Google's Sanjay Gupta has made the Asia-Pacific region's advantage in the future of global storytelling an attractive case. This positions artificial intelligence as a “magic wand” and changes the area's already shining media landscape.
Speaking at the APOS conference in Indonesia, the president of Google APAC gave a keynote speech with an impressive example of the creative possibilities of AI. The collaboration between Google, Warner Bros. Discovery and other partners brought “The Wizard of Oz” to the Las Vegas realm. Originally filmed with a 35mm camera at a 4:3 aspect ratio, the 1939 Technicolor Classic required “technology-backed” and “incredible collaboration” that includes “thousands of researchers, producers and programmers in the world of film and technology.”
“For me, the real magic was the ability to create digital images and enlarge the shot beyond what was originally in the frame,” Gupta said. “What we couldn't think of just a few years ago is a surprising reality now.”
Gupta cited the dramatic changes in content consumption and creation, drawing on opportunities that are unprecedented for Asian storytellers. “The Wizard of Oz” took 17 years from theatre to television and another 24 years to reach the VHS home, but today's digital tools have created a “instantaneous” global connection.
The numbers are incredible. Over 20 million videos are uploaded globally to YouTube every day, with creators like Indonesia's Justin Bias accumulating 6.7 billion views with over 15 million subscribers.
Asian consumption patterns have evolved dramatically as well. The average Asian person currently watches more than seven hours of stories every day on 5 billion screens. “We're looking for stories designed for GO consumption,” Gupta points out, highlighting everything from drama shorts to games.
Google Executive emphasized the role of AI as an augmentation tool rather than an alternative to human creativity. He showed off using AI tools to capture challenging shots such as “hugging a baby's hands, a mother's finger for the day, showing the inside of the human body and shooting the formation of cells.”
Another example uses Toonsutra using AI to enable real-time translations of the film to be translated into “1000 different languages with proper lip sync for all characters”, effectively removing traditional barriers for consumption.
“This room, the storyteller's room, if you do, is a wizard and I think AI is a magic wand,” Gupta said.
Gupta has identified two key factors that will place Asia at the forefront of the future of global storytelling. First, the region's demographic: “50% of the world's population, 60% of the world's youth” uses emerging technologies that are “young and adaptable to experiments.”
More importantly, he highlighted the “deep culture of storytelling” in Asia, from traditional Indonesian forms to Japanese woodblock seas, from Ramayana to modern anime, K-dramas and web series. “The creativity from this region is gaining attention around the world today,” he said. He said that while India produces content consumed worldwide for over 45 billion hours on YouTube, many people watch K-Dramas outside of Korea.
Despite its creative momentum, Gupta sees huge, undeveloped possibilities. Currently, Asia contributes only 15% to global media revenue, suggesting “huge headroom for us to grow and capture.” The regional media and entertainment business is growing at $60 billion, but could expand significantly due to AI integration.
“This is a movement in the Asian media industry,” declared Gupta. “AI will turbocharge creativity, combined with ingenuity, dynamism and rich storytelling in this region and its large population.”
In a subsequent fireside chat with moderator Vivek Couto, executive director and co-founder of Media Partners Asia, which organizes the APO, Gupta acknowledged two major industry concerns regarding AI recruitment: talent management and creativity protection.
“I think we need to think of AI as a great tool that is augmenting our business. It's an add-on, that's a plus,” he explained. Similar to past technological turmoil, he referenced how the music industry initially feared digital transformation, but ultimately flourished. “The power of ways to work together across stakeholders is an opportunity to protect that creativity and actually help it thrive,” he said.
Gupta concluded his remarks with a challenge to assembled media experts.
