Transforming the Media Landscape: The Role of AI and Innovation

During a session at the IBC, Francesco Venturini, corporate vice president of worldwide media and communications industry at Microsoft, and Allan Broome, CEO of MediaKind, discussed how technology and innovation are revolutionizing the media industry.

Venturini emphasized the importance of Microsoft’s artificial intelligence service, Microsoft Copilot, which amplifies human creativity rather than replacing it. He highlighted the central role of the cloud in enabling AI models and mentioned that Microsoft plans to deploy 120 data centers worldwide in 2023 to support AI applications. Venturini also showcased examples of how AI is already impacting the media industry, such as Microsoft’s work with the NBA and the MotoGP.

At the MotoGP, AI is used for measuring advertisers’ exposure and identifying bad camera shots. The real-time dashboard measures how much each advertiser’s branding has been seen in shots within milliseconds. If one brand is underexposed, AI automatically redirects drones to shoot the same shot from a different angle. AI is also utilized to identify and discard bad camera shots, optimizing storage efficiency.

Broome joined Venturini on stage and discussed MediaKind’s adoption of new technology, including AI. He mentioned that generative AI has reached an inflection point, surpassing the average human in speech recognition. Automation of tasks such as generating automatic audio tracks, closed captioning, and highlights can be achieved through leveraging AI and storing content in the cloud.

While there is some resistance to the role of AI in creating new content, there is less resistance in areas such as audio tracks, highlights, and video compression. AI models are being used to optimize compression algorithms, ensuring energy efficiency and the best video quality.

Venturini and Broome highlighted the special relationship between Microsoft and MediaKind, with a focus on problem-solving and delivering the best experiences for customers and consumers. Direct access to software developers building core services within Azure streamlines the problem-solving process and strengthens the partnership.

Overall, technology and innovation, particularly AI, are transforming the media landscape, enabling new possibilities in content creation, optimization, and enhanced user experiences.

Sources:
– Microsoft Copilot: Microsoft’s artificial intelligence service
– Microsoft Azure: Microsoft’s cloud computing platform
– MotoGP: Motorcycle racing championship
– IBC: International Broadcasting Convention
– NBA: National Basketball Association
– MediaKind: Media technology company
– Generative AI: AI that can automatically produce content or mimic human behavior
– Cloud: Online storage and computing resources accessible remotely
– Codec: Coding and decoding algorithm for video compression