Meta Wants To Use The Voices Of Hollywood Celebrities To Add Them To Its Digital Assistant, And Is Paying Them Millions To Reach Its Goals

There has been some controversy surrounding technology giants using the voices of famous individuals to use in their products. Naturally, the outburst that followed was justified, as there was no way for people to protect their livelihoods, particularly artists who make music. However, Meta has a solution, and according to the latest report, the company is paying millions to notable celebrities to use their voices for its upcoming AI-powered digital assistant.

The exact monetary value was not discussed in the report, but MetaAI is said to be the name of the upcoming digital assistant that will feature the voices of various celebrities

Three people familiar with Meta’s plans informed Bloomberg that Facebook’s parent company has been in talks with Awkwafina, Judi Dench, and other actors and influencers for the right to incorporate their voices into a digital assistant called MetaAI. This step will be the first of many more products that Meta intends to develop, and all are expected to be powered by artificial intelligence. Keegan-Michael Key, a comedian, is also said to be actively engaged in talks. Other celebrities have been reported to be discussing important matters with Meta, but they have yet to be named on the condition of anonymity.

The report mentions that Hollywood’s top talent agencies negotiated with Meta to arrange a meeting with these celebrities, though it is not mentioned how much their cut will be. There are no details on how much Meta will pay these celebrities, but if all parties agree, a multi-million dollar payout will happen. Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, previously stated that the company’s AI expenses have increased drastically, amounting to $37 billion with other costs added. This figure increased from $30 billion at the start of 2024, indicating that the company wants to fire on all cylinders in this category.

As for how Meta intends to avoid backlash by using celebrities’ voices, the core purpose would be for MetaAI to answer queries using those voices, probably to deliver a more interactive experience to users. Any deal the social media giant inks with these celebrities would be for a limited time and can be renewed or terminated when the contract expires. Of course, these individuals would not release the rights to their voices indefinitely. Meta will reportedly close these deals just in time for its Connect technology conference that will start in late September when it is scheduled to unveil its new AI-powered products.

For those who do not remember, at last year’s conference, Meta introduced digital chatbots featuring the likeness of Snoop Dogg, MrBeast, and Tom Brady. However, the feature’s reception was lackluster, forcing the firm to discontinue it last month.

News Source: Bloomberg