U.S. Consumers Still Wary of Gen AI in Film, TV and Music: Survey

Most U.S. consumers have at least tried using generative AI applications, but many still have reservations about gen AI being used to either fully or partially create the media and entertainment content they consume, according to Luminate’s latest wave of the “Entertainment 365” consumer survey. For the first time, the May survey featured questions about consumer behaviors and attitudes toward generative AI applications capable of generating text, images, speech, music and video.

More than half (52%) of U.S. consumers have used a generative AI application, and 44% use it either occasionally (26%) or regularly (18%). Generative AI use tends to be progressively higher among younger generations, higher earners and respondents who identified as male.

Yet consumers tend to be less interested in engaging with media if it’s been created with the help of generative AI. This holds true for most forms of media, except for AI-generated video game assets or dialogue.

For example, 39% of consumers said they would be less interested in watching a movie or TV show if they knew it was written with gen AI versus 28% who said they would be more interested. Likewise, 40% would be less interested in listening to AI-produced music versus 27% who would be more interested. Consumers are most resistant to reading news written with generative AI, with a 17-point gap between those less interested and more interested.

Of course, it’s unlikely for a film or TV show to be produced entirely by gen AI. Consumers are slightly more accepting of gen AI being used for certain aspects of production. But still for most, film and TV watchers are more likely to feel uncomfortable than they are to feel comfortable with gen AI being used.

In particular, film and TV watchers are more likely to feel uncomfortable if a production features an AI digital replica of an actor or an AI-generated screenplay. The opposite is true for AI-enabled visual effects (40% are comfortable versus 27% uncomfortable) and sound effects (38% versus 26%).

Yet even as certain production uses are more accepted than others, the oldest film and TV watchers are more likely to feel uncomfortable toward any uses of gen AI in film and TV production. For example, 58% of Boomers would be uncomfortable with a film or TV show featuring a digital replica of a deceased actor versus 36% of millennials. Younger generations were uniformly less likely to express discomfort with various prospective uses of AI.

In music production, likewise more consumers are uncomfortable than feel comfortable with gen AI. Analogous to discomfort with digital replicas of actors in TV or movies, music listeners are more likely to be uncomfortable with an original song being performed by an AI voice or in the style or sound of a human artist.

As with film and TV production uses, older consumers were most uncomfortable with gen AI use in music, particularly Boomers and Gen X.

As VIP+ has argued, consumers will be among the most relevant arbiters shaping decisions about generative AI use in entertainment as demand defines the market for content. Consumer acceptance will likely change over time as people become more knowledgeable or directly experienced with gen AI’s capabilities for content creation as well as its legal and ethical problems. VIP+ will be tracking these changing perceptions as Luminate’s “Entertainment 365” survey is conducted quarterly.

See more original VIP+ survey data and analysis on generative AI:

VIP+ Unearths Gen AI Insights From All Angles — Pick a Story