How Companies Like CAA, Deep Voodoo Are Protecting Artists From AI Abuse — With a Vault

As Hollywood grapples with the rise of artificial intelligence , powerhouse talent agency CAA is leveling up to protect its artists from AI abuse. And it all comes down to a vault.

Speaking at TheWrap’s Grill conference on Tuesday, CAA head of Strategic Development Alexandra Shannon broke down how she spearheaded the creation of the CAA Vault, which was created in September 2023 and uses Veritone technology to capture and store digital likenesses and voices.

“[The Vault] focused on enabling our artists, our talent, to capture their digital likeness and their voice and be able to own that so our clients, who have gone through the vault, own their authorized, authenticated version of themselves,” she explained. “They’re in control of it. We’ve created permissions around who can use it and how.”

Shannon was joined onstage by other industry figures dedicated to artist protections, including Matt Galsor, a partner at law firm Greenberg Glusker, Deep Voodoo COO Brian Robillard and Veritone GM of Media & Entertainment Sean King. Veritone presented the panel, which was moderated by TheWrap’s business editor Alexei Barrionuevo. Together, they discussed how to best leverage AI to help creators, rather than put them out of a job.

“I think there’s a hesitation and resilient kind of allergy to the technology itself, because it has that potential [to reshape the industry],” Galsor told TheGrill crowd in Los Angeles.

The panel was titled Protecting Creative Rights + Opportunities in the Age of AI and was sponsored by Veritone.

Robillard, whose AI startup was co-founded by “South Park” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, said the tech isn’t something the entertainment industry should fear. Instead, it’s “a tool for humans” to make content better, faster and cheaper.

“We have one customer who’s making a couple movies right now. And normally, that actor would have to sit in a prosthetics chair for six hours a day, on a three-month production shoot and the whole crew would have to be sitting there,” Robillard said. “Now, with our technology, they just walk onto set as they are with just the wardrobe, and in real-time it puts the hair and prosthetics over them. They see it in the live feed. It goes into the dailies and then, ultimately, into the production.”

Echoing those comments, King insisted the creative opinions of Hollywood’s actors, directors and producers are paramount.

“Fundamentally, we are an AI company, which is a controversial topic, especially in the industries that my team represents,” he said. “But let me be clear: from our perspective, AI is a tool, but it’s never going to be the tool.”

King added, “What we really do is focus on trying to find and make the most out of the audio and video that you create.”

Meanwhile, Shannon said that CAA has been busy contemplating the industry-shifting potential of AI — forcing the agency to weigh the pros and cons for its clients.

“We had to figure out, what does it mean for our clients? How do we, on the one hand, protect them from any sort of misuse when the laws [to safeguard artists] aren’t there anytime soon,” she shared. “But on the other hand, there’s undeniable opportunity with these tools and technologies.”

However, not everyone is as bullish on AI helping the entertainment industry.

Earlier in the day, actor and filmmaker Justine Bateman warned that AI “will burn down the business” during a different panel on its growing influence on Hollywood.

How do we protect [our clients] them from any sort of misuse when the laws aren’t there anytime soon?
– Alexandra Shannon, CAA Head of Strategic Development

“If you start taking out chunks of duties, maybe the whole marketing department, maybe a camera, maybe all the actors or half the actors, or the crew doesn’t get their days to qualify for insurance because you’re only using them for three weeks instead of 12,” she detailed, “whatever it is, the structure will collapse.”

It’s one of the reasons Bateman founded Credo23, the 2025 film festival that won’t allow movies that use AI to be submitted.

But during the later panel, Shannon said she remains more optimistic.

“This is an unbelievable technology, but how it’s applied matters,” she reiterated. “Having a set of partners that are aligned in the ethics behind it, behind the principles of consent, credit and compensation, is critical.”

About TheGrill: For 15 years, TheGrill event series has led the conversation on the convergence of entertainment, media and technology, bringing together newsmakers to debate the challenges of and opportunities for making content in the digital age. TheGrill delivers a unique series of curated discussions, industry panels and networking activations that explore the ever-changing media landscape.

TheGrill is powered by the essential source for entertainment insiders, WrapPRO, TheWrap’s premium content subscription platform. This members-only service and community provides deep analysis and access — that can’t be found anywhere else — on the business of entertainment, streaming and media. Click here for more information on WrapPRO .

The post How Companies Like CAA, Deep Voodoo Are Protecting Artists From AI Abuse — With a Vault appeared first on TheWrap .