AI Influence on Entertainment Industries in 2023
A 2023 recap of how AI impacted Hollywood, the music industry, social media, and the surrounding legal challenges over intellectual property rights.
In 2023, the world of entertainment witnessed a significant shift as artificial intelligence (AI) began to reshape music, movies, and art, leading to a mix of excitement, concern, and legal challenges. Approaching the end of year, here are some major ways in which AI has influenced the broad cultural industries and practices.
One of the most striking developments occurred in Hollywood, where AI became a central issue in a major industry dispute. The emergence of AI writing tools like ChatGPT and AI image-generation tools like Midjourney sparked fears among Hollywood creatives about job security and ethics. This concern led to a historic double strike by writers and actors that lasted for months. Writers, in particular, were alarmed by the use of ChatGPT in generating new pilot ideas, prompting the Writers Guild of America to demand protections against the use of AI in scriptwriting. Although the use of AI was not banned, contracts ensured that writers would be adequately compensated and remain central to the creative process.
Actors also expressed concerns about being replaced by digital replicas created through AI technology. A consent-based model was eventually agreed upon, where actors must explicitly agree to be scanned and have a digital likeness created. Despite these agreements, there remains unease among some actors about the potential loopholes that might allow AI to further encroach on their roles.
The music industry witnessed AI's influence as well. Artists like Ghostwriter gained attention for AI-generated imitations of well-known musicians, while others like David Guetta and Grimes experimented with AI in their music. However, not all reactions were positive. Artists like Bad Bunny expressed strong objections to unauthorized AI versions of their songs, and music labels initiated takedown requests for such content. This raised complex questions about artists' rights and the implications of AI in music creation.
AI also made a big splash on TikTok, not yet ready for the big screen but becoming a sensation in various forms. Deepfake audios of U.S. presidents, fake podcasts, and AI-generated videos featuring celebrities like Mr. Beast and Tom Hanks became widespread. This trend extended to visual memes, with AI placing high-fashion outfits on historical and fictional characters, sometimes leading viewers to believe these images were real. In response to this surge of AI-generated content, TikTok introduced tools to label such content, aiming to bring clarity and transparency to the platform.
A lot of the aforementioned trends have raised questions on legal and ethical concerns, and thus the legal landscape around AI was equally tumultuous where artists fight for more strict protection of rights to IP. High-profile lawsuits were filed by artists like Sarah Silverman, George R.R. Martin, and a group of visual artists against companies like OpenAI and Meta, accusing them of copyright infringement by using their works to train AI models. However, these lawsuits faced challenges in court, with some being dismissed on various grounds. A notable ruling stated that AI-generated art cannot be copyrighted, resulting in the ongoing debate about the extent of human input required for copyright eligibility with AI integration.
AI's role in entertainment has opened new creative avenues while also bringing complex legal and ethical debates. The industries’ and policy makers’ response to these challenges will continue to shape the future of entertainment.