AI Kills the Movie Star?
Will future fans not care who is or isn’t a draw?
We all know AI is here to stay but how long before movie stars don’t make the final cut? Artificial Intelligence is constantly improving and it is an inevitably that more and more users will create content using this technology. Fully AI-generated movies are basically already here and the tools to make cinematic sequences from entering a word prompt is growing in accessibility. The debates about morals and regulations are also not going anywhere, but the underlining question is this: if people could make their own film, TV series, book - their own entertainment - then how long before they simply stop caring what actual media studios produce?
As of today, celebrities are in no shortage nor are they anywhere close to becoming endangered. Sure, AI, for better or for worse, is commonplace, but let’s assume this alternate method of digitally conjuring up images and animations does indeed develop into an even larger presence in our world. I think of how electric vehicles have risen in prominence and have taken a few choice parking spots so that they are reserved as power charging stations for these so-called more environmentally friendly automobiles. How these electrically-powered whips get their batteries in the first place is a whole other issue. The fact remains, though, that despite these EV’s getting more normalized, regular ol’ gas-guzzlers still occupy the majority of the roads. AI-generated content and cars aren’t exactly the same thing, but it’s true that most legacy-anything’s don’t go down without a fight. Some old school mainstays do, however, go down for good.
Cassette and VHS tapes, DVDs, and Disco are either scarce, nonexistent, or a nostalgic novelty. Streaming is only here until some other form of content-consumption takes over, most likely in the form of more advanced augmented reality or improved virtual reality headsets. While we aren’t living in a Total Recall-type of society quite yet, AI is definitely going to be part of whatever the next big thing is. Editing photos, videos, and audio gets easier as time goes on, and more compact as well. Your smartphone has the capability of producing digital creations that have the potential to rival any professionally-made form of entertainment - whether or not anyone would consider it art, that’s another endless argument.
It may take another generation or two, but if the average person can dream up their specific vision of a story and use tools on their device to make it come to life, then waiting on major motion picture studios will only get that much more frustrating. Imagine not having to participate in the discussions over whether or not Current Guy is a good superhero that has been around for decades. Envision what it’d be like to not have to settle for The Woman of the Day getting miscast in the role of your favorite comic book character. Everyday people post their fan-casts of who they think would be the perfect Batman or who would be ideal to portray Spider-Man. Granted, this is part of the fun of being a fan, but if you have the option to actually see your unique choice of actor play the character you pick, then it’s hard to go back.
Fan films already exist, and opinions on them are subjective, but they still take sheer human effort to make into something real, if not technically tangible to the end user. Not acquiring proper licensing has never really stopped anyone before, and while the threat of violating copyrights is nothing to take lightly, if someone who used AI to generate their special version of a classic tale wants to share it, they can easily do so. Many original ideas would be much more convenient to realize, too. If AI could generate your specific idea and create an honest to goodness good video showcasing your imagination, then that would be too interesting of a prospect to pass up. Assuming the AI program is sophisticated enough by whatever point in time this would be in, one would not need to bother with selecting from a pool of famous thespians. If there aren’t really any actors around that truly look like they’d be a good Mister Fantastic, then you could make him yourself. Maybe no performer really jumps out at you to be one who’d act like the original character you’ve got living in your mind. With AI, you don’t need actors or actresses, which I’m not saying is necessarily a good thing. I will say, however, that it is something Hollywood should consider whenever they use their time-honored “blame the fans” anti-criticism campaign.
Truth be told, I’m not sure how I feel about the possibility of one day there simply being no such thing as a movie star. Heck, some folks would argue that we are currently living in a state of fading stars and the last of the silver screen darlings are dying out. Actors, who are still human after all, receive employment from projects and in turn so does the rest of the crew involved in making them. Also, familiar faces bring a level of, let’s say, comfort. Or rather, an easier way to measure performances, often times by comparisons to their other works. Whatever the case may be, generally speaking, people like celebrities. That being said, the wealthy big screen icons who preach to the underling audiences will only last for so long. It may be a fun indulgence to consider the elites getting their comeuppance, but when even the unsung heroes like voiceover artists and motion capture/mocap performers, along with a variety of other industry workers, get shafted, it gets… less comfortable.
Until there are awards for best motion picture programmer and prompt writers are signing autographs, we will most likely be okay. After all, legacy businesses find ways to monetize everything and fit new tech to their molds. It’s entirely possible that the major companies may not even care about the concept of a movie star as long as they can sell ad space and mine data.
One day we as a society may find ourselves watching purely computer generated entertainment that is identical to a real movie - films and streaming episodes that are indecipherable from live action people. In this world, content may not even be judge by the visual or sonic quality, but instead the actual story. As great as it sounds to base opinions on storytelling merit, would you miss the presence of well-known actors? Would IMDb no longer serve a purpose? And most importantly, if bots did all the work, what would article writers and bloggers do?
Celebrity coders may not be mainstream just yet, so in the meantime, fans will continue to post their dream castings. And corporations can still sell our data no matter who is drawing at the box office, so we can all rest easy.
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