Originally published on Variety VIP+ By Audrey Schomer on JUNE 3, 2024 6:00AM PT

Generative AI adoption is underway at many media and entertainment companies, according to a survey developed by Variety Intelligence Platform in collaboration with HarrisX and fielded online by HarrisX among 150 U.S. industry decision makers May 2-13, 2024.

Fully 79% of U.S. media and entertainment decision makers indicated their company was either exploring, testing or actively deploying generative AI in some aspect of their business, with nearly half (49%) having implemented in either a few or several areas. Meanwhile, laggards or abstention accounted for 21% of respondents, with 6% saying their company has banned any use of the tech.

Among industry workers, 61% said they currently use gen AI (33%) or plan to (28%). (Full data provided in the full report.)

When it comes to implementation, M&E decision makers expect gen AI to be used in several areas. Relevant to film and TV production, half expect the tech to be used for concept design, visual effects and marketing and distribution, while 30% anticipate its use for content localization.

It further examines the advancement and potential of video generation models that have gripped the industry, including OpenAI’s Sora and Google DeepMind’s Veo, which were announced in the first half of 2024.

Yet to understand how the tech is actively being used today also requires an understanding of its limitations and challenges. VIP+ digs into the specific factors holding back gen AI implementation as tools used to make the highest production-value content. Ethical use is now central and critical to gen AI decision making for media and entertainment companies, and it is the final focus area of this report.

Research for this special report partly draws from 28 independent interviews conducted on background from February to May 2024 with leaders at generative AI tech and service providers, those in VFX and content localization networks, film and TV concept and storyboard artists, independent filmmakers experimenting with generative AI, ethical technologists and lawyers specializing in entertainment and cybersecurity.

Company participants in generative AI include Anamorph, Cuebric, Flawless, ElevenLabs, Haiper, Irreverent Labs, Lightricks, Lore Machine, Metaphysic, Monsters Aliens Robots Zombies (MARZ), Papercup, Pika, Runway and Soul Machines.

This expansive exploration features a six-page section of charts and analysis from original quantitative surveys developed by VIP+ in collaboration with HarrisX and fielded online by HarrisX from May 2-13, 2024, among U.S. respondents, including 1,001 consumers, 308 media and entertainment workers and 150 M&E decision makers.

For additional research on the use and risk mitigation of generative AI in entertainment, we point back to VIP+’s December, October, May and April special reports.

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