hijacking , unauthorised broadcasts of licensed content , and suspicious network traffic . Gen AI can also embed invisible watermarks that can survive pirating techniques such as cropping , resizing , and re-encoding . When watermarked content shows up in a pirated stream , it can be identified in real time and taken down .
Using Gen AI to monitor data streams across terrestrial networks and satellite feeds is an immense workload . Even if the security system uses random sampling to reduce overhead , it still needs to scale up and out on highly secure infrastructure . NVIDIA AI Computing by HPE delivers that scale on demand , so that Gen AI-powered security measures can keep up with media streams .
Virtual sets will make production more sustainable Virtual sets are nothing new . Georges Méliès used theatrical flats to film A Trip to the Moon in 1902 ! Rear projection could place actors in a studio virtually anywhere in the 1930s . Fast forward to today . Backdrops and rear projection have been replaced with digital screens , but the concept and the workload are largely the same .
Someone has to film a physical environment or use Computer Generated Imagery ( CGI ) to create the background imagery . Advances in CGI have eliminated days of tedious manual labour from the process , but it still takes animators , modelers , 3D motion designers , and many more artists to create a lifelike virtual set .
With text-to-video Gen AI such as OpenAI ’ s Sora AI model , directors can describe what they want — including extras — and see it onscreen instantaneously . In theory , location shooting will become a thing of the past . In its place will be Gen AI services running on secure , private clouds that provide the computing power it takes to conjure entire worlds in seconds .
Fast , low-cost virtual sets are a clear win for sustainability . Building sets takes time and materials — materials that often end up in a landfill . Moving equipment , crew , and talent to a location is a major undertaking , usually fuelled by diesel trucks and generators . By keeping production in a single virtual studio , Gen AI promises to reduce costs , slash CO2 emissions , and speed production .
What will Gen AI do to talent , artists , and writers ? What ’ s good for efficiency isn ’ t always good for workers , and Hollywood workers are no exception . Three of Hollywood ’ s most important unions — the Writer ’ s Guild of America ( WGA ), Screen Actors Guild- American Federation of Television and Radio Artists ( SAG-AFTRA ) and International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees
( IATSE )— have negotiated new contracts , all of which address AI head-on with agreements that protect writers ’ intellectual property , actors ’ likenesses , and artisans ’ jobs .
It ’ s not just labour . Everyone is bracing for AI ’ s impact . Studio heads are changing their business models , sometimes drastically . In February 2024 , Tyler Perry cancelled an expansion that would have added 12 new sound stages to his Atlanta studio . Why ? He saw a demo of Sora .
“ I was in the middle of an $ 800 million expansion at the studio … All of that is currently and indefinitely on hold because of Sora and what I ’ m seeing ,” Perry told The Hollywood Reporter . 1 “ It ’ s shocking to me . If I wanted to be in the snow in Colorado , its text . If I wanted to write a scene on the moon , it ’ s text , and this AI can generate it like nothing .”
Is history repeating , rhyming , or breaking from the past ?
$ 800 million is a lot of money . An investment of that scale would have created thousands of jobs and multiplied throughout Atlanta ’ s economy . It would be pollyannish to pretend that a decision like that , triggered by AI , doesn ’ t hurt , especially in the short term . If Mr . Perry ’ s bet is correct , more studios will surely follow his lead .
But what will happen in the long term ? If the past is prologue , today ’ s pain is the first chapter in a new renaissance for media and entertainment . Television put movie palaces and drive-ins out of business in the 1960 ’ s and 70 ’ s . By the 1990 ’ s megaplex cinemas were everywhere . Cable eroded over-the-air networks , then turned studio back-catalogues into gold . DVDs killed VHS and created a massive , unexpected windfall . Historically , each loss created new wins .
That ’ s why , when I look at the current state of media and entertainment , I ’ m cautiously optimistic about Gen AI .
AI can generate , but it can ’ t create If we believe the hype , Gen AI will review viewing patterns , pinpoint the most effective programming , and predict hits in advance . Writing the script , building the sets , and shooting the movie will be as simple as typing a few prompts .
I don ’ t think it will happen , for one very simple reason . AI can generate , but it can ’ t create anything unique .
At its core , Gen AI is a pattern recognition system that can replicate what it learned during training . Yes , AI can generate a South Park script 2 , but it will be a boring repeat of what the show has already done . Yes , AI can generate a set that mimics the American west or a moon of Jupiter , but it will be a stock photo version that uses all the tropes we ’ ve seen before .
Stock situations and images have their place , and AI may shine in those applications , but novelty , creativity , and vision remain humanity ’ s exclusive domain . AI will change the tools artists use — days of research will shrink to hours , months of mouse-clicking will become a conversation — but the artists and their artistry will remain essential to the industry .
I hope AI will be a superpower that helps writers and designers , directors and editors express their true vision with less pain and drudgery . I believe makeup artists , costume designers , and set dressers will still be hard at work , but they ’ ll have new AI tools at their command .
If history is repeating , and I think it probably is , AI will help make everything about media , entertainment , and broadcasting easier and open the door to talent from every corner of the globe .
1
Katie Kilkenny , “ Tyler Perry Puts $ 800M Studio Expansion on Hold After Seeing OpenAI ’ s Sora : “ Jobs Are Going to Be Lost ,” The Hollywood Reporter , February 22 , 2024 , accessed July , 2024 .
2
South Park , “ Deep Learning ,” Season 26 , Episode 4 , air date March 8 , 2023 .
EUROMEDIA 19