At the 24th edition of FICCI Frames, an annual convention organised by the ‘Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry’ (FICCI) for the Media and entertainment sector, the theme called to ponder on ‘Reflections, Realities and Road Ahead’ of the future of the entertainment industry, especially concerning emerging technology like AI. While big tech companies like Meta and Microsoft shared their plans of harnessing AI technology in marketing and media creation, industry players discussed the need for copyright laws with the use of AI in the media and entertainment sector.
Here is a summation of some of the important points made by speakers, as well as things we would have liked to hear from industry leaders.
FICCI Frames CEO calls for strengthening of Intellectual Property laws: Kevin Vaz, Chair of FICCI and CEO of Broadcast Entertainment of Viacom18, said the use of generative AI tools holds the risk of copyright infringement. He said: “Strengthening our IP laws is essential to foster a conducive environment for innovation and creativity while ensuring fair compensation for our content creators. The National Intellectual Rights Policy established in 2016 is due for review. This presents an occasion for all of us to engage on how we think about monetisation, commercialisation of content, as well as protections required for it in the fast-evolving technological environment.”
MediaNama would have appreciated to hear his views on the following points as well:
- What measures should be adopted by the current intellectual property rights law in India to help regulate generative AI?
- How does generative AI impact copyright claims in India?
- Should the use of generative AI be restricted in creative spaces?
- Industry reaction to the government’s earlier remark that current IP laws provide satisfactory protection for AI-generated content.
Meta discusses the role of AI in advertising: Sandhya Devanathan, Vice President and Head, Meta India, and serving as the Co-Chair of FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee, spoke at the panel “#Reinvent: Navigating the Future of Media and Entertainment Industry.” Mentioning that AI, reels, and business messaging are the main avenues for growth for Meta, she informed that AI has been in use at the company for a while to appeal to audience interests. She also noted that AI is currently being used heavily in the algorithm to cater to audience tastes and “to show more engaging content,” and that more than 25% of the content on Instagram people see today “is not from friends and family, but is recommended by AI.”
Here is how Meta is using AI in advertising:
1)Using AI for campaigns: Meta is integrating AI technologies to offer advertisers tools for crafting targeted advertising campaigns. The company reports widespread use of at least one AI-powered advertising product by businesses on its platform. An example provided is Advantage+, a feature designed to streamline the campaign creation process using AI.
2) Large Language Models: Devanathan highlighted the significance of large language models, such as Llama and Purple Llama, developed by Meta and their impact on business strategies and operations.
3) Gen AI: Meta also hopes to use Generative AI to assist advertisers. Devanathan said that Gen AI can be used in campaigns for “making background changes, or text variations, testing different forms of creatives, changing background, image expansion” and other creative labour.
We would also like to know:
- How is Meta collecting the data that is used for advertising?
Microsoft talks about AI in media creation and its impact on employment: Speaking at the event “Tech Titans: Technology driving the Media and Entertainment Industry” was Irina Ghose, Managing Director of Microsoft. The session drew focus on the role big tech companies, like Microsoft, play in the field of media and entertainment with the advent of new technologies like AI, AR, and VR becoming widely available. Ghose spoke about Microsoft’s approach towards using these new technologies in the media and entertainment sector. Speaking of these technologies she said, “There was a point of time when we used to talk about a PC or the Internet on everybody’s desk. Now we’re seeing expertise in everybody’s desk. So expertise is the nuance that we’re talking about.”
She emphasised 3 focus points that will define Microsoft’s approach:
1) Media creation: Giving the example of Microsoft’s text-to-video AI “Sora,” Ghose spoke about how Microsoft aims to focus on refining the process of creating media using AI.
2) Distribution: Ghose spoke about how the current media landscape aims to engage a global audience, thus creating the need for localization of content. However, with media being widely available, comes a wide net of regulations. These new methods of distribution can lead to challenges with compliance, privacy, copyrights, etc. She believes that AI can be used to improve distribution by increasing the efficiency of content inspection.
3) Audience engagement: Finally, Ghose spoke of the need for audience engagement. She believes that “hyper personalization” will be the future of media. For this, she spoke about embracing new technologies in AR and VR. An example she gave was of Microsoft’s PlayFab game interactions via Xbox.
When asked about the concerns of AI taking away people’s jobs and the trends she observed in hiring with the proliferation of AI, Ghose said that “by itself” AI will not take away jobs. However, she added, “If I don’t learn AI, and if you do, you will take away my job. So the need to learn AI skills for us is that much higher.”
Ghose was also asked about the issue of AI and copyright. Tech companies often use the Intellectual Property(IP) of creators to train their datasets to create new outputs. This has raised questions about copyright in the new media landscape. When asked about Microsoft’s view on the copyright debate, Ghose spoke about the data Microsoft used while working with private players like media houses. She claimed that the data was not used by Microsoft for training their own models and remains proprietary to the owners of the IP. However, she did not speak of the copyright questions that arise when use of publicly available data is considered.
Here are some insights we would have appreciated in depth :
- When questioned about copyright, Ghose did not speak about how using publicly available data could cause potential liabilities.
- While she spoke about using AI in the M&E sector, Ghose did not speak of the use of AI for misinformation campaigns by bad actors. How will Microsoft answer these concerns?
Much about Connected TV, little on generative AI: Shalini Pai, Vice President and General Manager for TV Platforms at Google, said that Indian consumers’ preference for a mix of streaming and broadcast content makes Indians the perfect clientele for Connected TV platforms. She talked at length about Connected TV becoming a popular home alternative to other smart devices. However, her inputs on the use of generative AI in this field were limited.
Here’s what we would’ve liked to hear more of from her:
- What kind of influence will generative AI have on Connected TV aside from dubbing or subtitling?
- Is there a concern that generative AI in content could threaten creative jobs in India for regional content?
- How will algorithmic technology be used for Connected TVs where users are free to surf channels or browse for desired content?
TRAI Chairperson on new National Broadcasting Policy: Among the talk about AI, notably, Chairperson of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Anil Kumar Lahoti, in a fireside chat revealed that TRAI had a pre-consultation with various stakeholders to discuss a National Broadcasting Policy and that a consultation paper about the policy will be out soon. Here are some of the objectives the papers will be looking at:
1) To create content in India and make India a global hub for creation.
2) Strengthen public service broadcasting: Lahoti said that it was “very important for a country like India to have a very strong public service broadcasting system for dissemination of information, knowledge, education, and entertainment.”
3) Sharing Indian content across borders: Lahoti said, “India has a vast opportunity in producing content, and not only for the country, but also take it beyond the borders for the world.”
4) Making the regulatory climate more business-friendly: “It is important to make the regulatory climate and the policy environment more business-friendly, to promote the ease of doing business so that this very dynamic sector grows.”
5) Combating piracy: Lahoti said that in his conversation with stakeholders, issues of piracy,content security, and protection of the copyrights, were brought up as matters of concern.
6) Enhancing the scope and leveraging terrestrial broadcasting: Lahoti spoke about elevating terrestrial broadcasting even with the current success of online content.
7) Audience measurement system: Lahoti mentioned that the current system to measure audience data is outdated. “With the advent of technology, there is an opportunity to review the structure of audience measurement so that we have more scientific data.” Further, he added, “This can be utilized by the advertisers and the broadcasters for proper monetizing of the content that they are creating and broadcasting.”
8) Effective grievance redressal system
9) Sustainable development
10) The role of broadcasting in case of disasters: Lahoti said the policy will also discuss the role of broadcasting in case of disasters as it has a “very important role to play.”
Here are some of our observations:
- No mention was made of the Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill, 2023. Interestingly, an RTI filed by Medianama, asking about comments made by stakeholders in a consultation on the same, was denied by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Particularly, there has been controversy around the bill including over-the-top (OTT) broadcasting services (streaming services, like Netflix and Amazon Prime) within the scope of its regulation.
- According to the bill, any person broadcasting news on social media will be regulated. Does this mean a person will be asked to delete their social media posts if they do not fit the code?
Note: The headline was edited based on editorial input on March 15, 2024, at 4:03 PM.
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