All About AI And What It Means For The Entertainment Industry

AI is the latest technology genius that has taken the world by storm. Thanks to science, we’ve seen the potential of self-driving cars, automated drive-thrus, and even robots. This year, AI has touched each industry with plans for expansion and usage, especially in entertainment. The TV, film and music industries have become engrossed in the latest technology. There have already been efforts made by executives on board for the technology, but what does this mean for the future of entertainment and creatives?

Timbaland took to his Instagram to share a song he’s created featuring Notorious B.I.G. “It’s a lot of talk about AI, and we know the feeling of violating certain things. But let me tell you something I got a solution.” After eagerly previewing the song, he expressed that he has always wanted to work with the late rapper, and the today’s technology gave him that moment.

While acknowledging the controversy about AI in music, he insists that the genius of AI creates the possibility to produce songs of legends that we haven’t gotten to experience. With his skillset and expertise, Timbaland insists AI is going to be beneficial to everybody.

With the easy accessibility, social media users have also joined in on the fun and have been producing their dream song collaborations using AI.Just check out the AI version of “America Has a Problem” by Beyonce and featuring Nicki Minaj and Rihanna (known as “The Holy Trinity”) and Drake singing Bryson Tiller’s smash hit, “Don’t.”

Film and television plans for implementing the technology are on a severe note. Forbesreported that cinema and television have been struggling to generate AI content that will encourage viewership and will be a success. According to the business site, machine learning is set to change the guessing game that the media and entertainment industry has grown scarily accustomed to with – a lot of the time – hundreds of millions of dollars on the line.

The site also reported that executives have held in-depth panel-like discussions to discuss AI. And from the look of it, many are impressed with the technology and want to implement it. Kevin Mayer, the co-CEO of Candle Media told Forbes, “I think one of the things that are going to determine the future of entertainment is AI in a big way. A technology that can be used to determine what to make. … We already see streaming platforms using data, not for the creative per se, but to say ah this audience loves this kind of programming with these stars, you know, delivered at this time and this format. So AI, and machine learning help you there.”

In the wake of the writer’s strike, professionals have expressed that media executives are considering replacing them with AI to write scripts and produce content. At a time when creatives have taken a stand to demand more for themselves and a fair wage, advocates say media executives have shown their inability to meet in the middle and hear the concerns of their writers. As strikes continue, executives have rejected some past proposals but reached what reports are saying are “tentative deals” to meet in the middle with creatives for a resolution.

According to Fortune,Tom Ryan, who runs Paramount’s streaming businesses, said the technology is an accelerant. “It’s going to be helpful, not just in the creative process, but to other departments, like engineering and technology.”

It’s no surprise the versatility that AI presents. Platforms like Buzzfeed are launching business proposals on utilizing the technology to generate content and headlines and develop Black, Asian, Latino, and identity-based content to help corporate brands tap an “authentic voice” to sell products.

Despite AI’s potential to solve corporate-level issues within industries, too much support of the genius is raising concerns of harm to the authenticity of entertainment — the creativity, passion, and people who are the backbone of the content we consume.

Artificial intelligence researchers weighed in on the risks of what they believe can be potential risks of AI. According to TechCrunch, mismanagement from humans and negligence of limitations and restrictions are some of what researchers have found are disadvantages of AI. The site also reported that researchers state that artificial intelligence can expose society to a range of risks from bigger gaps in wealth distribution to negative environmental effects. “With great responsibility comes great power, and how we monitor this power is of major concern.”

Expressing similar sentiments on neglecting the limitations, Dr. Peter Voss, founder of SmartAction states that he fears “ignorant humans subverting the power and intelligence of AI”. If bias is involved in the management of AI, then we are in for a rude awakening regarding how machine learning will operate, weakening ethics and moral standards with machine learning.

The rapid progress of the machine raises concerns that it can grow uncontrollably and wipe out humanity. Geoffrey Hinton, coined ‘The Godfather of AI’ confirms this when he said in an interview with NPR, “These things can get more intelligent than us and could decide to take over, and we need to worry now about how we prevent that happening.”

Despite its groundbreaking discovery, AI usage has caused a polarizing debate throughout several industries and for everyone in society. With the talks of the technology being implemented, and the genius advancing and growing each day, it’s without a doubt that AI will ultimately change how we operate as a society and consume our content, for the better or worse.