Computers have been destroying routine jobs for decades. Now artificial intelligence is coming for the most glamorous. Hollywood has been paralyzed for half a year until last November 8, when the studios agreed to offer the striking stars protection against their robotic rivals. Living musicians have just been ousted on the music charts by a dead Beatle, resurrected by artificial intelligence. Actors and actresses like Scarlett Johansson and writers like John Grisham are suing technology companies for unauthorized use of their image and words.
Stars may worry that artificial intelligence will steal their work and give less talented artists the chance to steal their audiences. In reality, the celebrities who complain the most about the new technology are the ones who will benefit the most. Far from diluting star power, artificial intelligence will make big celebrities bigger than ever, since it will allow them to be in all markets, in all formats and at all times. Let’s give a big round of applause (or put on headphones, if you prefer) to welcome the omnistar.
This is not the first time that technology has changed the rules of the fame game. People began to talk about stars in the 18th century, when the spread of reading made it possible for someone to be truly famous while alive. Cinema and radio initially seemed a threat to the stars, who feared a devaluation of their live performances. In fact, these technologies gave rise to the age of the superstar, a term that became fashionable in the 1920s. A similar panic was sparked by the invention of television (and led to the last major Hollywood strike, in 1960). . Although, this is also the time, new technology made famous people even more so, since it introduced them into every home. In the 1960s, there was talk of megastars.
Now that content generated with artificial intelligence begins to flood the entertainment world, the hard-working Malibu workers once again fear that their fame will be diluted; although, again, the result is likely to be the opposite. One of the paradoxes of the Internet age is that while uploads to YouTube, TikTok, and other similar platforms have created a huge “long tail” of user-created content, the biggest hits from the biggest artists have gotten even bigger. . The number of musicians earning more than $1,000 a year in royalties on Spotify has more than doubled in the last six years; Now, the number of those earning more than $10 million a year has quintupled. At the same time that specialized content is growing (sailor songs, whistles and all kinds of eccentricities), Taylor Swift is starring in the most lucrative concert tour in history. Those who have suffered are the mid-range artists.
The number of annual feature film releases has doubled in the last two decades, but the highest-grossing films have doubled their share of the total box office in that time. The wave of self-published books has not eroded the sales of star writers. In an ocean of options, the public trusts more in recommendations, both algorithmic and human, that direct them towards the most requested content. And artificial intelligence promises even more options; and, therefore, even higher search costs for the public, who will continue to go to the handful of stars who lead the preferences.
Artificial intelligence will provide these megastars with the ability to be truly omnipresent to their fans. Dubbing based on artificial intelligence already allows actors and podcasters to speak to foreign audiences instantly and with their own voice. It will soon also be common practice for videos to be edited to make the lips fit the new language. The most sought-after actors will be able to get more work because artificial intelligence eliminates Hollywood’s eternal problem of packed schedules, and this will allow stars who will never be together to act together. Digital botox will increase the lifespan of actors and make them able to even act posthumously. Disney has acquired the rights to the voice of 92-year-old James Earl Jones so Darth Vader can scare children for generations.
The stars will also be able to perform for their followers in formats that are just incipient now. The ABBA avatars, which sell out a London venue seven times a week, and the chatbots with celebrity voices recently launched by Meta are just a small sample of the ways in which the big stars will be able to satisfy (and monetize) their fans.
Those opportunities come with conditions. Artists are right to care about copyright, which must be protected so that artificial intelligence does not become a legalized form of piracy. It was no different with the technologies of the past: the printing press gave rise to the first copyright laws in the 18th century; royalty payments were readjusted in the 1960s to compensate big-screen actors whose work was broadcast on television; The pitched battle unleashed in the field of music by companies like Napster at the beginning of the century led to agreements between streamers and record companies. Content creators have legitimate questions to raise about permissions and payments (and here too The Economist declares an interest in the matter). Until they are answered, artificial intelligence will be a legal wild west.
The most important question is how the omnistar era will adjust to the public. The risk is boredom. Artificial intelligence is great at remixing and regurgitating an old product, but it is less good at generating the exciting, fast-paced material that is, for now, a human specialty. Still, productions made with this technology can be attractive to movie studios, record labels and other creative intermediaries who prefer to minimize risk without deviating from proven ideas. Hollywood already prefers franchises to new works: just look at the avalanche of sequels and remakes at the box office. Artificial intelligence will allow studios to apply the same principle to actors. A “de-aged” Luke Skywalker stars in Disney’s latest Star Wars spin-off. For now, audiences love those tricks. They may get tired of it long before Fast and Furious 94.
However, the entertainment market knows how to correct itself very well. The public has the ability to turn a very valuable property into a former glory in an instant, as the stars know well. And as AI-powered entertainment grows, consumers seem to continue enjoying human drama. The sport, which is perhaps the most flesh-and-blood and artificial intelligence-proof spectacle, has seen its value for the media skyrocket in recent years (on the other hand, no one watches chess based on machines, although the best computers They can beat any human. In addition, artificial intelligence will make the long tail of entertainment even longer, with deeper niches and more personalized content. In the age of artificial intelligence, audiences will face intense bombardment from a handful of omni-stars, from Taylor Swift to Darth Vader. Now, it will be easier than ever for you to change the channel.
© 2023 The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved
Translation: Juan Gabriel López Guix
