[AI Impact on Popular Culture] ⑤ Major Transformation in the Video Industry... Multi-Billion Won Blockbusters Disappear

Innovative Changes in AI Production, Distribution, and Consumption
Is the Era of 'Content Creation Democratization' Beginning?
Korean Language Disappearance, Concerns Over Data Wars

Editor's NoteThe popular culture industry is actively utilizing AI (artificial intelligence) technology. The advantages include cost reduction and abundant video production. It can also resolve difficulties in filming child actors or animals. On the other hand, as the popular culture industry increasingly uses AI technology, celebrities may become more vulnerable to illegal advertisements using deepfakes or voice phishing. How far has AI technology permeated the popular culture industry today? We take a look at the current status of AI technology utilization, its development potential, and institutional improvements.

[Image source=Pixabay]

The film industry has undergone transformation over the past 100 years through technological advancements. It shifted from film to digital, and with the development of CG (computer graphics) and VFX (visual effects), blockbusters were born. With the emergence of OTT (over-the-top online video services), people can watch movies without going to theaters. Domestic and international video industry experts unanimously agree that artificial intelligence (AI) will completely change the landscape of video culture within the next 2 to 3 years.

Leading the Way: AI Adoption on Hollywood Sets in the U.S.

In Hollywood, AI programs are being used in film production to reduce budgets and time. In the recent film Here directed by Robert Zemeckis, AI de-aging technology (computer graphics that make actors appear younger than their current age) was used to create the 19- and 25-year-old appearances of 67-year-old actor Tom Hanks. When OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, released the generative AI ‘Sora’ in February, film producer Tyler Perry halted an $800 million studio expansion, seeing AI utilization in production as more efficient.

The industry expects that space movies can be produced without billions of won in production costs. Professor Lee Seung-moo of the Korea National University of Arts’ School of Film, TV & Multimedia said, “Using AI, various videos can be created,” adding, “With only imaginative creativity, even supernatural phenomena can be realized.”

Experts foresee that the day to watch a fully completed ‘100% AI movie’ is not far off. Major U.S. studios are already planning ‘AI movies.’ Dave Clark, CEO of the AI film platform ‘Curious Refuge,’ stated, “Disney is utilizing its own IP (intellectual property) with AI diffusion models,” emphasizing, “In the future, $200 million blockbuster movies will no longer be produced.”

(Left) Tom Hanks' recent face (Right) 19-year-old face restored by AI in 'Here' [Photo by Reuters·Yonhap News, Sony Pictures Entertainment]

New Technologies Emerging Overnight: Accelerated Development

The speed of AI program updates in the past six months has been unprecedented. Startup Runway introduced the latest version of its AI video production program ‘Gen-3 Alpha’ earlier this month, following the release of ‘Gen-2’ on the 17th of last month. Google released an upgraded version of ‘Gemini-1.5 Flash’ on the 8th of this month, following its preview release in May.

Even university professors find it difficult to keep up with the pace of development. Professor Lee said, “Sometimes what I teach at the start of the semester becomes meaningless by the end,” and Kwon Han-seul, director of Studio Freewillusion which produced the AI film One More Pumpkin, lamented, “New technologies emerge overnight for AI content creators, making previous learning obsolete.” He added, “We must quickly absorb rapidly changing technologies to maintain competitiveness.”

Practitioners are learning generative AI programs such as ‘Midjourney,’ ‘Luois,’ ‘Suno,’ and ‘Luma Dream Machine’ used in film production, exploring their applicability on site. Director Kwon said, “There is not much accurate AI information in Korea. Many creators do not know what the technology is or how advanced it has become. We need to actively create forums for discussion to reach social consensus.”

Is the ‘Era of Creative Democratization’ Coming?

The day when anyone can create and consume content in various forms through AI is near. Matthew Niederhauser, Technical Director of the new media platform ‘Onassis Onyx,’ predicted, “AI will open the era of ‘creative democratization’ and bring tremendous transformation to video media.” Director Kwon said, “We must prepare for a future where creative opportunities are equally provided to everyone.”

Stan Christian Saluvier, head of ‘Cannes Next’ at the Cannes Film Festival, forecasted that the market trend where production companies hire directors and writers to lead production will completely change. Stan said, “The power of established creators will be dispersed, and young people will lead platform innovation.”

However, only positive impacts cannot be expected. Professor Lee Jin-jun of KAIST Graduate School of Culture Technology expressed concern, saying, “Although everyone shoots videos with smartphones nowadays, artistic improvement has not been achieved,” and “As AI changes creation and consumption methods, content will be leveled down, narrowing the position of industrial creators.”

[Image source=Pixabay]

Concerns Over Talent Drain and Data Wars

Stanford University in the U.S. projected that AI personnel will reach 700,000 this year. Global investment in ‘AI startups’ was $100 billion last year, with $52 billion invested in the first half of this year alone. The Korean government is also focusing on nurturing AI talent. The Ministry of Science and ICT expanded the scale of its AI master’s and doctoral core talent training project more than twofold this year with a budget of 73.9 billion won. The plan is to nurture about 17,800 digital core talents by 2028.

The issue of overseas talent drain remains a challenge. Last year, Korea ranked third among countries with the highest ‘AI talent outflow,’ following India and Israel. There is a possibility that personnel will migrate to countries like the U.S., which have a super-large video industry in the future.

The issue of information learning by AI programs is also a hot topic. Since most AI programs are English-based, their development speed inevitably lags behind English-speaking countries in terms of learning and utilization. This can cause AI to retrieve data centered on ‘white males,’ leading to a ‘data bias’ problem. Matthew Niederhauser said, “It can weaken diversity and representation, causing problems,” and added, “Companies must exercise self-regulation and enforce regulations.” Professor Lee Jin-jun said, “There is a high possibility of data wars occurring.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.