Telly creatives let out a collective sigh of relief as artificial intelligence expert Demis Hassabis ruled out the possibility of computers replacing them any time soon.
“We are a long way from machines being truly creative,” said the founder of machine learning start-up DeepMind Technologies. But, Hassabis warned: “I don’t think it’s impossible.”
Dr Demis Hassabis is the Co-Founder and CEO of DeepMind, the world’s leading General Artificial Intelligence (AI) company, which was acquired by Google in 2014 in their largest ever European acquisition. Demis will draw on his eclectic experiences as an AI researcher, neuroscientist and videogames designer to discuss what is happening at the cutting edge of AI research, its future impact, and how developing AI may help us better understand the human mind, including the nature of imagination and creativity.
There is a media consolidation bonanza under way, with no let-up in sight. The boom is sucking in big legacy media companies, including Hollywood studios such as Warner Bros and MGM, as well as broadcasters, production companies and global tech platforms. With its world-class creative talent, the UK is not immune, and the rush by companies to scale up and secure access to premium content is happening worldwide.
RTS Thames Valley Creative Technology event gathers leading experts to discuss the evolution of the television advertising landscape.
The panel includes David Joel - Head of Commercial, Clearcast, Justin Gupta - Head of Broadcast and Entertainment, Google (UK & Ireland), Nikita Panchal - Marketing Director, Bubble Agency, Dr Phillip McLauchlan - Chief Scientist, Mirriad, and Peter Kemp - Media Strategist.
Chicago and Minneapolis may not seem like the homes of cuttingedge technology but, on 3 April, they became the world’s first two cities with commercial 5G mobile services serving 5G-enabled smartphones.
The service was launched by US carrier Verizon, keen to beat several Korean rivals to the bragging rights for commercialising 5G first, if only by a few hours.
Jon Brennan, Google’s regional manager for broadcast, entertainment and media partnerships, said that television “is still central” to people’s lives. He claimed that although TV consumption had declined by 3% over the past six years, if online viewing was included, consumption of video has, in fact, risen by 25%.
Our reaction to a major change of any kind usually goes in phases…
Avoidance (“I’m not going to look”)
Denial (“I’ve looked but I don’t believe it”)
Fear (“We’re doomed”)
Panic (“I just need to do something”)
Response (“Ok – maybe there is something practical I can do”)
Acceptance (“Well that wasn’t so bad”)
British TV has been fairly consistent in following this pattern when it has faced transformative change in the sector in the past.
Broadcasters fear that the global tech giants are hungry for their audiences and advertising. They are probably right to be fearful, but Google’s Matt Brittin had some soothing words for Britain’s TV community, mixed in with criticism, when he spoke at a sold-out RTS event in late November.
Watch the full session of Matt Brittin, President of EMEA Business & Operations, Google in conversation with journalist Kate Bulkley at the sold out RTS evening event. Brittin talks about his Google's place in the TV industry, touching on subjects such as fake news, British original content and the development of YouTube Red.
Read the event report and watch the highlights video here.
“Don’t take this as me being rude, but as a Brit who’s proud of and grown up with our amazing content,” he urged broadcasters to experiment “with different platforms and technologies – I really believe there’s an enormous opportunity for original British content.
“We need some positive opportunities for export right now and the [online] audience is there, it’s growing and it’s going to double in the next five years.”
