Meta Platforms Inc. is offering Hollywood stars tens of millions of dollars for the proper to record and use their voices for artificial intelligence projects, several people aware of the negotiations say.
The company speaks with Judi Dench, Awkwafina And Keegan-Michael Keysaid the people, who asked to not be identified since the project is confidential. Representatives from Meta declined to comment.
Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, is difficult at work finalizing deals so it has time to develop a set of AI tools that it will probably unveil at its Connect 2024 event in September. While it isn’t yet entirely clear how Meta will use the voices, the corporate has discussed a chatbot that would function a digital assistant, a la Apple’s Siri, or as a friend, the people said. Users could, for instance, discuss with a chatbot that has the voice of Awkwafina.
Negotiations between Meta and a few of the talent representatives have been interrupted and restarted several times since the parties couldn’t agree on the terms for using the actors’ voices. Meta desires to secure the rights to the voices for a lot of uses over a set time period for a single project. Actors’ representatives are demanding stricter restrictions.
The use of artificial intelligence has frightened many in Hollywood’s creative community, who fear the technology will put them out of labor. Screenwriters and actors fought for cover from the usage of artificial intelligence during work stoppages last yr. But SAG-AFTRA, the fundamental actors’ union, has reportedly reached an agreement with Meta on the terms.
Meta has experimented with creating text-based chatbots inspired by celebrities like Dwyane Wade and Paris Hilton. The company has already ended this program. It also introduced an AI studio that enables content creators to create chatbots of themselves.
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