Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the entertainment industry. It allows content owners and distributors to automate localization, enhance quality, gain market insights, improve regulatory compliance, and boost efficiency and innovation. The future looks bright, and the possibilities are endless.
That's the consensus of a group of industry experts contacted by the International Business Times.
"While Machine Learning (ML) using scripted language models has made significant progress over recent years, Generative AI (GenAI) technologies like automated transcription, increasingly accurate translations, synthetic voices, and even animated lipsync are becoming mainstream," said Ateliere founder & CEO Dan Goman.
Kraig Kleeman, Rock The C-Suite, Showrunner, and Executive Producer, is more emphatic about the changes AI brings to the popular industry. "AI's not just changing the game; it's rewriting the rulebook," he stated. "Think personalized recommendations tailored just for you or immersive experiences that blow your mind. The possibilities are endless."
Kate Taurina, Head of the Casting Directors Department at allcasting, digs deeper into the transformative impact of AI on the movie industry. "AI and specifically generative AI opens immense possibilities for small, independent movie makers who have great ideas but lack the means to finance them," she said. "We will soon start seeing experimental, completely AI-generated films popping up – even from people with absolutely no background in filmmaking, who couldn't have done it even just a few years ago."
Goman believes AI holds immense promise for another segment: video streaming platforms. "By embracing innovative technologies, platforms can overcome localization and compliance challenges, expand their global footprint, and deliver exceptional content experiences to viewers worldwide," he added.
He sees AI applications in both consumer-facing and non-consumer-facing areas. He elaborated, "On the back end, we are seeing a lot of services available in areas like localization and metadata. On the consumer end, we are seeing more advanced personalized content recommendations adopted by forward-thinking companies."
Kleeman is optimistic about the promise AI holds for the future of the industry. "AI is already knocking on the entertainment industry's door, and it's not taking no for an answer," he said. "Sure, there's still some fine-tuning, but the future looks bright."
Jimmie Lee, the developer of Aeona, envisions AI boosting growth in personalized recommendations, content moderation, and targeted advertising. In addition, he expects the widespread use of AI in content creation, including script analysis, and in enhancing user experiences through AR and VR.
Taurina describes the rate of AI advancement as unprecedented, touching every part of the entertainment industry. "One simply needs to look at AI-generated videos from just 12 or 18 months ago and compare those to Sora today," she explained. "So nothing is off limits. Given another year or so, one can only imagine the leap in quality we'll experience."
Kleeman points out that some companies are already ahead of the curve, like Netflix, which uses AI to develop content tailor-made to viewer tastes, and Spotify, where AI is serving up playlists.
Lee adds Warner's AI-driven project management system Cinelytic to the list, which helps the company decide which movies to develop; tools like AIVA (Artificial Intelligence Virtual Artist), which uses AI to compose music for films, games, and other forms of entertainment; and Tencent, which utilizes AI in game development to create more realistic and intelligent NPC behavior and dynamically adjust gameplay based on the player's skill level.
AI adoption could accelerate as AI continues to evolve and mature. "The timeline for these transformations is already in motion and will be within the next few years," Goman explained. "We will likely see significant shifts in content creation, management, distribution, and consumption driven by the capabilities and efficiencies that AI technologies offer."
While these changes transform the entertainment industry, they help boost the top and bottom lines of entertainment companies. For instance, Taurina sees Generative AI cutting the need for expensive studios, castings, equipment, and the most expensive resource—people.
"Very soon, they'll truly enable real-time, scalable, and personalized videos, creating an AI' actor' and then having them 'star' in a whole series of content with perfect make-up and lighting," she explained. "There will be no continuity errors, no green screen artifacts, and it will take just a matter of minutes instead of weeks on an actual set—a cost-effective dream for studios."
These are all roles currently occupied by real people with real jobs. "So a sooner-than-later renegotiation of the industry standards and protections—not only for actors or writers—is bound to happen," she continued.
"In a nutshell, AI is not just the future of entertainment—it's the here and now," Kleeman concluded. "So, buckle up because things are about to get even more exciting!"
