Hasbro launches AI studio, allowing third parties to license Hasbro IP

Hasbro is launching its own AI studio, with an aim to license out its various IPs to third parties while sticking within company guidelines. Today, Hasbro announced that it was launching Sixth Wall, a new AI studio that will use Hasbro's slate of IP characters, such as Optimus Prime, Mr. Potato Head, and the cast of Clue, all voiced by real voice actors. According to Sixth Wall's CEO, the company was founded out of a desire to limit "unauthorized versions" of their character by offering versions that could be licensed out in various ways. The company has created its own platform called CharacterOS, with characters acting within guardrails set by the company. According to Sixth Wall's website, the initial cast of characters available include Mr. Potato Head, Mister Monopoly, four characters from Transformers, Cobra Commander, and the cast of Clue. More characters will be added after launch, although Hasbro did not indicate what IPs they'd be pulled from. EN World has reached out to Wizards for clarification.

Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks has long been an advocate of AI, although not all of Hasbro's studios has supported AI integration. Most notably, Wizards of the Coast has said that it prohibited generative AI to be used by freelancers in the making of either Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering and has further stressed that both games are made "by people, for people."

 

[Retreater]

I think you're missing part of what @mearls is saying.

As a voice actor, if you pay me each time somebody licenses the character I voice . . . you don't need to hire me again, but I also don't need you to. I'm getting my cut. I can go on and do other voice work.

Generative AI is scary and is being used unethically by so many big companies . . . but that doesn't mean it can't be used ethically.

What @mearls describes sounds like a pretty ethical use of generative AI. We'll see how well this actually does once it launches and somebody actually licenses Optimus Prime or the other available characters.

As someone who recently had to testify before planning and zoning to keep an AI datacenter from being built 1.5 miles from his home, which would have cost undue burden to our environment, decreased home value, overtaxed the local energy grid, and created no discernable value in jobs or tax revenue for the community, I can safely say that there is no ethical way to do this to communities.
So no, there is no ethical use of AI. Thank you.

 

[Dire Bare]

As someone who recently had to testify before planning and zoning to keep an AI datacenter from being built 1.5 miles from his home, which would have cost undue burden to our environment, decreased home value, overtaxed the local energy grid, and created no discernable value in jobs or tax revenue for the community, I can safely say that there is no ethical way to do this to communities.
So no, there is no ethical use of AI. Thank you.

You're welcome.

Data centers are a huge problem, and the way the tech industry is building them is super unethical for the reasons you list.

But it is actually possible to build a data center without these types of impacts, it's just tech companies aren't doing it (yet) because it's more expensive for them.

 

[Umbran]

As a voice actor, if you pay me each time somebody licenses the character I voice . . . you don't need to hire me again, but I also don't need you to. I'm getting my cut. I can go on and do other voice work.

This would be equivalent to actually paying royalties for all the copyright-protected material they pirated and scraped off the internet to train LLMs. You know, the stuff that they say they must be allowed to take, because the industry would fail if they actually had to pay for what they used?

Generative AI is scary and is being used unethically by so many big companies . . . but that doesn't mean it can't be used ethically.

I mean, the proof is in the pudding. Until those big companies step back and act ethically, why on this good green Earth should anyone stan the tech based on the vague, distant possibility of it being used ethically?

 

[Dire Bare]

This would be equivalent to actually paying royalties for all the copyright-protected material they pirated and scraped off the internet to train LLMs. You know, the stuff that they say they must be allowed to take, because the industry would fail if they actually had to pay for what they used?

I might be misunderstanding you, but no it wouldn't? If I, as a voice actor, sign a contract for you to use my voice for an Optimus Prime AI character . . . no one is pirating or scraping anything, we've entered into a contract with clear terms. One I wouldn't sign unless I was compensated fairly for the use of my voice.

If I don't think what I'd get paid is fair, or I'm uncomfortable with how my voice would be used . . . I would simply not take the deal.

I mean, the proof is in the pudding. Until those big companies step back and act ethically, why on this good green Earth should anyone stan the tech based on the vague, distant possibility of it being used ethically?

I'm with you here. I think it's possible to use AI ethically . . . but so far, most tech companies are not doing that, not even close. Will Hasbro's new AI tool be an ethical use of AI? It sounds good from the marketing we've seen so far, but yeah, proof will be in the pudding. I'm skeptical.

 

[SothFan]

Now Everweave will be able to have Elminsters Avatar run D&D for you in ads in front of Official D&D videos on Youtube while trademark infringing on D&D with its actual chatacters.

ROFLMAO!

 

[Byrd]

I might be misunderstanding you, but no it wouldn't? If I, as a voice actor, sign a contract for you to use my voice for an Optimus Prime AI character . . . no one is pirating or scraping anything, we've entered into a contract with clear terms. One I wouldn't sign unless I was compensated fairly for the use of my voice.

If I don't think what I'd get paid is fair, or I'm uncomfortable with how my voice would be used . . . I would simply not take the deal.


I'm with you here. I think it's possible to use AI ethically . . . but so far, most tech companies are not doing that, not even close. Will Hasbro's new AI tool be an ethical use of AI? It sounds good from the marketing we've seen so far, but yeah, proof will be in the pudding. I'm skeptical.

Are you a voice actor?
Can you explain to me both royalties and residuals?

 

[Laurefindel]

“POTATO-HEADS, ROLL OUT!”

- Commander Cobra

 

[Blue]

What's really interesting is that based on what I read on the site, the voice actor gets royalties. If I license Peppa Pig, the voice actor they used to build the training data gets a cut. That's really smart business. If you are the voice actor for an iconic Hasbro character, they're taking care of you. Nice contrast to how a lot of companies are trying to use AI.

This was part of the huge SAG-AFTRA agreement after the strike. This isn't "doing something nice", this is doing what is contractually required with SAG-AFTRA talent.

If other companies are not doing that, my guess is that they are using non-union voice talent and crews.

It also makes senses for licensees. They'd want an authentic voice for their app, toy, or whatever.

While for many of the VA they probably quite happy to do the work at a rate Hasbro can afford, but this doesn't say it comes with the "original" voice actors. Heck, while Tom Hanks is the voice of Woody in the Toy Story movies, his (presumably cheaper and more available) brother is the voice of Woody for everything else, including video games and the attractions at Disney theme parks.

 

[Dire Bare]

Are you a voice actor?
Can you explain to me both royalties and residuals?

Nope, not a voice actor (although thinking about getting into it, I do have an acting background from my younger years).

The idea here is I'm hired to be the voice of AI Optimus Prime. I go into the recording studio and spend time (how much?) recording my voice to give the AI model enough to work with. And . . . for my direct involvement, that's probably it. Maybe they might pull me back into the studio if they realize they need more.

I get paid an upfront fee for the rights to use my voice in this AI model (for how long? infinity? a limited timeframe?). I also get paid every time a company licenses AI Optimus Prime from Hasbro. (How much do I get paid each time?)

Is this a good deal for the voice actor? Potentially, if the upfront fee and royalties are fair, hell yes! One of the problems with taking real actors voicing and transmogrifying them into AI characters is that sometimes its done without the actor's consent or compensation. Some companies want to pressure actors into giving their consent, but for crappy deals. This Hasbro deal seems pretty fair on the face of it, but as always, the devils in the details.

Is this good for the voice acting industry? What would a future look like if this kind of deal, even if fairly compensated, was the norm? Is this good for voice actors as a community long-term?

As a consumer, I don't certainly don't want to see a traditional video game use AI gen voices for scripted content. But what about interactive content like AI Optimus Prime? I'm wary but not opposed to such "progress".

I don't want to see an animated show with AI gen voices rather than studio recorded voices. Imagine there is a new Transformers animated series. I'd hate it if Hasbro hired Peter Cullen to do an AI Optimus Prime for the series instead of recording the entire script in the studio.

Anyway . . . is this good for art? Is this good for the voice actors? We'll see, I'm optimistic but skeptical.

 

[Blue]

This but put 4e on the OGL(and give us an SRD)

Putting the 3.x SRD into CC was one of the things they promised they would do after the OGL debacle. 4e has it's own license that wasn't affected by what they claim about the revocability of the OGL, and was never anything they promised to put into CC as part of the response to the customer backlash.