An animated short film that's available on Netflix used AI technology to help generate its background art.  The three-minute short, titled "Dog and Boy," used AI as part of an "experimental effort" amid the ongoing labor shortage in the anime industry, according to Netflix. Specifically, the film's creators used AI image synthesis to help create the backgrounds. Human designers were also involved as they drew the initial layout and fine-tuned the AI's drafts to create the final art. In the credits, the film's background designer is described as "AI (+Human)" and cites Japanese AI artwork firm Rinna Inc. "As the shortage of human resources in the animation industry is seen as an issue, we hope that this initiative will contribute to the realization of a flexible animation production process," Netflix Japan wrote in a translated blog post. The film, from production company Wit Studio, has drawn some pushback from social media users who criticized Netflix for using AI rather than human artists. Producer and AI infrastructure engineer DJ Fresh tweeted, "I know a ton of animators looking for work if you guys are struggling to find them (are you looking very hard?)."