As the coffee brewed in the siphon dripped down, I enjoyed the aroma and did some thinking.
I recently came across news about how the voices of Japanese anime characters are being used without permission by AI generators. Apparently, the voices of characters like Char from "Mobile Suit Gundam" and Conan from "Detective Conan" are being freely created online without the voice actors' consent.
As someone who has loved anime for a long time, this news is a little heartbreaking, but at the same time, from a business perspective, I felt it was a very interesting turning point.
Technological advancements are rapid, and we've entered an era where you can create voices that sound like anime characters are speaking simply by typing in text.
However, under current law, the right to protect one's "voice" itself is surprisingly ambiguous. While unauthorized use is spreading on video-sharing sites, friction is also occurring, such as when a certain audio service was shut down due to backlash from the voice acting industry.
This can be described as a period of transitional chaos, where the balance between technology and rights has been disrupted.
What struck me when I read this article was that this issue is not simply a conflict between "AI and humans."
In fact, those protecting rights don't simply want to eliminate AI. Rather, they see AI as a powerful tool for spreading Japanese content to the world, provided there are appropriate rules and compensation. A search for such "coexistence" has begun.
I came across some interesting data. According to a survey by the Japan Actors Union, approximately 60% of voice actors responded that "using AI is not a problem as long as they receive fair compensation."
In other words, the problem lies not in "AI itself," but in the "compensation system."
In response, Itochu Corporation and US startups have begun to take action. They are working to create a system that will database voice actors' voices, manage their use in AI learning, and ensure that fair profits are returned to the users.
Furthermore, using technology to translate voices into multiple languages while maintaining the original tone of the voice actor would open up the possibility of people around the world enjoying Japanese anime simultaneously. This is a huge business opportunity, isn't it?
When new technologies emerge, do we perceive them as a threat and build walls against them, or do we use them as tools to create new markets and establish rules accordingly?
Just as the taste of coffee beans changes depending on how they are roasted, how we handle things and techniques, and how we perceive events, can make them either poison or medicine.
In our work, we need to think about "how to coexist" with change without fear, and when that happens, I try to break down the situation into its constituent parts and think about it abstractly.
Well, I enjoyed a delicious cup of coffee with you again this morning. Thank you.
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