Asian films scaling up content building with AI assistance

From right: Fred Wang, chairman of Salon Films; Dato Kamil Othman, chairman of the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia; Zhiguo Sun, president of the Zheng He International Cooperation Organization, and Ashraf Bin Ali, managing director and CEO of Saudi fintech company Smart Savings, jointly sign a project on Zheng He's Voyages to the West. [Photo/China Daily]

Fred Chong, group CEO of WebTVAsia and award-winning Malaysian musician, said AI "has a face now", and is capable of taking on real celebrities. The digital human market, he said, is expected to reach $440 billion by 2031.

When asked what steps his company has taken to fight scams, Chong said on the sidelines of the ACBS summit that content owners need to fight for their own content.

"If you are not the content owner, you cannot stop illegal uploads. So, it's the same thing with AI. We talk about deepfake, we talk about illegal use of the face of a famous person. The original owner of the face has to copyright their intellectual property," said Chong.

Later on Tuesday a signing ceremony was held for the joint launch of Zheng He's Voyages to the West by parties from Malaysia, China including Hong Kong, and Saudi Arabia. Zheng, a Chinese explorer and admiral dated hundreds of years ago, is credited for leading the largest fleet in the world then on seven voyages of exploration from Asia to Africa.

Saudi World of Sounds and Visions Company President Abdullah Al Muheisen, also a Saudi pioneering filmmaker and director, inked a deal with Fred Wang of Salon Films.