L.A. school’s tall metal gate shut, some opted to climb and jump over it. Teacher Ricardo Lopez said he opened the gate out of concern for the safety of students who might have hurt themselves leaving the school.
What did he do wrong? In messages to parents and staff, Synergy's principal said an "unauthorized staff member" opened the campus' gate in conflict with LAUSD protocol. A plan provided to LAist states “if students leave campus, school site administrators do not have a legal obligation to protect the safety and welfare of the students.” The document provided does not explicitly prohibit a staff member from opening a gate.
Why it matters: The dismissal has spurred further protests and raised questions about whose responsibility it is to ensure safety as students exercise their First Amendment rights.
Last week, Synergy Quantum Academy students joined regional walkouts protesting the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. But with the South L.A. school’s tall metal gate shut, some opted to climb and jump over it.
The school’s leadership wrote in messages to parents and staff that an “unauthorized staff member” then opened that campus gate — in conflict with Los Angeles Unified School District protocol.
That staff member, teacher Ricardo Lopez, said he acted out of concern for the safety of students who might have hurt themselves trying to leave the school.
He said the school fired him the same day. Now his dismissal has spurred further protests and raised questions about whose responsibility it is to ensure safety as students exercise their First Amendment rights.
Here’s what we know
Thousands of students across Los Angeles walked out during the first week of February to protest the Trump administration’s immigration policies, including students at Synergy Quantum Academy.
Lopez said that after the walkouts on Feb. 4, he heard several students talk about injuring themselves climbing over the metal fences that surround the South L.A. school.
On Thursday morning, during his academic prep period, Lopez said he saw students trying to climb over the metal gate on the north side of the campus.
“When I saw one of my [AP U.S. History] students climbing the fence and jumping…and like almost falling, I started rushing towards the gate,” Lopez said. “ I opened the gate for them so other students wouldn’t get hurt like the day before.”
Guidance from the ACLU of Southern California related to student walkouts states “locking exits to the school can pose serious health and safety concerns for students and staff.”
Lopez said he opened this gate on the north side of Synergy Quantum Academy and Maya Angelou Community High School's shared campus after watching students attempt to climb over Thursday Feb. 5.
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Lopez said within an hour, Synergy’s human resources department informed him that he’d been terminated for insubordination. Lopez said there was no hearing or additional meeting where he was able to defend his actions.
“What hurts even more was that they escorted me out like I was a — I felt like a criminal,” Lopez said.
The contents of his classroom were later boxed and sent to him via a third-party delivery service.
Lopez said it’s still unclear to him why he was fired. He said staff received an email earlier in the week telling them not to participate in student protests, but there was no mention of any policy related to the gate.
“ I wasn't participating [in the protest],” Lopez said. “To me it was about protecting students from getting hurt.”
What has the school communicated?
The school’s public justification for terminating Lopez intersects with a longstanding source of friction in Los Angeles schools — the co-location of independent charter schools on the campuses of traditional district schools.
Synergy Quantum Academy shares a campus with Los Angeles Unified's Maya Angelou Community High School. Synergy is an independent charter school with a separate staff overseen by a board of directors outside of the district.
In messages to parents and staff, Synergy's principal said opening the gate conflicted with LAUSD protocol.
Synergy Quantum Academy enrolled 564 students in the 2024-2025 school year and is one of several charter schools operated by Synergy Academies.
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Synergy Academies CEO Rhonda Deomampo confirmed Lopez is no longer employed at the school.
In response to LAist's inquiry about which protocol was violated, Deomampo wrote in an email that Maya Angelou Community High School’s safety plan “clearly outlines the authority of the principal or designee in situations like these.” She also said “to date, the school has received no reports of student injuries related to student protests.”
The excerpt provided from the 206-page safety plan states it is the responsibility of the principal or designee to “maintain adequate safeguards to ensure the safety and welfare of students” during a walkout. The plan states “if students leave campus, school site administrators do not have a legal obligation to protect the safety and welfare of the students.” The document provided does not explicitly prohibit a staff member from opening a gate.
How is LAUSD involved?
A Los Angeles Unified spokesperson said while independent charter schools are expected to follow district policies related to walkouts, the district does not weigh in on personnel decisions.
“Independent charter schools are responsible for the supervision and management of the charter school employees,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Lopez said at Synergy, like many charter schools, he was an “at-will” employee, which means he can be terminated with or without cause and does not have the additional protections associated with union membership.
Community calls for teacher’s reinstatement
Lopez said he has a shared background with many of his students as the son of undocumented, working, immigrant parents who didn’t have an opportunity to pursue higher education themselves.
“That's one of the reasons I wanted to be a teacher because a lot of things that I learned [in college] really helped me grow,” Lopez said. Teaching was a way to pay forward that knowledge.
“ I really miss my students, you know, I miss being in the classroom,” Lopez said. “ I just want to be reinstated, you know, and just keep, keep doing what I'm doing, teaching and supporting my students and protecting my students.”
Lopez said he is also worried that the termination could jeopardize his teaching credential or ability to get future jobs as an educator.
On Tuesday, dozens of students from both Maya and Synergy joined with organizers from Unión del Barrio and the Association of Raza Educators to rally for Lopez’s reinstatement.
Ayleen was a junior in Lopez's AP U.S. History class. “ When he sees that a student's not OK, he asks them personally and he doesn't embarrass them in front of everybody," she said.
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Synergy junior Ayleen said she didn’t participate in Wednesday’s walkout, but heard about peers who’d jumped the fence and gotten hurt. Ayleen requested to be identified only by her first name to protect her privacy.
“We truly believe that he shouldn't have been fired for protecting a student,” she said. “That's his number one priority as a teacher, protecting his students, and he's the only one that upheld that that day.”
Lopez was Ayleen’s AP U.S. History teacher. AP classes culminate in a rigorous test where students can earn college credit.
“He has this way of teaching that he helps so much because he re-words questions,” Ayleen said. “It sounds simple, but so many teachers don't do that. He genuinely helps us to learn.”
Ayleen’s mother, Mary, said she supported her daughter’s decision to join the Friday walkout in protest of Lopez’s termination and would like the school to bring him back.
According to an Instagram post, students from Maya and Synergy plan to participate in another walkout Friday — still against ICE, but now also in support of their former teacher.
Destiny Torres
is LAist's general assignment and digital equity reporter.
Published February 12, 2026 3:30 PM
The National Park Service is asking for public input for its study on whether the L.A. coastline should qualify for national park designation.
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Topline:
The National Park Service is asking for public input for its study on whether the L.A. coastline between Torrance and Santa Monica should qualify for national park designation.
Background: Congress signed a law in 2022 that called for this study, as well as provided funding for the three-year process. The first virtual meeting about the study was held this week.
How to participate: The Park Service is holding another virtual meeting on March 11 at 6 p.m.
Webinar link: https://bit.ly/4akUPVE
Join by phone: (202) 640-1187, Conference ID: 362420885#
Who makes the final call? The National Park Service is looking into the move, but the decision ultimately falls to Congress and the president.
Read on … for what it takes for an area to become a national park.
The National Park Service is asking for public input for its study on whether the L.A. coastline between San Pedro and Santa Monica should qualify for national park designation.
Federal officials held a public meeting Wednesday and outlined the study process.
Lawmakers will use the findings to decide whether to designate the stretch of coastline — which includes the Santa Monica Pier, Ballona Creek and RAT Beach — a national park.
Sarah Bodo, project manager at NPS, said the coastline is interpreted as part of the sea to approximately 200 yards inland.
“The 200-yard number is an effort to include the beach areas and the public lands, while excluding private property from the study area,” Bodo said. “In cases where private property is within 200 yards, those properties are excluded from the study.”
What are the criteria?
To become a national park, the area needs to contain nationally significant resources, not already be in the national park system and require direct NPS management.
Sequoia National Park, for example, was recognized in 1890 to protect the giant trees from logging.
Officials will also consider where the access, cost and size of the area can be managed by the department.
The National Park Service is studying whether the red portions of the L.A. coastline should qualify for national park designation.
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“A study area must meet all four of the criteria,” Bodo said.
What happens now?
The agency is early in the study process. If you have thoughts on the matter, now is the time to share them.
The public comment period is open until April 6.
In the coming months, the agency will review that feedback before preparing a study report for Congress.
Only Congress and the president have the ability to designate a new national park.
“At that point, it will be up to Congress or the president to take action or not. There is no timeline for further action from Congress or the president,” Bodo said. “The completion of the study does not establish a new park unit.”
The process could take years. The last designation given to Missouri’s Ste. Genevieve National Historic Park in 2018, according to the Associated Press. Congress ordered the study for that park in 2005.
Outstanding questions
One question raised at Wednesday’s meeting was what the benefits and downsides of having NPS manage this area are.
Bodo said that would depend on what the legislation would say if designated and how management would work.
“The National Park Service is required to conserve unimpaired scenery, natural and historic objects, wildlife of parks, and to provide for their enjoyment by the public. That's our overall mission,” Bodo said. “National parks can also generate economic activity in nearby communities.”
And, if designated, how exactly would management of this area work?
It’s also still too early to say, but existing property owners, like the county or city, could continue to own and manage the property, Bodo added.
“If this were to be designated, there maybe wouldn't be significant changes in that arena,” Bodo said. “The Park Service would seek to work collaboratively with local communities and existing agencies on common goals for resource protection and recreational opportunities.”
Another question asked was how might Park Service involvement along the L.A. coast affect fishing and hunting regulations?
“That's really dependent on land ownership, so if land ownership did not change, nothing would change,” Bodo said.
How you can participate
The National Park Service is looking for public input. A second virtual meeting will be held March 11 at 6 p.m. You can join here.
Public comments are also being accepted online here.
Keep up with LAist.
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Korea's Gaon Choi, 17, rebounded from a hard fall to win gold — and end her role model Chloe Kim's historic bid for three in a row in the Winter Olympic halfpipe.
What went down: Kim, 25, was within arm's reach of becoming the first halfpipe snowboarder to win three consecutive Olympic golds. She was the last rider of the night, with a chance to retake the lead. But she fell on her cab double cork 1080, a trick she had landed cleanly in previous runs, which stuck her with her original score. Choi and her team broke down in happy sobs and cheers immediately.
Read on... for more details and how Kim reacted.
Want more Olympics updates? Subscribe here to get our newsletter, Rachel Goes to the Games, delivered to your inbox for a behind-the-scenes look at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
MILAN — U.S. snowboarder Chloe Kim's quest for a historic Olympic halfpipe three-peat was foiled by none other than her teenage protégé.
Kim took home silver, after 17-year-old Gaon Choi of South Korea rebounded from a dramatic crash to overtake her in the final run.
"It's the kind of story you only see in dreams, so I'm incredibly happy it happened today," Choi said afterward.
Kim, 25, was within arm's reach of becoming the first halfpipe snowboarder to win three consecutive Olympic golds. Despite a last-minute shoulder injury, she cruised easily through Wednesday's qualifiers, which were actually her first competition of the season.
And she was looking like a lock through much of Thursday's final — under a light nighttime snowfall in Livigno — which hinged on the best of three runs.
Kim's strong first showing gave her 88 points and an early lead, which she held for the majority of the competition as many other contenders — including her U.S. teammates Bea Kim and Maddy Mastro — fell on one or more of their runs.
A big crash nearly ended Choi's night early, but after a medical exam she returned to the halfpipe slope for two more runs.
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Choi also took a heavy fall on her opening run, needing a concussion check. She almost missed her second turn, only to fall again. But an impressive third run propelled her to the top of the leaderboard, with 90.25 points.
"It wasn't so much about having huge resolve," she said later. "I just kept thinking about the technique I was originally doing."
Then all eyes were on Kim, the last rider of the night, with a chance to retake the lead. But she fell on her cab double cork 1080, a trick she had landed cleanly in previous runs, which stuck her with her original score. Choi and her team broke down in happy sobs and cheers immediately.
As Choi wiped her eyes, a beaming Kim greeted her at the photo finish with a warm hug. As they lined up alongside bronze medalist Mitsuki Ono of Japan, Kim stood to Choi's side and pointed at her excitedly.
"I've known [Choi] since she was little, and it means a lot to see that I've inspired the next generation and they're now out here killing it," Kim said afterward.
Choi is the same age Kim was in 2018 when she became the youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboard medal.
The two have known each other for nearly a decade, a bond that began when Choi's father struck up a friendship with Kim's dad — who emigrated from South Korea to the U.S. — in the lead-up to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
Kim (R) gave Choi (L) a warm reception after the last run of the night.
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"Chloe's dad did a lot of mentoring to my dad," Choi said after winning the first World Cup she entered in 2023, at age 14. "I didn't know much because I was young, but Chloe's dad gave my dad a lot of advice. It made me who I am today."
Kim and her dad helped bring Choi to the U.S. to train with at California's Mammoth Mountain, and maintained a supportive relationship. Kim spoke highly of Choi at an earlier press conference, calling it a "full-circle moment" and saying she sees "a mirror reflection of myself and my family."
"We're seeing a big shift to Asians being dominant in snow sports," she added. "I've had aunts telling me that I shouldn't snowboard, get a real career, focus on school. It's cool to see that shift happening."
Choi's victory makes her the first female Korean athlete to win a medal in snow sports. This is also South Korea's first snowboard gold.
"I want to introduce this sport more to my country through my performance at this Olympics," Choi told Olympics.com before the Games. "I also believe that enjoying the Games is just as important as achieving good results."
Copyright 2026 NPR
Aaron Schrank
has been on the ground, reporting on homelessness and other issues in L.A. for more than a decade.
Published February 12, 2026 3:18 PM
City sanitation workers clear a homeless encampment in Koreatown in September 2024.
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Topline:
A federal judge this week ruled against the city of Los Angeles in a long-running lawsuit over the city’s practice of destroying unhoused people’s property during encampment sweeps.
Why it matters: In a rare default judgment, U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer made a finding in favor of the plaintiffs — ending the case — because the judge found the city's explanations for why it had destroyed or altered certain documents were not credible.
The judge found the city had acted "willfully and in bad faith" to deprive the plaintiffs information that was relevant to their case.
It’s a win for six unhoused residents and advocacy organization Ktown For All, who filed the lawsuit in 2019, challenging whether L.A. Sanitation employees violated unhoused residents’ constitutional rights when seizing and discarding belongings during sweeps.
Reaction from attorneys: Shayla Myers with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said the city’s fabrication and alteration of documents made a fair trial impossible. “The fabrication of cleanup reports in this case is itself an indictment of the city's practices,” Myers said. “At these sweeps, the city provides unhoused people absolutely no recourse.”
What's next: The plaintiffs are a permanent injunction blocking the city from seizing and discarding personal property during encampment cleanups. They have until March 27 to file a brief in support of a proposed permanent injunction.
Read on ... for more information about the judgment.
A federal judge this week ruled against the city of Los Angeles in a long-running lawsuit over the city’s practice of destroying unhoused people’s property during encampment sweeps.
In a rare default judgment, U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer made a finding in favor of the plaintiffs — ending the case — because the city destroyed, fabricated or altered documents relevant to the case.
The judge found the city had acted "willfully and in bad faith" to deprive the plaintiffs of the information they requested repeatedly, and that the city's explanation for its misconduct was "not credible," according to court documents.
It’s a win for six unhoused residents and advocacy organization Ktown For All, who filed the lawsuit in 2019, challenging whether L.A. Sanitation employees violated unhoused residents’ constitutional rights when seizing and discarding belongings during sweeps.
L.A. city code allows employees to remove and impound unattended, abandoned or hazardous items that are in the public right-of-way. In the lawsuit, plaintiffs alleged city sanitation workers arbitrarily seize and destroy property without objective standards or proper notice. With the default judgement, the court accepted those allegations as true.
City’s misconduct
According to the judge's ruling, attorneys for Ktown For All argued that the city had "altered and fabricated key evidence" — including health hazard assessment reports and checklists —- after the lawsuit was filed. Their arguments were supported in 2023, after a forensic examiner reviewed some of the evidence and the court found the city had "altered, modified, and created documents" relevant to the case.
The city of L.A. admitted to destroying some documents, but argued it did so because the records were error-filled because of flawed record-keeping during the pandemic, not an “intent to deprive Plaintiffs of the information’s use in the litigation,” according to the ruling.
Fischer noted there were problematic documents associated with more than 90% of the 144 cleanup cases examined by the court. Those records were being used to justify the city’s legal defenses for seizing unhoused residents’ belongings.
The judge also affirmed that city employees rewrote some reports to change the reason for seizures, including adding details about “biohazards” and describing property as “surrendered” or “dangerous.”
According to the ruling, the L.A. City Attorney’s Office hid the misconduct from the court and violated multiple court orders over five years.
“The court cannot proceed to trial with confidence that plaintiffs have had access to the true facts,” Fischer wrote.
“Where a party so damages the integrity of the discovery process that there can never be assurance of proceeding on the true facts, a case-dispositive sanction may be appropriate,” the judge continued, quoting another legal ruling.
Reaction from the attorneys
Shayla Myers with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said the city’s fabrication and alteration of documents made a fair trial impossible.
“The fabrication of cleanup reports in this case is itself an indictment of the city's practices,” Myers said. “At these sweeps, the city provides unhoused people absolutely no recourse.”
L.A. city officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the court’s decision.
What’s next?
The plaintiffs are seeking damages and a permanent injunction blocking the city from seizing and discarding personal property during encampment cleanups. They have until March 27 to file a brief in support of a proposed permanent injunction.
