Creative Artists Agency (CAA), one of the top entertainment and sports talent agencies, is hoping to be at the forefront of AI protection services for celebrities in Hollywood.
Due to many stars having their digital likenesses used without permission, CAA has created a virtual media storage system for A-list talent – actors, athletes, comedians, directors, musicians and more – to store their digital assets, Like their names, pictures can be stored. , digital scan, voice recording, etc. The new development is a part of the company’s studio “The CAAVault” where actors record their bodies, faces, movements and voices using scanning technology to create AI clones.
CAA has teamed up with AI tech company Veritone to provide its digital asset management solution announced earlier this week.
announcement comes in the middle A wave of AI deepfakes of celebrities, which are often made without their consent. Tom Hanks, a famous actor and client of CAA’s roster, Became a victim of AI scam Seven months ago, he claimed a company used his AI-generated video to promote a dental plan without his permission.
“Over the past few years, our customers’ names, images, likenesses, and voices have been misused extensively without consent, without credit, without fair compensation. It’s very clear that the law is not currently able to protect them, and so we are seeing a number of open lawsuits right now,” Shannon said.
Creating digital clones requires significant amounts of personal data, which raises many privacy concerns due to the risk of sensitive information being compromised or misused. CAA clients can now store their AI digital doubles and other assets within a secure personal hub in CAAVault, accessible only by authorized users, allowing them to share and monetize their content. Are.
“This is giving us the potential to set a precedent for what consent-based use of AI looks like,” CAA head of strategic development Alexandra Shannon told TechCrunch. “Obviously, our view has been that it will take time for the law to catch up, and so for talent to create and own their digital likeness [theCAAvault]…There is now a legitimate way for companies to work with one of our customers. If a third party chooses not to work with them properly, it becomes much easier for legal cases to show that their rights were violated and help protect customers over time.
Notably, Vault also ensures that actors and other talent are fairly compensated when companies use their digital likenesses.
“All these assets are owned by the individual client, so it is largely up to them if they want to provide access to anyone else… It is also entirely up to the talents to decide the right business model for the opportunities. This is a new space and it’s growing a lot. We believe the value and opportunity of these assets will increase over time. This should not be a cheap way to work with anyone… We believe [AI clones] Shannon said, as an increase rather than a cost savings.
CAA also represents Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Reese Witherspoon, Steven Spielberg and Zendaya, among others.
The use of AI cloning has sparked many debates in Hollywood, with some believing that it may lead to less job opportunities, as studios may choose digital clones instead of real actors. This was a major point of contention during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, which ended in November after members approved a new resolution. agreement With AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) which recognized the importance of human actors and included guidelines on how “digital replicas” should be used.
There are also concerns about unauthorized use of AI clones of deceased celebrities, which could upset family members. For example, Robin Williams’ daughter expresses her disdain For Taare’s AI-generated voice recording. However, some argue that, when done ethically, it can be a sentimental way to preserve an iconic actor and recreate his performance in future projects for the enjoyment of all generations. .
“AI clones are an effective tool that enables heirlooms to survive to future generations. The CAA takes a consent and permission-based approach to all AI applications and will only work with those who have permission to use these same assets. It’s up to the artists to decide who they want to allow ownership and use of after their passing, Shannon said.
Shannon declined to reveal which CAA customers are currently storing their AI clones in the vault, however, he said it is only a select number of customers at the moment. CAA also charges customers a fee to participate in the vault, yet did not disclose how much it costs.
“The ultimate goal will be to make it available to all of our customers and anyone in the industry. It’s not cheap, but the costs will come down over time,” he said.
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