AI is a Potential ‘Goldmine’ and a ‘Ticking Time Bomb,’ Says SMPTE Chief at HPA Tech Retreat

AI is both a potential “goldmine” and a “ticking time bomb,” in the words of Rich Welsh, Deluxe senior VP of innovation, who also serves as president of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.

Speaking Wednesday at the HPA Tech Retreat, an annual engineering conference taking place this week in Palm Springs, Welsh reviewed some of the recent steps and decisions toward AI legislation, a subject that remains murky. “Creative work in particular belongs to the person who created it. But can you protect it realistically, if you don’t have any recourse to defend the ownership of that work?,” he asked. “That is my ticking time bomb.”

He then turned the subject to the potential opportunity afforded by the huge archives of content owned by media & entertainment companies. “We generate so much information when we shoot a TV show, shoot a movie, shoot a commercial,” he said. “The substantial part of that information is thrown away afterwards, or it’s kept somewhere where no one can see it. The ‘keeping it somewhere no one can see it’ is our advantage.” That edge, he continued, is that it is unavailable on social media or anywhere online. “Your script notes, concept art, orchestration for soundtrack – these things don’t really see the light of day,” he reminded the estimated 500 delegates.

But he asserted that this not-publicly-available data does have value. “AI companies who are training these models cannot go and get that data without coming to you for it,” he said, adding though that there’s a rub. “And I’m going to guess that for most of you, you can’t just access it either. You don’t have it sitting there at your fingertips.”

He urged tagging of this content, including rights information. “This is going to become more and more important if you want to use your data,” he said. “And I think even if we think about this without legislation, ethically, this is what we should be doing.”

He also stressed that attendees need to “think beyond the movie” about alternative uses of their archives as he concluded his talk. “Think about all the other applications downstream,” he asserted. “You’ve got retail, you’ve got the metaverse and virtual. So think about going beyond just the media that you’re creating in terms of the AIs that you could train based on the data that you have and value that that brings to your content — and then I have to say, always be ethical.”

His talk was one in a schedule packed with speakers who discussed a range of subjects surrounding AI. The HPA confab runs through Thursday.