AI in the Entertainment Industry by Lauren Welch

Personal Overview

laurenwelch2 — 2025-03-13 13:59:06 UTC

The entertainment industry has always had a significant impact in my life. As an infant I enjoyed bedtime stories like The Very Hungry Caterpillar, as a kindergartener I happily chanted the alphabet song, as a middle/high schooler I engaged in lifelong messages through film, and even now, as a college student, I still create fond memories of joy, growth, and fulfillment through entertainment. As is present I also wish to explore a future career in the entertainment industry under book publishing. For these reasons is the entertainment industry not only important to me, but an important topic of discussion. With the recent rise of AI, more and more people have had to ask themselves: How long will it be until my job might be taken over by a robot? What will become of entertainment if all the media I’m consuming is inhuman? I have asked myself these questions, and in this assignment have strived to find a solution. Overall, this Padlet wall will seek to answer these burning questions through the investigation of Artificial Intelligence’s current use, potential future, and overall societal impact as seen through the entertainment industry.

Music - Restorative AI

laurenwelch2 — 2025-03-13 14:26:40 UTC

The internationally famous band known as the Beatles had not released a song since 1969’s "The End" due to the death of member John Lennon. In 2001 a second member, George Harrison, unfortunately passed away as well. It was because of this no one expected to hear from the Beatles ever again, until 2021. Using restorative artificial intelligence the last two surviving members were able to resurrect demos of their past band mates in order to create a brand new song. Taking home the Best Rock Performance in the 2025 annual Grammy Awards, the academy recognized the brilliance of the AI, marking a huge milestone for AI in mainstream music (How AI Is Transforming the Creative Economy and Music Industry, 2025). The first and last song for the Beatles as of the 21st century was a hit due to the overwhelming amount of fan support. However it should be noted that without these good intentions, the project most likely would have been ridiculed. This leaves me to question, to what extent is AI bad for the music industry?

https://youtu.be/Opxhh9Oh3rg?si=TdHWhkxrOeSWE7VX

Art - Creative Adversarial Networks

laurenwelch2 — 2025-03-13 18:00:17 UTC

In 2018 the artists known as Obvious created, or rather, generated, The Portrait of Edmond de Belamy (see figure). After its release on Christie’s Prints & Multiples sale, the piece was sold for a whopping $432,500, “signaling the arrival of AI art to the international auction stage” (Zhang, J. 2023). Due to the signature of an algebraic formula rather than a human name, we can tell that this is AI. However upon first glance, it seems quite human. We experience this phenomenon because the piece was generated through the use of Creative Adversarial Networks (also known as CANs). “Trained on data sets of existing artworks,” critics were skeptical of the originality of the work, however the programmers of CAN assure audiences that since no one can never really know the state of the machine at the time of production, the art produces irregularities, causing a unique quality (Zhang, J. 2023). This is a great innovation for art references and brainstorming but has many unethical implications due to the copying of the input in the output. Another moral dilemma faced when making AI art is the state of present artists. As an artist myself I wonder, is art headed for an inevitable obsolescence?

https://youtu.be/MtGrRs7CmgY?si=BTqpoMnYqd-27xb1

TV - Machine Learning Algorithms

laurenwelch2 — 2025-03-20 00:07:34 UTC

With the introduction of streaming services in 2007, Netflix has since “revolutionized the entertainment industry by providing a wide range of TV shows, movies, and documentaries” (Khandelwal, et. al, 2023). By using collaborative filtering/machine learning algorithms, Netflix has been able to analyze enough data to provide personal viewing recommendations. As AI has advanced Netflix has continued to invest in it, hoping to not only enhance the viewer experience but produce “highly engaging original content” (Khandelwal, et. al, 2023). These new technologies can bring about positive change as streaming services become less cluttered and more tailored to the individual, however with new technology comes unfixed bugs (like shown in the photo above). Another challenge this new technology might face is backlash about AI generated content due to its uncanny elements and heavy plagiarism. I personally enjoy personal Netflix recommendations, but hope that they do not continue on the pursuit of complete AI movies, as they are in danger of becoming too formulaic/lacking in creativity.

https://youtu.be/nH_bEtbfB9U?si=B9HVvmLyNc0Sjex7

References

laurenwelch2 — 2025-03-20 00:09:42 UTC

Amato, G., Behrmann, M., Bimbot, F., Caramiaux, B., Falchi, F., Garcia, A., Geurts, J., Gibert, J., Gravier, G., Holken, H., Koenitz, H., Liutkus, A., Lotte, F., Perkis, A., Redondo, R., Turrin, E., Vieville, T., & Vincent, E. (2019, May 10). AI in the media and creative industries. arXiv.org. https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.04175 [Rationale: This article provides a comprehensive overview of all of the different branches throughout the entertainment industry that are being affected by the rise of AI]
Frontier Economics Ltd. (2020). People Plus Machines: The role of Artificial Intelligence in Publishing. In Frontier Economics Ltd. https://www.publishers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/People-plus-machines-The-role-of-Artificial-Intelligence-in-Publishing_FINAL.pdf [Rationale: This article goes through the rise of AI in publishing, the current status, and the possible future implications it might have]
How AI is transforming the creative economy and music industry. (2025, February 4). OHIO Today .https://www.ohio.edu/news/2024/04/how-ai-transforming-creative-economy-music-industry [Rationale: This article talks about AI in music for example voice generators, actual producers who use AI, and the Beatles recent song released in 2021.]
Khandelwal, K., Patel, S., Patel, J., & Pnachal, M. (2023). A Study to Know - Use of AI for Personalized Recommendation, Streaming Optimization, and Original Content Production at Netflix. In International Journal of Scientific Research & Engineering Trends (Vol. 9, Issue 6) [Journal-article]. https://ijsret.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IJSRET_V9_issue6_435.pdf [Provides a thorough analysis of creative data science used in Netflix’s business model.]
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (2023, June 19). The impact of generative AI on Hollywood and entertainment | Thomas H. Davenport and Randy Bean | MIT Sloan Management Review. MIT Sloan Management Review. https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-impact-of-generative-ai-on-hollywood-and-entertainment/ [Provides multiple perspectives on how Hollywood might be progressing or regressing due to the increased usage of AI.]
Mineo, L., & Mineo, L. (2024, February 8). If it wasn’t created by a human artist, is it still art? Harvard Gazette. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/08/is-art-generated-by-artificial-intelligence-real-art/ [Rationale: The author touches on interviews they had with a writer, animator, architect, musician, and artist and what they had to say about the rise of AI in entertainment.]
Zhang, J. (2023, October 24). (ART)ificial Intelligence. https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/TMR/article/view/9711 [Rationale: Investigates the use of CANs in relation to the Portrait of Edmond de Belamy while targeting its strengths and weaknesses.]

Future Trends and Ethical Considertaions

laurenwelch2 — 2025-03-20 00:37:25 UTC

The entertainment industry is on the brink of a new era. With Artificial Intelligence technology continuing to perform better, all artists, film makers, and musicians alike must question what truly makes art unique. Should AI in the entertainment industry be accepted or disapproved of? How will we be able to tell the difference between something human and AI generated? I believe these are important questions to ponder, but for now, I feel we have little to worry about. Something people have yet to consider is that it is not that we cannot survive without AI, but the other way around. Humans are the brains of the entire operation, and as we are in control, we choose what holds power. The Now and Then song created using AI: powered by humans. The Edmund de Belamy Portrait: created while being monitored and tweaked by humans. Though it is important to look out for harmful technology (such as deepfakes of the face and voice) used to create content to intentionally mislead the public, if the public is made aware, we, the creators, can rise against it.

Societal Impact

laurenwelch2 — 2025-03-20 01:03:34 UTC

A big concern of AI that would heavily impact society is the rate of employment. If Artificial Intelligence were to really reach a level in which it truly does match human intelligence, the jobs of thousands could be lost: artists, song writers, musicians, authors, film makers, actors, etc. Human creativity/brainstorming would no longer be needed with AI at the forefront of their creative processes. Another large concern of the rise of AI is how it might affect privacy. With the rise of deepfake technology and the necessary collection of various types of data for the technology to even function leaves citizens wondering how their personal data might be protected from potential exploitation. I personally side with these arguments. If Artificial Intelligence were to truly reach a level of ultimate human-like behavior, what is keeping any of us, even those outside of the entertainment industry, in a job? How would any of us prove useful with the ultimate resource at anyone’s fingertips? This makes me question if people thought the same upon the invention of the internet; I hope that if we did think the same upon the invention of the internet that it too doesn’t take over our everyday jobs.

Reflection

laurenwelch2 — 2025-03-20 13:14:30 UTC

My research process provided me with new interesting knowledge but proved to be long and tedious. What I found was that lots of articles, though informative, were incredibly vague when discussing the entertainment industry. Due to this I had to do a lot of internet/article scouring to land upon distinct examples I would want to use in my padlet. This research experience taught me to be more patient and curious, because the information you seek is always out there you just have to look for it. Before my research I had an incredibly negative outlook on the use of Artificial Intelligence. However after further research, I feel more optimistic as to its future. Like most things, artificial intelligence has its downsides. But something I failed to consider were just how great technology could become in its wake. Deep fakes can be used to steal people's identities, but can also be used by artists looking to play with old band mates one last time. Generative art can be used to lazily produce art but can also be used to analyze proper brush techniques. The possibilities will always come with negatives and positives, and if we choose to observe this innovation in a positive frame of mind we could truly benefit from its inevitable growth.

Overview Video: Pt. 1

laurenwelch2 — 2025-03-27 20:54:01 UTC

Overview Video: Pt. 2

laurenwelch2 — 2025-03-27 20:55:56 UTC