Big AI Disruption in Media
One of my most adult-like habits that I praise myself about, quite proudly, is that I diligently read every morning “The World in Brief” from The Economist. This daily email gives you the 5–10 main things happening in the world, from a war in Rwanda to healthcare developments in Singapore. Today, I woke up to the news that Warner Music Group will use AI software to recreate the voice of Edith Piaf. It is important to note that Edit Piaf passed away in 1963; she clearly did not consent! I am assuming (basic common sense) that the technology used when she did movies is archaic compared to what we use today, so how well are her voice’s notes recorded? In recent months, we have seen all over the media and internet many fake images of world leaders that were produced with AI. Politicians all across regions are talking (while trying to understand, hopefully…) about how they will attempt to regulate social media or any other form of communication to reduce the risk of misinforming the population with AI-produced fake news.
But what is unbelievable, in the whole meaning of the word, is that AI will be able to somehow bring people back to life! A few weeks ago, I and a group of fellow Columbia Business School students attended the Microsoft Innovation Center in Bangalore. During the visit, the CTO of Microsoft India explained to us many developments and research that the company was doing on the infinite use cases that generative AI will present to the world. I remember asking him, would AI be able to reproduce a story with the same flavor and complexity as any of the Garcia Marques novels?, he said yes.
To put things into contrast, in September, the Independent Diary published an article about how Stephen Fry got quite upset because the comedian found out that his voice had been used to create an AI record. This brings up an important point: in addition to the risk and danger of developing a misinformed society, in the media and entertainment industry, there is the question of copyrights. How are we going to handle this for artists or other characters who are no longer present?
According to this same article, “Over the last decade, AI has found several uses in the movie and television industry, from de-ageing actors, analysing patterns and behaviours of viewers on streaming platforms, bringing back the voices of late actors and even helping stitch together entire movie trailers.” Harrison Ford, the man is 81 years old, appeared as young as 35-years old in the film Dial of Destiny released this past summer, no make-up or witchcraft needed. And the list of examples where AI is been used in the entertainment sector will just get longer and longer. Indeed, the use cases are vast, AI will represent a disruption in the consumer experience, everything will get more tailored and personalized for the viewer, and the sensations and interactions with characters will become more real. But it is still for society to deliberate how we will make sure that the changes are all for the positive and how we will still take care and procure people’s identity and integrity.
Another technology that is also quickly been discussed and analyzed in the media industry is cognitive computing. According to IBM, among industry executives familiar with cognitive computing, 86 percent indicate it will play a disruptive role in the industry, 92 percent believe it will be important for the future of their business and 82 percent intend to invest in cognitive capabilities. Key areas in which they see potential include audience measurement and customer insight, content management and audience engagement. This same source provides the following description: Cognitive computing can help organizations leverage building blocks such as tone analysis, visual recognition, dialog capabilities, personality insights, and sentiment analysis to help drive competitive advantage. Now, according to my research and put in simple words, cognitive computing will be somehow a more human development of artificial intelligence. This new technology will be able to have more “natural” conversation and, better than humans, reduced biases, among many other features and characteristics. It is expected that cognitive computing will be better suited to make decisions and provide human like recommendations.
As most industries, the Media sector is already undergoing massive changes due to the new development in the above-mentioned technologies. I want to believe that these changes will be for the good and positive outcomes in society. Adaptability is a key ability these days and we must praise change. Nevertheless, it is important to preserve our history and keep learning from it. We, humans, have become better over time to keep record and be more accurate with our history through journals, films, books, paintings, etc, it frightens me the fact that this progress can be disrupted and the narrative misguided.
