Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is in talks with actors such as Awkwafina and Judi Dench to integrate their voices into its digital assistant MetaAI. The negotiations, according to three people familiar with the matter, include other celebrities and all the major Hollywood talent agencies.
In addition to Awkwafina and Dench, comedian Keegan-Michael Key is mentioned. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the privacy of the talks, noted that negotiations are still fluid and no deal has been finalized.
If agreements are reached, Meta could pay millions of dollars in fees to the actors. A Meta spokesman declined to comment on the matter. Bloomberg initially reported on these discussions.
Meta has invested heavily in artificial intelligence, competing with major technology companies to lead the field. The company has poured billions into integrating this technology into its social networking and advertising applications, creating artificial intelligence characters capable of interacting via text.
On Wednesday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced an increased budget for AI and other spending this year, bringing it to at least $37 billion. Zuckerberg said he prefers to move quickly to prevent competitors from gaining an edge in the AI race.
One of the emerging areas of AI is chatbots with voice capabilities, which act as virtual assistants. In May, OpenAI unveiled a version of its ChatGPT chatbot capable of receiving and responding to voice commands, images and videos, seeking to combine conversational chatbots with voice assistants such as Google Assistant and Apple Siri.
However, OpenAI suspended the launch of its voice-enabled ChatGPT after actress Scarlett Johansson accused the company of using a voice similar to hers without her consent. Meta seeks to avoid such conflicts by securing clear agreements with celebrities.
According to sources, Meta would record the voices of these actors for potential use in MetaAI, allowing users to interact and ask questions via Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, as well as on Meta's Ray-Ban augmented reality glasses. The contracts would be for a fixed term and could be renewed or terminated at the end of the term. The actors would not assign the rights to their voices indefinitely.
Meta intends to close these deals before its Connect technology conference in late September, where it plans to unveil new AI-focused products. Last year, Meta introduced digital chatbots in the guise of Snoop Dogg, Tom Brady and MrBeast, but the initiative saw little use and was shut down last month. In addition, the SAG-AFTRA union, which represents more than 150,000 TV and film actors, went on strike over a lack of agreements with Hollywood studios, including the use of AI tools. The actors won a three-year agreement that prevents studios from using AI to create digital replicas without payment or approval.
Despite this, many union members remain dissatisfied with the provision. Other sectors of the entertainment industry, such as editors, animators and voice actors, also fear that AI will take their jobs.
Recently, actors launched another strike against video game companies that use their images and voices in games. Discussions continue and the industry is closely watching developments in this field.
