AI Creative Summit London Features Avid AI

Four hundred and twenty people gathered at the British Film Institute (BFI) for AI Creative Summit London, united by a single purpose: To explore the implications and opportunities of AI in the media production business.

Organized by Broadcast, Broadcast Tech, MPTS and Screen International, the AI Creative Summit brought broadcasters, tech vendors, journalists, creatives, producers, and directors from many countries to learn and share knowledge about the subject.

Avid was a key sponsor of the event, and Avid Product Evangelist, Craig Wilson, spoke about how AI is being integrated into Avid products, including Media Composer, MediaCentral and Pro Tools.

In a twenty-minute presentation, headlined “From Hype to Reality – Avid Ada, Knowledge Management, and the Future of News,” Wilson outlined the approach the company is taking on AI, including looking ahead to how it could be used in future solutions to enable greater creativity among editorial production teams.

“Avid Ada is inspired by the work of AI and computing pioneer Ada Lovelace,” Wilson said. “It is a framework of solutions which we are building and implementing across our products to be a co-pilot to creatives. We believe that AI should be an enabler to the great people who use Avid products to make news programs, documentaries, films and more.”

AI Creative Summit London discussion focused on the impact AI may have on jobs within the industry, and how the current use of AI requires more people, not less, to be involved in the creative process. There is concern, however, about the impact of AI on entry level positions, but even here there was optimism that it could be used to enhance creative possibilities.

“I do not believe that AI will take your job,” Wilson explained. “What I think we should be focused on is how your job may be taken by another person who is able to utilize AI more effectively, and that could be the skills difference in the future.”

In the presentation, he outlined how Avid Ada-powered AI solutions are already available within Media Composer through the use of both PhraseFind and ScriptSync  and how transcription services are being previewed in MediaCentral. These solutions are running locally, do not require connection to the cloud, and have been developed following responsible AI guidelines Avid has developed.

Wilson discussed Avid’s research around the move from pure asset management to what is known as knowledge management. This is a way newer technologies such as semantic embeddings and knowledge graphs can be used to build relationships between different silo’d bits of information to better inform organizations about their assets.

In a news sense, this applies not just to video which exists in the system, but linking it with text wires from news agencies, stories within a newsroom computer system (NRCS) like MediaCentral | Newsroom Management, audio from podcasts, interview clips, stories on social media and website posts. A knowledge management system could have the capabilities to analyze this information, make connections and build relationships aiding content discoverability, for example.

Wilson demonstrated a prototype of a recommendation engine, where a journalist could be typing a script and at the same time, the video production system could be offering related footage. Another proof of concept was shown where a chatbot could be interrogated to display information about a number of wire stories, summarize their content, discuss why they relate to each other, and then use the information to create a social media post.

In both examples, what was crucial was the role of end users. They are responsible for verifying that images are correct or that social posts match what they require before publication. This use of AI as a co-pilot is central to Avid’s approach to AI.

Avid has published a White Paper on its AI strategy across its product range. Wilson emphasized that this strategy continues to evolve as new solutions and questions emerge about how AI can be used, both in product development, and in the end products themselves.

Wilson emphasized that while AI can be a useful tool, the real wisdom involved in creation comes from the people who use the tools— whether editors, sound mixers, journalists, researchers or producers. While computers can hold the information required for knowledge, true wisdom is delivered by the unique capabilities of the people operating the systems.

“Never forget that knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit,” Wilson said. “Wisdom is knowing that a tomato does not go into a fruit salad.”

Find out more about Avid AI solutions and how they can make your life easier.