Judi Dench, Awkwafina and Keegan-Michael Key might soon lend their voices to Meta’s digital assistant.
In a potential future artificial intelligence product, Meta might have users conversing with Hollywood celebrities. Reports from Bloomberg and The New York Times indicate that Meta is negotiating with stars like Awkwafina, Judi Dench, and Keegan-Michael Key, among others, to use their voices in its AI initiatives. The envisioned AI, named MetaAI, is designed to function similarly to Siri and Google Assistant.
Meta’s plan involves recording the celebrities’ voices and obtaining the rights to utilize them in various scenarios across its platforms, including Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, and even the Ray-Ban Meta glasses. Negotiations have been inconsistent, starting and stopping multiple times as both parties have struggled to agree on terms. A provisional agreement seems to involve a time-bound usage right, meaning the recorded voices could only be used for a set period. However, the contracts could be renewed or extended upon their expiration.
Representatives for the actors are pushing for stricter limitations, despite SAG-AFTRA reportedly reaching an agreement with Meta on certain terms. Last year’s SAG-AFTRA strike highlighted the need for provisions to protect actors from job displacement due to AI. According to these terms, companies must pay actors and obtain their consent before using AI-generated likenesses. Should Meta finalize deals with the actors in question, it could end up paying them millions in fees.
Meta aims to finalize these agreements before its Connect conference in September, where a slew of AI products is expected to be announced. At the previous year’s event, Meta introduced a chatbot platform featuring 28 “characters” voiced by celebrities like Snoop Dogg, Paris Hilton, Dwyane Wade, and Kendall Jenner. However, The Information has reported that Meta has quietly discontinued this project, and the associated celebrity chatbot pages on Facebook and Instagram are no longer accessible.
