AI IN ENTERTAINMENT AND MEDIA
Blog
Artificial Intelligence has changed the way we do a lot of things in recent years. Thanks to intelligent algorithms, we can now access a higher quality of physical and digital security, discover new treatments for illnesses, and simplify the workplace. AI has also influenced the way we consume content in the media and entertainment world.
Media and entertainment in the current landscape can apply to everything from journalism and social media campaigns to film and television, radio and podcasting, gaming, music, and sports. Every aspect of the media landscape can benefit from a greater focus on intelligence. Whether it’s Netflix using algorithms to tell us which shows we might like to watch next, or musical services creating custom playlists based on our audio tastes.
Let’s explore where artificial intelligence is currently taking the M&E industry, and what we can expect to see in the years to come.
The Evolution of Entertainment
The digital world gives consumers access to endless sources of entertainment. There are millions of hours of content to watch on social streaming sites like YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok.
Endless articles appear all over the web daily, and new streaming services are popping up all the time. Currently, Grandview Research indicates the video streaming market will reach a value of $223.98 by 2028. Media companies are therefore facing an increased demand to increase the quality and quantity of the content they create to attract as many consumers as possible.
AI isn’t just a tool for consumers of the entertainment industry – helping them to make better decisions about what to listen to or watch. The right intelligent tools can also help entertainment companies to improve their customer experience. Some of the benefits of AI in media and entertainment today include:
- Improved Search Functionality
This might seem like a simple improvement but being able to search for and find the content we want at speed represents an incredible upgrade to the entertainment landscape. With so much media available in today’s digital world, customers need a range of ways to connect with their preferred services and find what they want.
AI improves search functionality by helping platforms to sort through millions of options in a split second. Voice-activated smart televisions and speakers can listen to a customer’s request and understand what they’re looking for, even when language is garbled. The same tools can even use algorithms to determine what they think someone means, based on the context of a question.
All the while improved meta data tagging and media management means that platforms can now sort their content more effectively too. Even Google is getting better at figuring out what we want when we look for something online.
- Content personalization
Perhaps the most well-recognized example of AI in entertainment comes in the way that companies can now personalize content and media recommendations. Netflix and Spotify have gained incredible popularity in the last few years because they offer a varied content selection to all demographics. However, people also love these services because it’s easy to find the media they want.
AI and machine learning algorithms allow media and entertainment companies to examine customer data and behavior patterns, without compromising on privacy.
This makes it easier for the services to suggest what someone might want to listen to or watch next, based on previous browsing patterns. Spotify can even go as far as to build entire playlists for customers based on what they’ve enjoyed in the past. Countless other companies are now following in these footsteps, offering “personalized” recommendations for articles, videos, games and more.
- Better content creation
When media companies understand their customers, they’re more capable of creating content their people will enjoy. AI is helping media companies to make strategic decisions on the kind of entertainment they should be spending money on. AI algorithms can quickly assess huge amounts of data from everything from social media to watching numbers to determine what customers enjoy.
The more in-depth these analyses are, the more likely it is that the company will make better decisions about what to invest in in the years to come. AI can also make it easier for companies to figure out what exactly people like and dislike about different forms of entertainment. Things like sentiment analysis can give companies a better view of what makes their clients tick.
AI could even be the key to helping inspire better brainstorming sessions. By looking through huge amounts of information, a tool can come up with ideas that human beings overlook.
- Improved Accessibility
Media and entertainment are more effective when everyone can enjoy it. Lately, there’s been an influx of international content appearing on streaming services because these tools now have the ability to effectively translate the content from other parts of the world. AI technology can automatically create accurate subtitles, or even convert spoken words into other languages.
Manually writing the subtitles for multiple shows in countless languages would take thousands of hours for human translators, but for AI it can take minutes. AI can help with making all kinds of content more accessible to people with disabilities and individuals from different parts of the world. The creation of subtitles is just the start.
Future technology could also involve automatically translating human voices into natural-sounding AI versions of voices in different languages.
- Moderation and compliance
Every country and every media platform have regulations to consider when it comes to the kind of content it can broadcast. Adult content might not be able to be shown on television on certain channels at certain times. Streaming platforms may allow more adult content but may need to provide warnings on the kind of content that may cause seizures.
Managing regulation on a massive scale would take a significant amount of time for most human beings, but AI can perform image and sentiment detection on a rapid scale, to identify examples of sensitive content. AI systems can also use natural language processing to detect offensive language in different dialogues. This makes it much easier for broadcasters and media services to provide suitable ratings for their content.