Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is reportedly offering celebrities millions of dollars in exchange for the right to capture their voices and use them for AI projects. According to reports from Bloomberg and The New York Times, stars like Judi Dench, Awkwafina, and Keegan-Michael Key have been approached to lend their voices for AI chatbots or other unspecified AI products.
The urgency for Meta to secure these celebrity voices stems from their upcoming September Connect 2024 event. Last year’s event featured AI chatbots with recognizable faces such as Kendall Jenner, Tom Brady, and Paris Hilton. While Meta paid these celebrities millions of dollars to use their likenesses, the project was halted last week after the AI chatbots failed to gain traction on social media since their debut.
One example cited is Snoop Dogg’s “Dungeon Master” Meta AI character, which only amassed 15,000 followers. In contrast, Kendall Jenner’s “Billie” AI older sister garnered 118,000 followers on Instagram. This lack of engagement may have prompted Meta to pivot its strategy towards securing celebrity voices for AI projects.
The concept of celebrity voice cloning has gained attention following a demonstration by Meta’s competitor, OpenAI, where their AI chatbot sounded eerily similar to Scarlett Johansson. Johansson, upon noticing the resemblance, took legal action, leading OpenAI to remove the voice from their platform.
Meta’s AI strategy appears to focus on creating a community of AI chatbots with tailored purposes, rather than a singular chatbot like ChatGPT. Their recent release of an AI studio allows users to create their own AI bots for various purposes, such as therapist coach Luna and Career Catalyst, a bot for career-related discussions.
Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, emphasized the importance of diversity in AI during the 2024 SIGGRAPH conference. He believes that a variety of AI applications will make the world more interesting and beneficial for users.
In conclusion, Meta’s offer to pay celebrities for their voices for AI projects reflects the company’s evolving strategy in the AI space. As they aim to create a diverse ecosystem of AI chatbots, the use of celebrity voices could add a unique and engaging element to their products. The success of this approach remains to be seen, but it highlights the growing intersection of technology and celebrity culture in the digital age.
