The Film Industry Is a Big Fish for AI but Needs an Olive Branch
- By Tim Levy, Twyn
- May 05, 2024
The entertainment and media industry (E&M) has always been a safe bet—but it’s currently in a transitional period. COVID-19 tailwinds, sluggish consumer spending, and bouts of layoffs and industrial action contribute to a sense of malaise.
But nothing has caused as much worry as the emergence of generative AI. Since ChatGPT entered the world in 2022, commentators have been reading the runes and foreseeing everything from the end of human actors to reducing filmmaking costs by 90%.
Of course, much of this is just snake oil salespeople peddling hyperbole and hoping for a quick headline. But what’s not a myth is that the E&M industry faces significant headwinds. Total global revenue growth has decelerated over the last two years, which is predicted to continue.
This slowdown has coincided with the emergence of generative AI. For many, this has been read as a bad omen—and the potential final nail in the coffin for a vulnerable entertainment industry.
But this doesn’t have to be the case—there's an opportunity here for both sides to work together and build a progressive, productive, and creative E&M industry.
To build this bridge, AI companies must throw E&M a bone. The creative sectors, understandably, have been concerned about AI stomping onto their turf. There are legitimate issues over IP, jobs, and pay to be assuaged.
Equally, if these pressure points are relieved, then there’s a massive opportunity for AI companies to carve out space in the enormous E&M market—by supplying the tools in the hands of creatives that define the next generation of movies, TV shows and video games.
To get there, though, there needs to be a peace offering. The recent SAG-AFTRA union deal with major record labels offers a blueprint as to what this could be. Songs that use a digital replica of an artist’s voice will require explicit consent from the artist, as well as compensation. AI companies could agree to something similar with the film industry, placating screenwriters, actors and producers who are currently feeling cornered.
Once trust is built and the E&M sector no longer sees AI as an existential threat, AI companies can enter into strategic partnerships with these creatives—and make a pretty profit. This will benefit the entertainment industry in two ways.
Firstly, if guardrails are in place, generative AI can be a tool for creatives to produce new forms of human-authored content. Digital effects like lighting adjustments and color grading can be transferred to AI, freeing these professionals to focus on the more creative decision-making and story-telling side of their role. AI can increase content production's capability, speed, and scope by automating these mundane, labor-intensive tasks.
Also, these buzzy AI startups are often pumped up to the gills with external and private capital, and they’ll bring this with them to the entertainment industry. At a time when growth in the sector is stalling, the rollout of AI could serve as a magnet for investment and capital, revitalizing the industry.
Investment in AI is forecasted to approach USD200 billion globally by 2025, as pension funds, venture capital firms, and private equity houses all jostle for position and try to get a slice of the pie. If some of this free-flowing cash washes onto the film industry’s shore, then it can only be a good thing for growth, production, and creativity—all things that the sector currently needs an injection of.
Relations between AI companies and the entertainment industry are currently in a state of permafrost—they need to thaw so that both sides can see the potential of a mutually beneficial relationship.
The film industry must accept that AI is coming and constructively engage with it rather than fight. However, AI companies can help them reach this conclusion with an olive branch.
Concessions, as we’ve recently seen in the music industry, will help to calm fears—if AI firms can prove that their technologies will be a tool for creatives rather than their replacements, then the E&M sector will start to see AI as an integral part of its future. This opens up the exciting possibility of an AI-powered creative sector where human-authored content is supercharged into a new era by writers, designers, and producers working with AI at their fingertips.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CDOTrends. Image credit: iStockphoto/beast01
Tim Levy, Twyn
Tim Levy is the founder and chief executive officer of Twyn, an AI entertainment platform.