I have been an avid enjoyer of independent animation for almost half my life. YouTube shows, indie video games, and kids' movies that creep you out no matter what have always spoken to me in the form of a strange nostalgic feeling. Recently, though, the scene of handmade art has been shaken to its core by the development of Artificial Intelligence programs that threaten to replace everything. Animation superpowers have begun producing their works using these programs to replace artists, who are people who have worked for and loved their skill. Furthermore, this issue isn't just about creative integrity; it attacks the economic and social aspects of art as well. Renowned Canadian professor Alison Bain points out the fact that art is viewed by many as a vital aspect of modern society, giving people confidence and challenging the idea that work should not be enjoyable (Bain 2). Through this, time has proven that the art community will not go down without a fight. AI animation programs have the potential to destroy corporate entertainment, leading to the rise in popularity and quality of independent animation. 
The animation industry tried to assimilate with AI generated art far too quickly. Decades of the same process of work was simply not prepared for the change that would be forced upon it, and it did not hold up well. A stark decline in quality of the art, script, writing, and voice acting has shown in the recent works put out by animation corporations, such as Disney’s AI written “Wish”, which ultimately grossed only $49 million. Distinguished media authors Olivia Banner and Kirsten Ostherr of Rice University emphasize that “the convergence of visual images and computer-generated modeling raises new questions for a wide range of disciplines, from humanities to engineering and from visual arts to life sciences” (Banner, Ostherr 3) by intentionally separating the visual art industry from any other AI dominated industry, citing how the true integrity of AI generated images should be called into question as the different aspects are mixed into a concoction of misunderstanding. This confusion, where every product of AI is lumped together into one category, is a direct result of the lack of knowledge surrounding AI and, by extension, society. Decades ago, it was just sci-fi nonsense that Artificial Intelligence would take over the world. This very real possibility has been glorified many times in entertainment, or at the very least satirized. However, the version of this dystopian story we got was much more subtle, to the point that nobody picked up on its consequences until it was too late. Major studios like Disney are losing respect among society as people turn elsewhere for entertainment that the industry has failed to provide recently. 
The obvious decline in quality and care of companies that have long dominated the art field has left people with very little to work with in terms of keeping entertainment alive. Not only has society lost a crucial part of itself through this, but the replacement of animation with AI has led to the unemployment of millions of artists. As esteemed staff writer Ren Guo for The Californian points out, AI animation is “faster, easier and cheaper than real artists” (Guo 14). Even though using AI to write movies means “a huge drop in quality, little to no control of the creative direction and inconsistency throughout” (Guo 14), big studios are far too corrupt and money hungry to care. With nowhere else to turn, estranged animators and fans alike took matters into their own hands to cultivate the golden age of independent animation. The modern Indie scene was kickstarted by artist Vivienne Medrano, who inspired the creation of independently produced shows with her pilot of “Hazbin Hotel” in 2019, a revolutionary project that became an overnight sensation among the art community. Since then, other renowned indie projects have popped up on the internet radar, with Glitch Studios’ “The Amazing Digital Circus” and “Murder Drones” even surpassing many of Disney’s 2023 projects in revenue and popularity. As discussed by popular YouTube writing channel Camille’s Harem, indie animation also speaks to the younger generation in a way that industry shows have failed to do. It tackles and critiques the issues of society that their demographic face on a constant basis head on (Glitch). The themes of these shows serve to make light of the horrible situation that humanity is in and remind us to hold on to hope that things will be okay. AI animation cannot comprehend this existential fear and will never understand human experience the way humans do. 
A popular misconception about AI is that what it creates is based on what its programmers have taught it to think. Many Artificial Intelligence supporters who don't understand how it works think these programs take vague information from their cognitive bases and form their own thoughts with it. Ren Guo also argues that this is the same excuse that Disney used to dodge its plagiarism allegations after the release of “Wish” (Guo 18). The fact of the matter is that, while AI is becoming more advanced every day, it is nowhere near that level of thinking yet. World renowned European technologist Stephen Wilson criticizes the ability of AI to display “real intelligence,” discussing the nuances of its abilities between “controlling accurately the flight of a spacecraft to the Moon,” (a purely mathematical feat) and yet not “'understanding' the full range of simple natural language sentences” (Wilson 3). This implies that AI draws its knowledge from existing human sources and not what it was given. In the case of programs like ChatGPT, this is exactly how AI works; it scans the internet for information and complies what is already there into something that appears new. Despite what people are told, AI is a form of plagiarism so advanced that it is almost undetectable by the masses. Ergo, animation AI is essentially stealing artwork from across the world, shredding it, and compiling it into something worse. 
It is abundantly clear that artificial Intelligence actively works against artists and the entertainment industry. If there's one thing to come out of a situation as dire as this, however, it's a new dawn of entertainment that offers a commentary on contemporary society that has been being silenced for decades. This takeover will not stop at art. AI threatens to dominate society, dooming humanity to a slow death that we enabled to happen. Independent animation not only serves as entertainment, but also an example of what humans can create when our freedom is threatened. It represents a conjoining of forces together to create something wonderful, even at the darkest of times.