Laid-off and sidelined by last year’s production slowdown, Hollywood visual‑effects veteran Michael Eng discovered a gap in his resume while pursuing job listings in Los Angeles — experience in machine learning. Eng turned to Curious Refuge, an online school teaching filmmaking powered by artificial intelligence, in a bid to reinvent his career amid the industry’s rapid technological shift.

Launched in May 2023, Curious Refuge’s well-regarded AI film academy has become a training ground for Hollywood workers racing to adapt as generative technology reshapes production, fuelling new career paths even at a time when some in the industry fear losing their jobs to AI, a Reuters news feature from Los Angeles stated.

“I kind of just embraced it,” Eng said of diving into AI tools after he was sidelined, “I jumped in.”

Many in Hollywood remain wary of artificial intelligence, with critics pointing to last year’s debut of the AI‑generated actress Tilly Norwood — condemned by the SAG‑AFTRA actors union as replacing human performers with “synthetics” — as a prime example of the industry’s unease.

Eng is one of 10,000 students who have attended Curious Refuge’s courses or workshops, looking to update their skills, the school says. Co-founders Caleb and Shelby Ward say 95 percent of the current students are entertainment or advertising industry professionals looking for new skills as artificial intelligence gains a foothold in Hollywood.

Others, like Petra Molnar, are hobbyists who have been able to harness AI to find new careers.

Molnar said she saw herself as a creative person but was unable to gain entry into art school in her native Budapest. She was working as a dental hygienist in London when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered her dental office. She used the time to explore her creative side, enrolling in classes — initially studying digital product design and building her own dental app.

The rise of AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT and image generators like Midjourney led her to Curious Refuge, where she began taking courses in 2023.

She has found a new career in advertising, using AI to create promotional videos, including one for AI infrastructure company WhiteFiber that was shown on the Nasdaq’s seven-story-tall LED video screen in Times Square when the company went public in September.

Founded in 2020, Curious Refuge began offering courses in AI-assisted documentary and narrative filmmaking and in advertising in early 2023. It now provides instruction in 11 different languages to students in 170 countries. Other educators, such as the Los Angeles Film School, offer an online bachelor’s degree in digital filmmaking, and major film schools also are incorporating generative AI into their curricula, the Reuters feature added.

The Curious Refuge classes are pre-recorded and made available behind an online paywall, allowing students to learn at their own pace.

Instructors hold weekly office hours to answer questions, and the school hosts regular meet-ups, including at the Cannes Film Festival and in major cities around the world. Meanwhile, the Discord platform, which is popular with gamers and programmers, has become a virtual place for the Curious Refuge community to gather.

(Image courtesy Curious Refuge website)