Between AI and ratio

Artificial intelligence requires common sense

Bogdan Sutter
Director Advisory, Strategy and Digital Change Expert, PwC Switzerland

The latest edition of the PwC study “Swiss Entertainment & Media Outlook 2023-2027” highlights the use, the fields of application and the challenges of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the industry and also takes a look into the future.

The Swiss entertainment and media (E&M) industry’s shift towards digital channels and formats continues. This can be seen in the latest “Swiss Entertainment & Media Outlook 2023-2027” study from PwC Switzerland. Generative AI has particular potential in this sense. How it is used in the E&M market today and how it will change the E&M market tomorrow is addressed in a separate chapter of the study focusing on this issue.

A constant hit with the media

Generative AI technology is based on advanced deep learning models. It learns from existing data and generates new content based on that. The technology itself is not new. What is new, however, is that platforms and tools are more accessible and easier to use than ever before. It is not surprising therefore that generative AI has enjoyed an enormous amount of media attention since the introduction of the artificially intelligent chatbot ChatGPT in November 2022. The E&M industry is increasingly using technology to generate new media content and carry out research

More dynamic in a multitude of ways

There are several factors suggesting that generative AI will make quick progress. For example, basic generative AI models are trained on huge amounts of unstructured data from the internet. There is plenty of this kind of data out there thanks to social platforms and user-generated content. In addition, AI-based models benefit from increasingly powerful hardware components, cloud hosting and deployment environments. Furthermore, the big tech players such as Microsoft, Google, Baidu, IBM and Nvidia are investing heavily in generative AI. This is how AI start-ups and pilot projects attract the attention of investors. Finally, generative AI is scaling new forms of personalisation in more and more different fields of application.

Widely used and promoted

Three quarters of companies represented in the E&M study say they use generative AI; 46% of respondents use it at least once a week. Advertising agencies are particularly active when it comes to using the technology, which makes them industry pioneers. Generative AI is particularly well suited to what they do, for example for independently creating new content such as music, texts and videos, translating texts or generating ideas. 35% of respondents cite a lack of understanding as the main reason why they are still avoiding generative AI.

The usage behaviour of employees correlates with the support provided by employers. 71% of the companies surveyed promote the use of generative AI either moderately or strongly. It is noteworthy that SMEs with up to 250 employees in particular say they use the technology on a regular basis. This could be due to the fact that small organisations often absorb new technologies faster than large companies.

Advantages recognised

87% of participants in the study believe that the increasing use of generative AI brings more advantages than disadvantages, such as improving the audience experience or increasing creativity. Currently, E&M players mainly use generative AI for simpler tasks and in a supportive capacity. They use the technology to automate day-to-day or labour-intensive routine tasks and their processes, i.e. to increase productivity.

“Generative AI frees up time for creative and high-value tasks.”

93% of respondents say that generative AI makes their everyday business easier and more efficient. This assessment mirrors that of 82% of respondents, who say that content created with AI is of equal or lesser quality than content created by humans. Accordingly, generative AI frees up time for employees to focus on tasks that require human intelligence. 77% of respondents would like to see generative AI used more often in the future. This proves that the E&M industry believes in the potential of the technology.

Reservations remain

Despite all the optimism, generative AI also poses serious risks, for example in terms of data protection, environmental compatibility or ethical integrity. For example, 72% of participants in the study said that they see the protection of sensitive data as being jeopardised by AI. More than three quarters of respondents distrust generative AI and the content it produces. Nine out of ten respondents are concerned that generative AI may not distinguish between information which is true and false. The impact on copyright law is at the heart of these concerns. The results produced by generative AI are something new, but they draw on existing, original content. In doing so, they threaten to violate copyrights. Many artists are unhappy that generative AI is using their material without permission and feeding similar material back into the market.

Controversial price debate

59% of participants believe that generative AI will revolutionise the world of work and even replace jobs in the E&M industry. There is a heated debate regarding whether and how generative AI will change prices in the E&M industry. Some fear that price pressure could increase because generative AI makes tasks easier and so reduces costs. Others argue that it improves quality and performance, which could increase prices. The impact of generative AI on paid searches is likely to improve the relevance, accuracy and usefulness of search results. However, it will hardly replace the search entirely.

An outstanding game changer

The focus of this year’s E&M outlook brings to light a certain ambivalence which is inherent to new kinds of technology. On the one hand, generative AI has the potential to bring about disruptive change in all areas of the E&M market. The industry representatives surveyed are positive about the use and the benefits of generative AI. On the other hand there are challenges and risks involved, such as a lack of data security, insufficient integrity of statements or the violation of copyrights. The fact is, generative AI frees up time for creative and high-value tasks by automating routine tasks. Whether this will make it a valuable tool, a rival or a catalyst for human creativity remains to be seen. Either way, generative AI has already significantly changed the world of work and will continue to do so. E&M managers are well advised to keep an eye on this game changer and to take a long-term view.

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