Rede Globo has consolidated its definitive structural mutation into a mediatech model, a project that transcends traditional broadcasting to transform it into a data and software giant.
This massive insertion of Artificial Intelligence into its programming, ranging from synthetic sets to cloned dubbing, does not represent just an isolated technical advancement. It is an aggressive financial survival strategy, anchored in multi-billion dollar partnerships and motivated by the drastic loss of advertising revenue to the monopoly formed by Google and Meta. The move deliberately ignores the preservation of the labor market and cultural sovereignty, sacrificing the diversity of national production at the altar of algorithmic efficiency and operational cost reduction.
The Google Cloud Axis: From Broadcaster to Experimental Laboratory
The pillar of this transition is the seven-year strategic contract signed with Google Cloud. Under this new logic, the broadcaster has ceased to be merely a client to become a living laboratory for experimental tools, such as the Veo video model and the Imagen 3 image generator.
By acting as a commercial showcase for these technologies in exchange for massive cloud credits and high processing power, Globo establishes an economy of scale that deeply precarious the Brazilian audiovisual sector. Professionals such as set designers, editors, and voice actors now face an existential threat. The substitution of creative minds with mathematical models automates complex processes without offering any compensation or protection of rights to the affected categories, resulting in the systematic destruction of local production chains that took decades to build.
Archive Usage and the Ethical Vacuum in Digital Heritage
One of the most critical points of this technological offensive is the intensive use of Estúdios Globo's vast archive to train these Artificial Intelligence tools. Decades of actors' performances, vocal nuances, and the aesthetic traits of renowned artists are being processed to create models that render these same professionals obsolete.
This phenomenon is especially worrying when it involves artists who are deceased or have been dismissed, raising ethical debates about digital heritage and the limits of post-mortem exploitation. Unlike what occurred in the United States, where strikes by actors' and writers' unions resulted in robust contractual protections against automation, Brazil still operates in a dangerous regulatory vacuum. Without legislation to protect the worker, the broadcaster imposes total assignment clauses for voice and image rights for synthetic purposes, exploiting the legal vulnerability of national artists in the face of corporate power.
The Legislative Clash: Bill 2338 and Data Mining
In the legislative context, Brazil is currently discussing Bill 2338 of 2023, which seeks to regulate the use of Artificial Intelligence in the country. However, there is veiled pressure from large media companies to ensure the flexibility of so-called Text and Data Mining.
This practice would allow the broadcaster to continue using its historical archive to train algorithms without the need for new copyright payments or specific authorizations from the original creators. This stance jeopardizes the financial sustainability of screenwriters and actors, who see their intellectual work transformed into free raw material for machines that will eventually replace them on the film set.
AI Content Lab and the Uncanny Valley Phenomenon
Behind the scenes, the AI Content Lab focuses on aggressive post-production automation to eliminate logistical costs such as transport, food, and daily rates for large teams. The immediate result is the exchange of real locations and human extras for controlled environments and synthetic models.
However, this economy generates an evident aesthetic coldness, where the viewer notices the mathematical lighting and the loss of organic textures that characterized Brazilian teledramaturgy. Scenes of computer-generated crowds and cloned dubbing, such as those recently applied in journalistic documentaries, dive into the uncanny valley phenomenon. When technology tries to mimic human behavior without full success, a rupture occurs in the emotional connection with the audience, degrading the prestige of the old "Globo quality standard."
Automation in Journalism, Sports, and the Risk to Credibility
Automation extends with equal force to journalism and sports through investments in companies like Pixellot and WSC Sports. By replacing human cameras and editors with tracking algorithms, the broadcaster drastically reduces its workforce but compromises the sensitivity of the human eye essential for sporting and informative storytelling.
In journalism, the lack of clear signaling and omnipresent labeling regarding what is synthetic content calls into question the brand's credibility. The use of reconstructions by Artificial Intelligence can dissolve the boundary between historical fact and computer simulation, transforming news into a processed commodity stripped of its social function as a record of reality. Without a rigorous digital watermark, the broadcaster educates the public to accept the synthetic as real, representing a danger to information integrity in times of mass disinformation.
Aesthetic Standardization and the Risk of Brand Cannibalization
There is also an imminent risk of brand cannibalization. Historically, Globo differentiated itself from international competition through its high handcrafted and human production value. By adopting a generic aesthetic dictated by global Artificial Intelligence models, the company gives up its main barrier to entry and levels down with foreign streaming services.
This cultural homogenization may end up whitewashing or standardizing Brazilian regional diversity, replacing the richness of local imperfections with an aesthetic that is too clean for national standards. The audience is already showing discomfort with this forced implementation, perceiving the degradation of the experience in favor of immediate profit for shareholders.
Union Reaction and the Future as Software as a Service (SaaS)
The reaction of the working classes is beginning to take shape through entities like SATED and other audiovisual sector unions. These organizations are trying to include anti-AI clauses in collective bargaining agreements to ensure that technology remains only a supportive tool and never a substitute for human authorship.
However, the disparity of forces is notable, as the broadcaster holds control over distribution channels and technological infrastructure. The ultimate goal seems to be the complete transformation of Globo into a Software as a Service company, where it not only produces content but dominates the architecture where all Brazilian audiovisual content will be generated and processed. By selling these automation tools to smaller broadcasters and independent producers, Globo creates a technical monopoly that dictates national industry standards under a logic of technological dependence.