by Sandra Ponce de Leon & COGNITIVE WORLD |
This May 2-3, 2019 in Redwood City, leading experts from AI, entertainment and technology companies such as Walt Disney World, Digital Domain, Microsoft, Intel, Accenture, and Qualcomm will make their way to #AIShowBiz Summit 3.0 and pave the way to the future of next-generation entertainment. The summit features a 48-hour 2-day countdown to May the Force be With You day with trailblazer talks, panels, fireside chats, demos, a screening of the film, Do You Trust this Computer? and keynotes by Jannicke Mikkelsen FNF, Film Director of VR the Champions. for the band Queen, Tim Draper, and Guy Kawasaki.
The event will serve as a platform for collaboration between investors and industry experts to connect and accelerate paradigm-shifting industry developments. Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the entertainment industry with AI-enabled chatbots, avatars, robots and an entire new eco-system of sentient beings ." Molly Lavik, Cofounder of #AIShowBiz
I received a preview into what these experts see as the future of AI, entertainment, impact on work and beyond. Here’s what they had to say:
A New Era of Creativity Unleashed
With AI poised to eliminate much manual and repetitive work through automation, we’ll see a shift in jobs to those that require higher skills like critical thinking and creativity. It’s also likely we’ll see new players taking on the incumbents in creative industries such as entertainment, architecture, and advertising. That means established players will need to leverage these new technologies if they are to survive the shift.
One notable example of an entertainment brand that is leveraging the power of AI is Walt Disney. Also known as the happiest place on earth, Disney has always strived to make an emotional connection with their guests and today AI helps the company create powerful customer experiences through the use of chatbots, which when combined with a strong service culture can capture customers for life . “When you utilize artificial intelligence as part of your service technology toolkit, it creates an experience that relates to all people,” said Debbie Zmorenski, Cultural Engineer & Former Leadership Executive, Walt Disney World.
Disney’s characters provide the centerpiece to its AI strategy, invoking an even deeper connection with guests through technology that makes the characters seem more real than Walt Disney could have ever imagined. One of the best examples is the Avatar attraction in Florida. The technology includes AI and CGI making guests feel like they are riding Mountain Banshees like in the movie. “The combination of CGI and AI is one way Disney provides incredible guest experiences, this same technology can be applied in different ways that help to gain a lifelong competitive advantage,” added Zmorenski who will be participating in a fireside chat with Kevin Kelly, President, Bigbuzz Marketing Group titled Magical Chatbots: Combining A.I. & Pixie Dust to Create a Magical Customer Service Experience scheduled for May 3, 9 a.m.-10 a.m. at the Fox Theatre in Redwood City.
The Human Robot Connection
Our augmented machine and robot future is another area of focus for the event. Steve Ardire, a leading AI expert will be moderating the panel Humans, Machines and our Augmented Intelligence Digital Futurem. Ardire explains his thoughts behind the panel, " The whole confluence of this field is expanding the limits of human perception to create new dynamic experiences for consumer entertainment. ”
AI makes possible new types of immersive and multi-sensory experiences that combine technology with powerful storytelling to form a new kind of consumer engagement.
You can apply this to robots and chatbots alike to create compelling storytelling platforms, where consumers can engage with interactive characters and become part of the story itself,” added Ardire.
The panel takes place on Thursday, May 2, 1 p.m.-2 p.m and will include leading AI experts from Roku, Vilynx, UXNeuroLabs, The Collaboratorium, Accenture and VisionFwd.
The impact of AI on entertainment and creative industries is inarguable, the question is how much will AI help to further expand and grow the already massive entertainment economy.
Creative industries generate about $3 trillion globally every year, and a huge portion of that revenue is increasingly affected by artificial intelligence.' said Mark Bünger of InnovationLab.
Yet, for AI to truly make the significant impact experts predict, it also needs a strong infrastructure and powerful hardware to support its computing power. Lenovo, one of the presenting sponsors will be showcasing how its work stations demystify artificial intelligence, enabling customers to scale their AI solutions to meet business objectives in the Ojai Energetics Lobby Lounge. “Lenovo is making the products necessary to fuel the development of this trillion dollar industry,” said Michael Gates, Workstation Specialist, Lenovo.
AI for Social Good
As the author of this article, I want to disclose that I’ve been personally involved with the #AIShowBiz Summit 3.0 since its inception as an attendee as well as an emcee. This year, my voluntary role with the show is expanded and I’m excited to moderate two AI for Social Good panels with an amazing selection of panelists. One will explore how AI can save the oceans, I share Molly Lavik’s commitment to preserving the planet and I had the pleasure of curating this panel comprised of scientists and technologists who will discuss the marriage of the two disciplines and what solutions are possible when AI is put to use for the benefit of our oceans’ health. This is a fascinating and nascent space that needs all hands on deck to save our most precious resource. We’ll hear from leading experts at the forefront of this exciting new partnership of technology and science, panelists include Liane Thompson, Founder, Aquaai, Donald Pickering, CEO, Olis Robotics, and Marie Smith, CIO, Data360.
Another AI for Social Good panel I will be moderating is called Breaking down Walls - LatinX in AI. The panel will tackle the issue of bias in AI. When technology is primarily built by one homogenous group, that group can embed its unconscious as well as conscious bias into the system. On this panel, we’ll speak with leading researchers and technologists from Capital One Bank, Socialglass, and Accel.AI who are actively pursuing initiatives to combat bias in AI as well as launching their own companies leveraging the power of machine learning. Both panels take place at the Fox Forum, on Friday, May 3 starting at 3:30 p.m at the Super Cool Storytime Stage.
The Blockchain Effect on Entertainment
Another fascinating panel taking place will cover how decentralized capital markets will evolve film financing. The panel will take a peek into the future to see how the combination of edge computing, blockchain and augmented reality intersect to impact a world using AR for commerce, work, and daily life. In the future, we’ll have interfaces that create digital content all around us, which leads to questions like what will the distributed network look like to serve, manage and authenticate that content? How will shared experiences be managed? How will microtransactions of content be serviced? The panel will be moderated by Moses Ma of FutureLab Consulting and feature panelists from Digital Domain, Gravity Jack, Noble Profit | BFLO, and Launch Legal and is scheduled to take place May 2, 11 a.m.- 12 p.m. at the Fox Theatre.
The Future is Holographic
Believe it or not, Princess Leia may be making an appearance at the #AIShowBiz event as a 3D image that floats in the air. The Princess Leia project developed by Daniel Smalley, of BYU Engineering, has a mission to take the 3D displays of science fiction and make them real. This technology advances holograms by creating volumetric images. A holographic display scatters light only at a 2D surface and can’t be experienced at every angle, while a volumetric image displays in 3D through the emission, scattering, or relaying of illumination. For this reason, a volumetric image can be seen from any angle. “This display is like a 3D printer for light,” Smalley, said. “You’re actually printing an object in space with these little particles.” The Princess Leia project will be on display at the panel titled, May the Force be with You, Future Frontiers on May 3, from 8 - 9 p.m. at Fox Theatre.
AI Tech on Display at Pitchfest
Prestigious judges will determine the winner of the 3-round #AIShowBiz PitchFest where the recipient will receive a feedback session with Tim Draper, Founder at Draper Associates and Draper University who is also the opening keynote for the summit.
An additional award will be given out for the first time this year called the “Hans Lavik May the Force be with YOU” Award to celebrate the original co-founder’s legacy to helping entrepreneurs succeed. The awards will be presented at exactly 9 p.m. PST which also the dawning of “May the Force be with YOU” Day.
#AIShowBiz Summit 3.0 is taking place May 2, 3 in Redwood City will highlight the best applications of AI in entertainment, blockchain, and social impact. To attend #AIShowBiz Summit or find out more, visit www.AIShow.Biz, speaker details can be found at https://aishow.biz/speakers/.
Sandra Ponce de Leon is an entrepreneur, startup advisor, and techno-optimist with a focus on social impact technologies such as Blue-tech, AI, blockchain and iOT. Follow @sandramp