Amazon Prime Video , one of the streaming giants
with a growing presence in the anime world, has just launched a pilot
program for artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted dubbing for some of its
licensed series and movies (which could include anime). The idea
behind this is simple: offer dubbing in languages that were previously
unavailable, on titles that would likely never have been dubbed otherwise.
For this
first phase, Amazon will apply AI dubbing technology to twelve productions,
such as "El Cid: The Legend," "Mi Mamá Llora," and
"Long Lost," with dubbing in English and Latin American
Spanish. According to Raf Soltanovich, vice president of technology at
Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, AI will only be used on content that was
not previously dubbed. He also says that it is not a total replacement
for human work, as professional localizers will work alongside AI to ensure
that the quality is acceptable.
While
this pilot program only covers a few movies and series right now, it's entirely
possible that AI dubbing will eventually be applied to anime in the future. Amazon Prime Video is one of
the most prominent platforms in the anime world, ranking fourth in global anime
revenue in 2023, surpassing even Disney+ and Max. Its catalog includes
titles such as "My Hero Academia," "Jujutsu Kaisen," and
the "Rebuild of Evangelion" tetralogy, and it recently acquired the
exclusive rights to the new "Mobile Suit Gundam" series.
Anime
dubbing has always been a controversial topic. For years, some fans have
criticized it for poor acting or adaptations that are not faithful to the
original Japanese material. If AI starts to be used in anime dubbing,
the debate could become even more intense. So, as expected, this move by Amazon
has people divided.
On the one
hand, many believe that cutting costs and making more series dubbed is a great
idea. But on the other hand, there are those who see this as a threat to voice
actors, translators and script adapters. If this Amazon Prime Video
experiment works well, it would not be surprising if more platforms adopt it
and it reaches anime sooner than we think. Will it be the beginning of
a new era in content localization, or just another attempt that will end in
nothing?
