121 MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS Generative artificial intelligence has been riding on the crest of a wave of innovation as new and improved applications have been developed at a rapid pace. From chatbots and speech recognition to predictive analytics and image generation, the technology is promising to make an impact on a variety of different sectors. Such is the importance of AI to the future of business that, according to Bloomberg Intelligence’s 2023 Generative AI Growth report, the market for AI solutions could grow to almost $1.3 trillion by 2032, compared to just $40 billion in 2022. The change AI might bring has captured the public imagination. In the media industry, the prospect of AI automating elements of the creative process has grabbed headlines. Yet according to Simon Crownshaw, worldwide strategy director of media and entertainment for Microsoft, the focus is beginning to shift to less dramatic but more impactful innovations. “We’ve moved beyond the initial fervour of positioning AI as the focal point of all endeavours, entering a phase dedicated to unravelling its practical applications,” says Crownshaw. “Our current emphasis is on achieving operational efficiency across both enterprise and media workflows with customers and their data. When it comes to tasks like metadata creation, highlights or summaries, AI can make a big impact in the media industry. AI also has the potential to make media more available to a broad variety of people across the world through rapid translation, subtitling and captions. We’re showcasing what can be done with the technology, and the pace of development in these areas is exponential.” Microsoft is among the leading providers of AI services, having chosen to invest early in the technology and forming a key partnership with ChatGPT creator OpenAI. Yet as the demand for AI services grows, the boom in interest is laying down an innovation challenge. It’s one that Microsoft is prepared to meet, says Crownshaw. “We’re seeing demand across our portfolio of products, which have broad applicability across many different industries, including media and communications,” says Simon Crownshaw. “Our success during this period is going to be determined by our ability to stay at the forefront of AI innovation and offer our customers the capabilities they’re looking for. I think you can see from our partnership with OpenAI and integrations with partners such as NVIDIA that we’re continuing to invest heavily in research and development to enhance our AI products even further.” “ We’ve moved beyond the initial fervour of positioning AI as the focal point of all endeavours, entering a phase dedicated to unravelling its practical applications” Photo: iStock/simonkr
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