Alphabet and Meta, like OpenAI, are holding conversations about AI with Hollywood studios

Will Hollywood studios license their productions as training material for artificial intelligence models? That question seems to be on every big tech firm’s mind. After OpenAI held talks with film industry bigwigs, Alphabet and Meta have followed suit by working their respective studio ties.

According to a report by Bloomberg, Alphabet and Meta are hoping to convince studios to license their content so that it can be used to train video generation software. OpenAI has already staked its claim in that field with Sora, a potentially revolutionary video generator that is currently undergoing tests. As OpenAI fine-tunes Sora, the Microsoft-backed firm has touted the product’s potential for film productions, with CEO Sam Altman leading discussions with Hollywood elites.

Bloomberg noted that directors like Tyler Perry and Robert Zemeckis are already employing AI in their films. Alphabet and Meta want to make the moviemaking process even more efficient, but doing so requires training material from major studios. Getting studios to license content for that purpose is not such a simple ask. Google CEO Sundar Pichai has said that his company is investigating whether OpenAI used YouTube videos to train Sora. If those claims are founded, it would be a “clear violation” of YouTube’s terms of service, according to the video site’s CEO Neal Mohan

And even if studios want to hand over content for AI training, the actors and writers they work with may not be so enthused. The rules surrounding AI use in Hollywood productions was a major point of negotiation during last year’s WGA and SAG strikes. Though that dispute has been settled, some actors are still fighting to prevent AI companies from licensing their work. Scarlett Johannson has tried to get OpenAI to remove a chatbot whose likeness seems to match hers.

Despite these complaints, deals between entertainment companies and AI developers are getting done. OpenAI’s $250 million pact with News Corp was a landmark agreement that will bring the Wall Street Journal owner’s portfolio into OpenAI’s systems. Alphabet and Meta seem to want pieces of that pie, and if OpenAI continues to experience internal divisions related to the company’s direction, there could be opportunities for other firms to cut their own deals.