Cloud Hosting

Hollywood-based film studios are increasingly using AI as part of the decision-making process when ... [+] commissioning and producing new films. (Photo by Valery SharifulinTASS via Getty Images)

For anyone who's ever thought Hollywood's output is formulaic and tired, the movie industry may be about to get worse. Major studio Warner Bros. has signed a deal with Cinelytic, which has developed an AI-powered system that can predict the likelihood of a film's success based on such factors as actors, budget and brand.

Predictably enough, Warner Bros. will be using Cinelytic's software as part of the research process it undergoes when deciding which movies to commission. Cinelytic's platform can determine the 'value' (i.e. profitability) of an actor in any major territory and also calculate how much money a film is likely to earn in cinemas and through supplementary merchandising (e.g. DVDs).

While it obviously can't measure how good a film will be artistically, Warner Bros. will likely use it during early production phases to separate ideas likely to succeed from those that most likely aren't. This follows a run of several years during which the studio has suffered a number of high profile losses on such titles asJustice League and Pan, as well as a few instances where its output hasn't performed as well as hoped (e.g. Batman v. Superman).

And it would seem that Warner Bros. won't be the only film studio integrating AI into its decision-making processes. In fact, AI has already received a modest amount of use by studios up until now, so Warner Bros. entry is likely to open the floodgates even further.

For example, 20th Century Fox has been using a system called Merlin for several years now. In contrast to Cinelytic's platform, Merlin uses AI and machine learning (as well as big data) to match particular films to particular genres and audiences. It does this by using a computer vision system to generate a frame-by-frame analysis of movie trailers. After labelling objects and events within each trailer, it then takes the data it has gathered for one film and compares it against data for other films. It might find, say, that a given trailer most resembles films x, y and z, which were popular with female teenagers.

By comparing datasets, Merlin helps 20th Century Fox identify the ideal demographic(s) for any given film. It also helps the studio decide how it should be advertising and classifying that film, insofar as Merlin links a films trailer to genres.

Aside from Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox, it's likely that other film studios and production companies have already turned to AI, without being open about it. For instance, Belgium-based ScriptBook uses AI to analyze a film's script and arrive at an estimation of the revenues that film is likely to earn. Not only that, but ScriptBook's platform can also provide likability scores for a film's characters, profiles of its target audience, and even its likely IMDB rating.

According to the company's CEO, Nadira Azermai, ScriptBook is already at a stage where the financial forecast it provides for each film has an 86% accuracy rate. In other words, it's already working with clients in the film industry, even if it hasn't gone public with the names of any studio or company.

ScriptBook was founded in 2015, but it's probable that other companies will emerge in the coming years, since research into the use of AI-based film prediction is still ongoing. In August, researchers from Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea revealed that they had used deep learning to train a bot to forecast the likelihood of a film's success, based this time on a textual summary of its plot. They trained this bot on 42,306 film plot summaries, in the end finding that it was best at predicting which films would be unsuccessful.

That the bot was better at weeding out 'stinkers' rather than classic films is encouraging. Because while the influx of AI into the film industry might imply that Hollywood could become even more self-plagiarizing in the future, it's possible that studios might restrict the use of artificial intelligence specifically to making sure they don't end up commissioning flops. This would potentially leave space for human decision-making and creativity to get involved in choosing between ideas more likely to succeed commercially.

And to play devil's advocate, it's possible that the use of AI might make Hollywood's output less homogenous. To take a simplified and hypothetical example, the massive success of a superhero film could conceivably create a situation where human producers end up commissioning a series of other superhero movies, even though each entry in this series goes on to enjoy diminishing returns. By contrast, an AI-based platform trained on masses of regularly updated data might be able to determine that, rather than making the next Batman or Superman film, a different kind of movie now has a chance of greater success.

That is, an AI platform might force a studio to change its artistic or stylistic direction sooner than it would have done otherwise. If this is the case, then moviegoers and cinephiles probably don't have anything to fear from AI's invasion of cinema.

Read more here:
Hollywood Is Using Artificial Intelligence To Pick Its Next Blockbuster - Forbes

SINGAPORE - Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies can benefit designers, if they know how to harness them.

Statistical data can be used to predict an outcome a method known as predictive modelling. In urban planning for example, demand for public trains can be forecasted in order to create more efficient public transport deployment plans.

To equip students with such skills, the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) has launched a new undergraduate degree in design and AI,in anticipation of a growing demand for talents who can combine expertise in design innovation with AI technology.

The 3 -year programme - the first of its kind in Singapore - will take in students this academic year, which starts in May, SUTD said on Friday (Jan 10).

Students will be exposed to areas of design such as user interface/user experience (UI/UX), product, systems, built environment, and data-driven design.

They will also learn to use AI technologies and algorithms to produce better design and applications.

Graduates ofthis programme will be able to work as data scientists and data visualisation specialistsin industries such as urban planning, product design and telecommunications, the university said.

Established in 2009, SUTD is the fourth autonomous university in Singapore and focuses on engineering, innovation and design.

It said that the entry requirements for the new programme are the same as for its other four degrees: architecture and sustainable design; engineering product development; engineering systems and design; and information systems technology and design.

Generally, students should be competent in mathematics and the sciences, namely physics or chemistry.

Statistics provided by the university show that of the A Level students who were offered places in the university admission exercise last year, nearly all had taken mathematics at the H2 level, and eight in 10 scored at least a B.

Nearly all had also taken either physics or chemistry, or both, at the H2 Level, and nearly seven in 10 scored at least a B for either or both subjects.

SUTD president Chong Tow Chong said: "The recent announcements from Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on the next steps in Singapore's Smart Nation journey underscorethe importance of artificial intelligence and the role it will play in bringing about social and economic benefits.

"The main goal of the design and AI programme is to equip students with the ability to create human-centred design using data analysis and machine learning, which is AI-driven," added Professor Chong.

Jurong Pioneer Junior College graduate Michael Hoon, who read H2 maths, further maths and physics, and also took a H3 physics module offered by Nanyang Technological University, is interested in the new programme.

Said the 18-year-old: "I've always been interested in maths and science since I was young, for the most part, due to exposure from school teachers and researching a lot of information online.

"Both subjects are visibly all around us and pretty much serveas the foundations of our survival and development, and being able to apply and integrate the theoretical modelling we have learnt into our daily livesis pretty interesting too."

See more here:
SUTD to offer new undergrad degree in design and artificial intelligence - The Straits Times

Marco Stefanini, Global CEO Global and founder of the Brazilian multinational, will be present in the annual event and will have an article of his in the INSEAD Global Talent Competitiveness Index Report

In the year in which it reaches its 50th anniversary, the World Economic Forum, a big annual event that reunites the main leaderships and authorities of the planet in the political and economic scenes will count on Stefaninis participation, one of the most important providers in global business solutions based on digital technologies. The event will take place from the 21st to the 24th of January 2020 in Davos in the Swiss Alps. Marco Stefanini, Global CEO and founder of the Brazilian multinational, will be present along with Felipe Monteiro, Strategy professor at INSEAD and Director of The Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI).

Marketing Technology News: TiVo Unveils TiVo Stream 4K

During the annual event, which will have as a central theme Stakeholders for a more cohesive and sustainable world, the INSEAD 2020 GTCI Report will be launched on January 22nd at the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Tent. The report will showcase an article titled Latin America: The next source of talent in AI? written by Marco Stefanini in partnership with Fbio Caversan, Artificial Intelligence Research & Development Director of Stefanini USA.

On Chapter 2 of the important global report, the Brazilian multinational evaluates the scope of the Science of Artificial Intelligence and technology in Latin America. Additionally, it highlights Marco Stefaninis vision for the current and future scenarios of this theme, which has been the keynote of the disseminated digital transformation.

Marketing Technology News: IRI and Influential Team Up for First-to-Market Launch of Social Campaign Conversion Feed

For several years, Stefanini has been maintaining a solid partnership with INSEAD, one of the worlds largest and most prestigious business schools and will promote in 2020 the 3rd class in the Leadership Transformation Program, which will take place from March 28th to April 4th on INSEADs Fontainebleau campus in France. The Leadership Transformation proposes a journey of discoveries and knowledge so that high leaderships can surpass limits through collaboration and innovation amongst each other.

Marketing Technology News: TiVo Adds New Content Partners to Expand Its Video Network TiVo+

Follow this link:
Stefanini Participates in the 2020 Davos World Economic Forum and Brings Its Experience in Artificial Intelligence - MarTech Series

The photo has been used for illustrative purposes.

2020 marks the start of a critical decade in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As the Fourth Industrial Revolution continues to transform just about every industry sector, and revolutionize the way we live and work, it is only natural that we look to leverage its benefits to drive greater sustainability.

The role of artificial intelligence in achieving renewable energy and sustainable targets was highlighted in a recent report; using AI for environmental applications could add USD 5.2 trillion to the global economy, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 4 per cent, according to PwC.

The benefits of AI in sustainability are manifold: it can support the deployment of self-driving vehicles to transform transportation systems, or better manage food purchasing to reduce wastage. Smart grid technology aligns energy production, distribution and usage more effectively, while water wastage can be tackled at source.

However, while AI and other emerging technologies will undoubtedly prove vital in addressing sustainability challenges, we need to be careful about how they are applied if we dont want to waste an even more vital resource women.

AIs gender bias issues have also come under the spotlight recently from claims that Amazon had to abandon an experimental hiring tool because it discriminated against female applicants, to concerns about the (over) use of womens names for virtual assistants think Siri, and Alexa.

The benefits of AI in sustainability are manifold: it can support the deployment of self-driving vehicles to transform transportation systems, or better manage food purchasing to reduce wastage.

Possible reasons for this perceived gender bias are not hard to determine. While women make up half the global workforce, they only represent 30 per cent of tech industry employees, and less than 10 per cent of clean-tech start-ups are women-owned. In cutting-edge disciplines like AI, the imbalance is even worse: only 12 per cent of AI researchers, and just 6% of software developers, are female.

Given that SDG 5 achieving gender equality and empowering females is central to reaching all the other SDGs, clearly there is still much work to be done in the tech sector.

And the potential is there. In the workplace, technology can help us break down some of the barriers to female inclusion, such as inadequate training, limited access to financing, inflexible work environments, and lack of engagement with decision makers.

Nor is it necessarily true that women dont want to work in tech-related fields. Here in the UAE, women make up 56 per cent of graduates in STEM disciplines. Further, women make up around a third of tech entrepreneurs in the Middle East.

The UAE is also actively promoting opportunities for women in its emerging high-tech sector, and the investment is paying off. Around 40 per cent of the team working on the UAEs Mars Mission are female, while 90 per cent of the scientists at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre are women.

The UAEs commitment to parity between men and women has seen the country climb 23 positions in the UNDP Gender Equality Index in the past year, rising to 26th place and becoming the highest ranked Arab country in the world.

But this commitment to gender equality hasnt come at the expense of technology expertise the UAE also leads the region in technology adoption, and we are also one of the most advanced nations in the world in the application of AI. The UAE was the first country to appoint a minister of state for AI, while Masdar City is set to host the Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence the worlds first graduate-level AI research institution.

The role AI and digitalization can play in sustainability and gender parity will be discussed in-depth at Women in Sustainability, Environment and Renewable Energy (WiSER) Forum, convening on January 14th at this years Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.

The UAEs progress in both gender equality and in driving technology adoption is a clear demonstration that applied correctly technology can be a vital tool in empowering women. By giving women and girls equal opportunities, we can maximize our collective potential. Just ask Siri.

Go here to see the original:
Artificial intelligence needn't be a barrier to gender parity if we use it smartly | Dr. Lamya Fawwaz - Gulf Today