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Tech giant Google has been quietly making overtures to the major studios as it tries to find ways to entice Hollywood to use its artificial intelligence technology.
Google executives have approached representatives at Disney, Universal, Warner Bros. Discovery and other studios about licensing intellectual property to be used in AI models, according to three people familiar with the conversations who were not authorized to speak publicly about them.
Nonetheless, no agreements have been reached yet, partly because of the complexities of the issues surrounding AI, as well as sensitivities around how Hollywood talent and unions would react, the sources said.
“In order for Google’s tools and technology to be truly usable for large-scale film and TV productions, let alone cinematic exhibition, it is essential that their models be fine-tuned with highly dynamic content and metadata that only Hollywood studios have,” said an insider who was not authorized to comment because of the sensitive nature of the discussions.
The conversations underscore how much both sides have at stake. Google is facing considerable competition in AI from rivals. For their part, studios are under pressure to cut costs and find ways to use AI in film and TV production, while also preventing unauthorized use of their intellectual property.
Google is funding short films that move away from AI doomsday scenarios and examine potential benefits of the technology.
“Google’s enlisting some of the smartest people in Hollywood to try to unpack what’s inevitable, which is Hollywood and AI are going to become reliant upon each other, and how best can we understand that without just terrifying people,” said Tom Nunan, a former studio and network executive.
Representatives of Google, Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney declined to comment.
An NBCUniversal spokesperson said the company is not in active conversations with Google regarding licensing its intellectual property for use in AI models.
Google’s outreach is a far cry from the more adversarial posture the company took a decade ago when it clashed with Hollywood over legislation intended to curb piracy. People uploaded clips on YouTube of different shows and movies without permission or payment to the studios.
Google said it was taking problematic content down, but studios believed it was not fast enough and the search engine colossus became a pariah in the industry.
Circumstances are substantially different today. Google already is doing business with many entertainment companies through its different divisions, whether selling its cloud computing services, improving AI tools through Google DeepMind or distributing content on YouTube, which is now a major force in the TV business.
In June, Google invested $75 million into A24, the studio behind Academy Award-winning films such as “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Moonlight,” as part of a strategic partnership to collaborate on AI tools.
