Meta Woos Hollywood Stars with Multi-Million Dollar AI Voice Deals

It is reported that Meta Platforms Inc., the company owning Facebook and Instagram among others, is paying Hollywood personalities millions of dollars to record voices for various AI projects. From inside sources privy to the talks, Meta has been negotiating with some of the biggest stars including CBE Judi Dench, Awkwafina, and Keegan-Michael Key. The contents of these discussions are very private and Meta employees have not given an interview of any sort.

Meta is ready to tie the knot on these deals in order to shape up a catalog of AI tools ready for use at the Connect 2024 event in September. Though its utilisation in ‘Captcha’ hasn’t been mentioned clearly, there are predictions that it may be used to organize fabrics of a ‘Crapchat,’ which is a rough imitation of a pal like Apple’s Siri or as a buddy. For instance, users could engage with a chatbot with the voice personality of Awkwafina.

Compromises have been made with several obstacles; one major tension revolves around the utilization of the actors’ voices for the characters. Meta aims at reaching for further use for a definitive period in a single venture, while the performers’ side is struggling for limited rights. AI in this regard has created a lot of controversy in the Hollywood creative community regarding its potential use. Some even dare to predict the decline of vacancies and job offerings due to the appearance of AI. Such concerns were evident during the labor strikes in the year 2020 when screenwriters as well as the actors went on strike in a bid to be shielded from AI. Still, SAG-AFTRA, which is the main union for actors, was said to have negotiated with Meta regarding the conditions of those AI projects.

Before, Meta tested the use of developing textualized chatbots with celebrity images including Dwayne Wade and Paris Hilton, but the project was halted. The company has also brought in an AI studio where personalities can create chatbots about themselves into the content. While Meta deploys such aggressive AI plans, the entertainment industry observes the advancement cautiously, striving to cut the usual line between technological innovation and artists’ rights.

Source: Bloomberg