Report: Google offers studios cash to license film and TV for AI

In short: Google is reportedly trying to pay major Hollywood studios for the right to use their copyrighted libraries to train its AI systems.

What's going on

Google has been reaching out to big studios, including Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Universal, according to reporting cited by The Verge. The goal is to sign licensing deals that would let Google train its AI models on movies, shows, and characters the studios own.

“Training” an AI model means feeding it lots of examples so it can learn patterns (like studying thousands of books to learn how to write). In this case, the examples would include copyrighted film and TV material.

The reported price tags are large. The Los Angeles Times, as summarized by The Verge, says Google could pay around $40 million for rights to generate content using just one character, and the total could rise into the billions if many characters are included. Studios might also try to negotiate a cut of advertising revenue if AI-generated content using their characters appears on platforms like YouTube.

The Verge argues that Hollywood’s value to Google is not only content, but also public image. If people see “official” AI-made images of well-known characters, they may feel more comfortable with AI. That could matter because public trust in AI has been falling, especially among younger people.

What to watch

No major studio has publicly agreed to a deal yet, and there is risk for studios if fans and workers see these partnerships as replacing human jobs or lowering quality. Watch for the first major studio to sign, and for how clearly any AI-made studio content is labeled.

Source: The Verge AI