The transformative power of AI in the entertainment industry

AI is revolutionising the entertainment industry, as discussed in The Economist prediction article. One significant development is the reunion of the actors, director, and writer from ‘Forrest Gump’ in the upcoming film ‘Here’, which offers an opportunity to reflect on how much has changed over the past 40 years. In this unrelated film, AI tools will be used to ‘de-age’ the stars, Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, enabling them to appear more youthful in some scenes. This showcases the potential of AI to transform the industry and create opportunities for unique storytelling experiences.

Generative AI has also made significant advancements, allowing the production of images, songs, and even books in seconds. Chat GPT, an AI system, has been attributed as the author or co-author of more than 3,000 books on Amazon, giving rise to the term “ghostwriter” taking on new meaning. This highlights the potential of AI to automate and expedite creative processes in various domains.

The article anticipates three key developments to watch in 2024:

Firstly, the use of AI to tell new types of stories as storytelling becomes more personalised and interactive. This can lead to significant changes in the film and gaming industries, allowing users to choose their adventures more easily. The amount of entertainment available is expected to increase dramatically.

Secondly, generative AI can automate and simplify complex tasks such as dubbing, film editing, special effects, and background design. For example, the film ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ used AI tools to edit out green-screen backgrounds and enhance the believability of scenes, reducing the time required for video editing tasks.

The third key development to anticipate is potential clashes between creators and AI platforms. There will be a deluge of lawsuits from authors, musicians, actors, and artists regarding the unauthorised use of their work to train AI systems without consent or payment. Licensing arrangements may need to be established, where AI companies pay copyright holders for the use of their content in training AI models. This is expected to lead to intense legal battles and debates.

The Economist article also raises thought-provoking questions about storytelling’s future and collective storytelling’s nature. There are concerns that AI will simply imitate previous hits, resulting in more derivative blockbuster films and copycat interpretations of pop songs lacking depth. As entertainment becomes more personalised, questions arise about whether there will still be stories that become part of humanity’s collective consciousness and move large numbers of people who can discuss them together.

As creators grapple with the rise of AI, their anxieties about technology will likely be reflected in their work. More artistic expressions depicting conflicts between man and machine, paralleling the themes seen in the ‘Terminator’ franchise, may emerge.

Source: The Economist