• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, November 27, 2024

How powerful might AI in its impact on what we might see on TV in the coming years? And will advertisers buy in?

A report in The Atlantic says that already, 139,000 TV and film scripts have been used to train AI systems.

That level of deep data -- in terms of writing, voicing, story arcs and perhaps even casting -- has writers angry, worried, and scratching their heads.

Now it’s not as if the studios are actually in control of that access for those third-party AI systems.

All this comes, interestingly enough, from subtitles -- from a website called OpenSubtitles, according to reports.

In that regard, is the website stealing from writers?

Studios own the copyright to TV and movies. But how does one identify one, two, or five scripts as a key foundation piece of, say, a future theatrical blockbuster that comes on line five years from now?

It’s a murky situation for sure. But perhaps it is key to whatever future creative, entertainment content comes next -- and who should get credit and/or compensation.

It seems like it will come down to new tech developers figuring out what level of their “fair use” legitimacy they have going forward.
After that, think about the kind of legal or other exposure of any TV or streamer platform.

Who then goes out and sells advertising of that content with that backdrop?

Already, we are told that AI can detect the context of any brand message which can break through to motivate and engage consumers.

But can it go further -- identifying key moments in a TV series or movie to gain improvement for a brand's advertising campaign that surrounds that content? We already know that content can be tailored to an audience's preferences and behavior.

We know that AI can forecast viewer reactions before a show is even produced. But can it forecast how business will be done under its influence?