Runway Turned Unfixable AI Bug Into Feature

Runway ML spent weeks trying to fix a bug where AI-generated avatars drifted off-center during real-time video generation. Unable to solve it on the back end, the team reframed it as a front-end feature instead. Ryan Phillips, head of enterprise product at Runway ML, shared the lesson at VB Transform 2026, arguing that Runway's model-building approach offers broadly applicable insights. The example came from Runway Characters, a real-time video model enabling zero-latency interactions with AI-generated avatars.