Emerging technologies like extended reality, artificial intelligence, and fifth generation wireless connectivity (XR, AI, 5G) are transforming the media, entertainment, and gaming industries, opening new opportunities for the tech savvy businessperson and transforming mass media into more personalized entertainment experiences.
But there are also substantial threats and challenges posed by those same new technologies. Precarious employment conditions, inequitable compensation standards, competitive business pressures, audience fragmentation and more are in play.
Just how emerging tech is remaking the media and entertainment industries—for better or worse— is explored in a new report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
By harnessing the power of 5G, AI, and other emerging technologies, MIT researchers say media and entertainment companies can deliver individually tailored content and interactive environments that cater to people’s personal preferences, not simply mass markets.
The MIT Technology Review Insights report, “Designing the future of entertainment“, says the possibilities are endless, and the boundaries of ‘media’ now extend to include AR-powered wayfinding and digital signage in retail spaces; VR experiences that put fans on the sidelines of their favourite sports event; live interactive online gambling casinos, even high-impact medical care and surgical simulations in the operating room.
The MIT report itself was created in partnership with tech company Nokia; it includes in-depth interviews with media and entertainment executives, tech startup entrepreneurs, industry analysts and experts. Among the organizations represented are Canada’s Seneca College, along with StoryFit, Databricks, Twyn, Enders Analysis, PwC, MIT, and Nokia.
Extended reality (XR) platforms, encompassing aspects of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR), are redefining how we experience created content. From attending virtual concerts and sporting events to enjoying airline flights with custom XR experiences to interacting with digital elements that enhance live performances, XR will see unprecedented levels of immersion and engagement being created, both inside and outside the home, the report’s contributors expect.
Likewise, the increased speeds and low latency of 5G connectivity is also raising the curtain on a new era of individualized media experiences. Blending the physical and virtual worlds, adding real-time interactions and personalized content, 5G means content creators and consumer device manufacturers will maximize untethered connectivity opportunities.
Many of the interview subjects contacted for the report agree that it is artificial intelligence that is truly turbocharging media production: there’s real enthusiasm for AI’s potential to power new forms of content creation, and to enable new content formats tailored to specific audience segments.
But even as AI revolutionizes the production process, the report notes that it is often used to streamline it, too. More and more, AI tools are being used by the industry to automate tasks like editing and animation, captioning and dubbing, even to generate recommendations for content types and styles and to conduct predictive analysis of audience preferences and responses. Those are tasks humans used to perform, and the fact that AI now does them is a double-edged sword.
“The media and entertainment landscape is entering a transformative era where AI is no longer just a tool but a catalyst for creative reinvention and operational efficiency,” said Laurel Ruma, global director of custom content for MIT Technology Review, when the report was released. “Success in this new era will require balancing experimentation with responsibility and embracing the evolving digital standards. AI should be seen as a partner in creativity, amplifying human ingenuity rather than replacing it.”
It’s a delicate balance: many major media and entertainment companies are using AI systems trained on large language models (LLMs) that do much of what humans do: develop scripts, compose music, produce visuals, generate ideas, and generally push the limits (creative, but sometimes legal, too) of creativity and visual storytelling.
Nevertheless, the gaming sector, one of the revenue bright spots in the media landscape, exemplifies the energetic enthusiasm and heavy investment now going into AI-powered production, the report said, noting how Electronic Arts says AI will impact 60 per cent of its game development. Generative AI is used to create personalized characters, settings, and items, and AI-enhanced content can respond to each individual player’s behaviour and skills to customize the entertainment experience. When Epic Games implemented the kind of AI-enabled content features that enhance personalization and dynamic play modes, the company reported increased user engagement and player retention.
Viduttam Katkar, a professor of visual effects at Seneca Polytechnic and one of the industry experts contacted as the MIT report was being written, says that AI-based intelligent non-player characters (NPCs) enhance realism by introducing unpredictable behaviour by in-game characters and expanding choices and pathways for players. “What you’re offering a user is infinite replayability, because each user will have a unique experience,” says Katkar. “This, in turn, increases the value of … delivered content.”
Emerging production technologies will also enrich the slate of films reaching audiences, says Katkar. “We will now start seeing a more diverse range of content creators and filmmakers. It’s not going to completely replace the traditional form of filmmaking, but more sci-fi, abstract visions will have a much better [chance of] being brought to life.”
(Interestingly, Katkar is both an alumni and professor at Seneca: after graduation, he took the VFX skills he learned at Seneca on a successful and award-winning career in the media industry before returning to school to share what he had learned with others.)
The learning and experiences of folks working in media and entertainment business are of specific interest to the authors of another report, this one about impacts on the Canadian animation and VFX industry in particular. Comprehensive data about the industry, particularly compensation rates, is scant. Industry placement specialists SourceNerds conducted a survey recently to collect and analyze factors affecting the industry, including concerns about a lack of transparency in compensation data, rising unemployment, and disparities in pay based on gender and ethnicity.
Most professionals in the sector earn between $56, 000 and $100,000 annually, the survey found, but unemployment rates have surged from 4.8 per cent just three years ago to more than 23 percent last year!
Rising unemployment and declining salaries (triggered by a combination of pandemic after-effects, major industry strikes and shutdowns, changing government priorities and tax policies, as well as technological impacts) may deter new talent from entering the industry, the report found, leading to long-term skill shortages.
The report acknowledged the growing demand for technology, like AI and 5G, that supports immersive experiences and independent content. But that puts the animation and VFX industry at a crossroads, as it must address the challenges of rising unemployment, declining salaries, and persistent pay disparities.
Calls for transparent industry employment practices, equitable compensation rates, and proactive— even protective— measures to mitigate the impact and market prevalence of AI and other technologies are being heard not just in the media and entertainment industry.
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AI is truly turbocharging media production: there’s real enthusiasm for AI’s potential to power new forms of content creation, but substantial threats and challenges posed by the same new technologies. (Image credit: National Association of Broadcasters Daily)
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