A Movie Made in Just 5 Days Without Actors... Real Celebrities Are Disappearing [AI Overwhelming Popular Culture]①

How Far Has AI Come... The Rebirth of the 'AI Celebrity' Era

Editor's NoteThe popular culture industry is actively utilizing AI (artificial intelligence) technology. The advantages include cost reduction and enriched video production. It also helps overcome difficulties in filming child actors or animals. On the other hand, the more the popular culture industry uses AI technology, the more celebrities are exposed to illegal advertisements using deepfakes or voice phishing. How far has AI technology permeated the popular culture industry today? We take a look at the current status of AI technology utilization, its development potential, and institutional improvements.

Adam, a cyber singer created in 1998 by synthesizing the attractive appearances of a man and a woman, is considered the origin of the 'AI celebrity.' At that time, 3D technology was not advanced, so it looked obviously fake. AI technology in 2024, evolving through learning, is different. AI creations are natural and lifelike. As hundreds of billions of won in film, drama, and performance production costs have been wasted due to famous celebrities' drug use and drunk driving, there is even a joke in the popular culture industry that 'AI celebrities would be better.' The era of 'AI celebrities' is actually not far away.

'No Need for Doubles' Restoring Youth with AI

Recently, AI technology is actively used in various contents such as films and dramas to imitate people or synthesize voices to deliver lines. AI technology used in the popular culture industry is divided into two types depending on whether there is a 'physical form.' When there is a 'physical form,' deepfake (video/image synthesis manipulation created by AI) and de-aging (computer graphics that make a person look younger than their current age) can be used to create images and voices for content.

The OTT (over-the-top) video service Netflix series "The Killer's Shopping List" revealed an AI-generated young version of actor Son Seok-gu in February. They collected his childhood photos and converted 2D images into 3D, then synthesized them onto the face of child actor Kang Ji-seok. The young version of Park Eun-bin appearing in a recent Seoul Milk commercial was created by AI learning from actual childhood photos of Park Eun-bin.

Actor Choi Min-sik (left), who appeared as Cha Mu-sik in 'Casino,' and a recollection scene of his younger days (right) recreated with Supertone's 'AI Voice De-Aging' technology
[Photo by Disney]

The OTT Disney+ series "Casino" portrayed the 30s version of Cha Mu-sik, played by 60-year-old Choi Min-sik, using AI and de-aging technology. AI created the actor's face and expressions in a deepfake manner to look younger, then made fine adjustments to complete it. Youn Yuh-jung appeared in her 20s in a KB Life Insurance commercial. Based on her younger works, AI deep learning analyzed the facial data features used for learning and calculated similarities, then applied de-aging technology to adjust images and videos to look like she was in her 20s.

The film "Wonderland" created the young version of the late actor Lee Eol using 'generative AI' technology after filming was completed. The film wrapped up shooting in 2021, and Lee Eol passed away in 2022 after battling esophageal cancer. During post-production, the production team implemented Lee Eol's young appearance using AI technology without separate filming or doubles. The tvN drama "Queen of Tears" created a hallucination scene in episode 2 where the protagonist walks through a snow-covered birch forest using generative AI. This saved the effort and cost of filming overseas landscapes.

Idols and News Anchors Also Become 'AI Humans'

Virtual humans, which create appearances and voices using generative AI without a 'physical form,' are becoming increasingly diverse. Superkind is a seven-member boy group consisting of two AI members and five human members. There is also a four-member girl group, MAVE, composed only of AI members. SM Entertainment is preparing the debut of the AI group 'Navis,' which appears in the universe of the group aespa.

Professors and students from the AI Design Department at Kookmin University produced the music video for the three-member AI girl group 'Kiji's' song "One Step." AI programs were used throughout the production process, from planning, music production, character creation, design, to video editing, and the members' names and settings were created using the AI chatbot 'ChatGPT.'

Group Superkind [Photo by Deep Studio]

AI anchor during G1 broadcast news [Photo by G1]

KBS introduced the AI-hosted radio music program "Someone Somewhere," and MBC aired the variety show "The PD Disappeared," directed by an AI PD. Since 2020, MBN has been delivering 'AI anchor news' by recreating anchor Kim Ju-ha's appearance with AI. Recently, regional private broadcasters have been adopting AI anchors one after another. CJB Cheongju Broadcasting, JIBS Jeju Broadcasting, and G1 Broadcasting (Gangwon) introduced AI anchors for weekend news. KNN (Gyeongnam) is preparing for a pilot introduction in July. This technology incorporates AI analyzing real reporters' facial expressions, lip movements, and voice data.

In the entertainment industry, there are also predictions that 'celebrity robots' equipped with AI functions will be introduced. Lee Soo-man, former chief producer of SM Entertainment, said in a speech at the CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers) General Assembly held last month, "AI chatbots, avatars, and robots will secure human fans with appearances identical to or more attractive than humans and beautiful voices." In line with this, KAIST invited G-Dragon as a special professor to apply the latest science and technology to K-content.

AI Also Produces Films... Film Festivals Respond Quickly

AI also makes films. The AI film "One More Pumpkin," directed by 1993-born director Kwon Han-seul, CEO of startup studio Freewillusion, recently won the grand prize at the 1st Artificial Intelligence Film Festival (AIFF) held in Dubai, UAE. The event was highly competitive, with about 500 entries from various countries. Production took five days, and all scenes and voices were created by generative AI without live-action filming or CG correction. Director Kwon said, "It is meaningful to win an award at a time when the paradigm of video production is changing through AI, such as the release of OpenAI's 'Sora'." Senior researcher Seol Han-ul, who worked together, said, "We will continue R&D on AI technology and attempt various AI content."

AI movie 'One More Pumpkin' scene

Domestic film festivals are also moving quickly. Gyeongbuk Province held an AI and metaverse film festival on the 15th and 16th, and the Bucheon Fantastic Film Festival, opening on the 4th of next month, has newly established an AI film competition category and invited global AI video experts for workshops and conferences. The AI film production workshop attracted about 600 applicants for 30 participant spots. The Busan Cinema Center is also preparing an AI film festival scheduled for November.