Meta AI could soon sound familiar: famous actors, artists, and influencers are about to give their voices to Zuckerberg’s platform for billions to use.
Among the celebrities, potentially drawn to the project, are actress and comedian Awkwafina, comedian Keegan-Michael Key, and Dame Judi Dench, one of Britain’s finest actresses. You may be a fan of her earlier roles, or – most probably – you think of her as “M”, the codename for the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service for the agency known as MI6 from the James Bond series.
According to a report by The New York Times, these celebrities – and potentially many more – are in talks still in progress, with no confirmed agreements yet. If a deal is reached, Meta could pay millions of dollars to the actors.
Meta’s proposed agreements with celebrities would involve recording their voices for use in Meta AI, allowing users to interact with these voices across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Meta’s Ray-Ban augmented reality glasses. The contracts would be for a limited time, with options to renew or terminate after the period ends, ensuring actors retain control over their voice rights.
I have mixed feelings about this whole affair, though. Yes, hiring a professional to voice your project gives you bonus points in the eyes (or rather – in the ears) of your user base; however, I don’t think it’s realistic to expect new voices on Meta AI all the time: a thing like that costs money. Users, in my opinion, will eventually feel the need to change the voice profile more and more often, which won’t be a price Meta AI will pay gladly. I think that after the initial celebrity-voiced wave, we’ll settle for AI voices.
Speaking of AI, Meta (the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp), has been investing heavily in artificial intelligence lately. The major tech firms are competing to develop and lead in this space, and Meta has already integrated AI into its social networking apps and advertising business. This includes developing AI characters capable of chatting through text across its messaging platforms.
Just recently, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced an increase in Meta’s AI spending for 2024, raising it from $30 billion to at least $37 billion. He emphasized the need for rapid development to stay ahead of competitors in the AI race, stating that it’s better to build “too fast rather than too late”.
