VIEWPOINT Improving meetings with visual AI JOEL MULPETER: CRESTRON Recently, the terms ‘hybrid work’ and ‘AI’ have received considerable attention. This raises the question: can the latter help the former? You have likely heard quite a bit about virtual assistants and the ability of artificial intelligence to summarise a meeting and report on everything from attendees’ names to the mood of the session. What is and is not allowed in that regard can vary between jurisdictions, but there are other aspects of AI that aren’t nearly as contentious. Hybrid working has revealed several problems, many of which are technological. Tools used by in-office workers to collaborate with remote workers often provide poorly framed video, which makes it difficult to see and hear participants. All of these issues affected how engaged remote workers were with the meeting. For example, as the clarity of an image diminishes, the gestures, expressions and all the other nonverbal cues critical to maintaining engagement become compromised. And, when remote meeting attendees cannot see their colleagues properly, meeting fatigue can set in and negatively impact productivity. Intelligent video systems offer an elegant solution, dramatically improving the experience for the remote viewer while allowing in-person participants to conduct a meeting or contribute without worrying about disappearing from the screen. Intelligent video systems automatically create a broadcast-quality video, eliminating the need for manual video switching or camera operation. Driven by visual AI, intelligent video follows people when they are presenting and 62
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQ1NTk=