Storytelling in the age of AI | Kimball Thurston | TEDxVUW

AI is one medium in humanity's rich history of creative storytelling. Kimball Thurston is Chief Technology Officer at Wētā FX, leading technology strategy for VFX production. He oversees user-facing tools, research, and render software, building flexible systems that expand the company's creative capacity while preserving its signature visual quality. A contributor to the Academy Software Foundation, Kimball also helps define open industry standards for data interchange. Since joining Wētā FX in 2017, he has held roles across rendering software, engineering, and architecture before becoming CTO. His 25-year career spans Dolby Laboratories, Lowry Digital, DreamWorks Animation, Apple, and Silicon Grail. At Lowry Digital, he earned an Academy Scientific & Engineering Award in 2012 for developing a toolset to reduce noise and artifacts in film, work that included restoring landmark films and enhancing the Apollo 11 moon landing footage. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx