What happens when technology becomes part of the creative palette? In this episode of Advanced Insights, AMD CTO and EVP Mark Papermaster sits down with Kimball Thurston, Chief Technology Officer at Wētā FX, to explore how AI, rendering, simulation and heterogeneous computing are reshaping visual effects and the future of storytelling. They discuss the extraordinary compute required to create massive digital worlds; why some of the most complex rendering workloads still rely heavily on CPUs; how Wētā FX is using AI to help artists find assets, automate production tasks and simulate details as subtle as the muscles behind a facial expression; and why the next generation of creative workflows will increasingly span CPUs, GPUs, local AI and the cloud. The conversation also looks ahead to personal AI, agentic workflows, open-source tools and what Kimball calls a “world of models” — a future where technology gives artists new ways to create richer, more immersive experiences without losing sight of what matters most: the story. 00:00 Introduction 00:56 Meet Kimball Thurston 01:00 From Robotics to Visual Effects 02:04 Why AI Is a Creative Unlock 03:29 How AI Could Change Creative Jobs 04:16 The Scale of Wētā FX Productions 05:12 Half a Million Threads Rendering 24/7 06:01 Building and Searching Massive Asset Libraries 07:02 How Artists Build Consistent Digital Worlds 07:44 Bringing Agentic AI into VFX Workflows 08:43 Could Artists Become AI Orchestrators? 09:11 Building Custom AI Models for VFX 10:08 Physics, Simulation and Lifelike Digital Characters 10:53 Why Small Details Matter to Storytelling 11:26 Choosing the Right Compute Engine 12:18 Optimizing AI Across Local, Cloud, CPU and GPU 14:02 AMD and Wētā FX Co-Innovation 14:57 Running AI Agents Overnight 15:54 Lowering Latency and Expanding Local AI 16:16 Unified Memory for Larger AI Models 16:51 Why Wētā FX Is an Early Local AI Adopter 18:02 Open Source in the Visual Effects Industry 18:56 Protecting IP and Tracking Model Provenance 20:13 The Future of 3D Storytelling 20:42 From a World Model to a World of Models 21:32 The Sphere and Immersive Digital Experiences 21:55 AI, Restoration and Expanding the World of Oz 22:35 Dynamic and Personalized Storytelling 22:56 Looking Ahead 23:26 Mark’s Key Takeaways *** Subscribe: https://bit.ly/Subscribe_to_AMD Join the AMD Gaming Discord Server: https://discord.gg/amd-gaming Visit the AMD Gaming Community Website: https://www.amdgaming.com/ Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/AMD_on_Facebook Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/AMD_On_Twitter Follow us on Twitch: https://Twitch.tv/AMD Follow us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/AMD_on_Linkedin Follow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/AMD_on_Instagram ©2026 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD, the AMD Arrow Logo, and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. in the United States and other jurisdictions. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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