At the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in Annecy, France, during a record heatwave with temperatures close to 40 degrees inside a tent, animators and executives gathered to discuss artificial intelligence. A panel titled "Animation: More Human than Ever," moderated by Mark Flanagan, featured Henry Daubrez, Jade Hautin, Benjamin Michel, and Leo Neumann. Daubrez argued AI could put a camera in creators' hands in countries without studios, but warned lazy use pulls toward "the average or the mean," advocating for "hybrid production" where AI handles rendering while humans control movement and design. Michel envisioned a future of small, $5 million studios replacing $50 million productions, stating "what's left is you"—your taste and eye. Hautin noted ambivalence: "Part of you wants it to work, and part of you doesn't." Neumann said for a small team, they would have been faster without AI. The panel agreed no one could say where AI would be in three years. Off stage, the conversation went quiet.