'007' Judi Dench, 'Shang-Chi' Awkwafina, etc.
Anxious for contracts to be finalized ahead of September's 'Connect'
Meta, the company behind services like Facebook and Instagram, has contacted famous Hollywood actors. Meta offered them millions of dollars for the rights to use their voices in artificial intelligence (AI) projects.
According to Bloomberg on the 3rd (local time), Meta is in discussions with representatives of Hollywood stars Judi Dench, Awkwafina, and Keegan-Michael Key.
Judi Dench, born in 1934, is a British actress well known for her role as 'M,' the head of MI6, in the James Bond film series. She also played Queen Elizabeth in "Shakespeare in Love." Recently, it was reported with sadness that she has nearly lost her eyesight due to macular degeneration.
Awkwafina is a famous American actress born to a Chinese father and a Korean mother. She has appeared in films such as "Shang-Chi," "The Farewell," and "The Quiz Lady."
Keegan-Michael Key gained fame as part of the comedy duo "Key & Peele" alongside Jordan Peele. He recently appeared as the police chief in the movie "Wonka." In 2015, he also appeared as President Barack Obama's "anger translator" at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
Meta is reportedly rushing to finalize contracts ahead of its annual event "Connect" in September. This is interpreted as Meta preparing to announce something related to AI voice assistants at the September event.
According to Bloomberg, negotiations with some celebrities were halted multiple times because they could not agree on usage terms. Meta sought broad usage rights, but the actors wanted specific uses to be designated.
It is not yet known where Meta will use the voices of these famous actors. Bloomberg speculated that they might be used in digital assistants similar to Apple's Siri or chatbots that act as friends.
Last year, at the Connect event, Meta introduced Meta AI and unveiled text-based persona chatbots inspired by celebrities like Dwyane Wade and Paris Hilton. However, these only used their images and did not use their actual voices, so they received little attention and were discontinued.
The use of celebrities' voices by companies faces strong social and legal resistance. OpenAI attempted to use Scarlett Johansson's voice in "ChatGPT-4o," released on June 13, but failed and subsequently created an AI voice with a similar tone, which sparked backlash.
Scarlett Johansson hinted at legal action, stating, "I was shocked and angry that a voice very similar to mine was used, indistinguishable even to my closest friends and the media," and added, "We are all at risk from deepfakes, so I hope appropriate legal measures will be established to protect individual rights."
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