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Time Business News
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time Business News
How Technology Is Shaping the Future of Entertainment
The entertainment industry has always evolved with technology, from the invention of the radio to the rise of streaming platforms. But today, the pace of transformation is faster than ever. Artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), blockchain, and next-gen content delivery are reshaping how we consume, create, and interact with entertainment. In this article, we'll explore the key technologies revolutionizing the entertainment industry, what they mean for consumers and creators, and where this digital evolution is headed. The transition from cable and satellite TV to streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video has redefined how audiences consume content. Unlike traditional TV, which followed a linear schedule, streaming offers instant access to thousands of titles on demand. Platforms now use machine learning algorithms to analyze viewing history, watch time, and behavior to deliver personalized recommendations. This not only improves user engagement but also shapes future content development. For instance, Netflix's data influences decisions on show renewals, casting, and even plot direction. AI is increasingly used in pre-production and post-production processes. It can generate scripts, assist in editing, and even recreate actors' faces or voices through deepfake technology. ScriptAI and tools like Jasper and Sudowrite are helping writers brainstorm and refine stories. Chatbots and AI-powered assistants now serve as digital concierges for fans—recommending what to watch, answering trivia, and even creating custom playlists. AI also powers subtitles, dubbing, and translations, helping entertainment companies scale globally. VR offers full immersion, transporting viewers into 360-degree worlds. Companies like Meta (formerly Facebook) are investing heavily in VR through platforms like Meta Quest, while game developers are creating hyper-realistic virtual experiences that blur the lines between digital and real life. AR, on the other hand, overlays digital elements onto the real world. Apps like Pokémon GO or Snapchat filters have shown how AR can turn everyday surroundings into interactive entertainment zones. Artists, musicians, and performers are also exploring VR and AR to reach fans in innovative ways. Virtual concerts—like Travis Scott's Fortnite show or Ariana Grande's Rift Tour—are redefining the concept of live entertainment. The concept of the metaverse—a shared, persistent, virtual universe—is gaining traction. While still in early stages, platforms like Roblox, Decentraland, and Meta Horizons offer social, gaming, and entertainment experiences within digital worlds. Entertainment companies are eyeing the metaverse as the next frontier. From virtual movie theaters to NFT art galleries and avatar-based concerts, the possibilities are limitless. Creators and companies can now sell virtual merchandise, experiences, and tickets. NFTs (non-fungible tokens) play a major role in enabling digital ownership. Imagine owning a limited-edition concert outfit for your avatar or a collectible video clip from your favorite artist. Blockchain technology is promoting transparency and decentralization in media. Smart contracts enable artists to get paid instantly and fairly when their content is used or streamed, bypassing traditional middlemen like labels or studios. Platforms like Audius and Theta are experimenting with decentralized models where fans can directly support their favorite creators, creating a more equitable entertainment economy. Blockchain also strengthens digital rights management. Immutable records on the blockchain make it easier to track ownership, usage rights, and revenue sharing, reducing piracy and copyright infringement. Interactive storytelling—where the audience makes decisions that influence the plot—is rising in popularity. Netflix's Black Mirror: Bandersnatch was a breakthrough moment for interactive video content, and gaming companies continue to lead in creating choice-based narratives. Gamification features like live polls, quizzes, and real-time interaction keep viewers engaged longer. Twitch's success proves that blending entertainment with live user interaction creates a powerful feedback loop that strengthens fan loyalty. With the evolution of 4K, 8K, and even higher-resolution screens, visual fidelity continues to improve. HDR (High Dynamic Range) and Dolby Vision bring richer colors and better contrast, creating cinema-level experiences at home. Audio is no longer just stereo or surround. Technologies like Dolby Atmos and Apple's Spatial Audio provide three-dimensional soundscapes. For listeners, this means feeling like they're in the center of the action—whether it's a concert or a movie scene. As tech reshapes the industry, new job roles are emerging—AI trainers, virtual environment designers, blockchain developers, metaverse architects, and digital rights managers. For aspiring creatives, technical literacy is becoming as important as artistic skill. Understanding data analytics, basic programming, or AR/VR platforms can give professionals a competitive edge. Affordable tools for editing, animation, and sound design allow independent creators to produce studio-quality content. Platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Substack have empowered solo creators to build massive audiences without traditional gatekeepers. Technology is not replacing traditional entertainment—it's enhancing and expanding it. The future lies in hybrid experiences that combine physical and digital, passive and interactive, real and virtual. Whether it's watching a movie in VR, attending a holographic concert, or owning a piece of your favorite show as an NFT, the boundaries are being redefined. For creators, producers, and fans alike, the message is clear: adapt and explore. The future of entertainment is being written in code, created with algorithms, and powered by immersive, intelligent tech. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Forbes
4 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Why Companies Using AI Should Increase Prices
AI can be a game changer for businesses, but it can also be an expensive drag on the balance sheet. A new report from billing software provider Chargebee found that companies that grew most in the last year were the ones that changed their pricing strategies to account for AI. The ones that were most successful combined a variety of pricing models: recurring subscriptions, usage-based models, outcome-based models and flat fees. Four in five of the companies surveyed that added AI said they are also changing their pricing. But how to adjust prices, especially in a time of economic uncertainty, is a challenge. Just over half said customer retention is their top concern, but 40% of businesses that adjusted prices last year reported a disconnect between increases and customer value. Nearly a quarter of companies struggled with explaining the benefits of adding AI functions to their services, while technical issues also caused struggles. Most SaaS providers have traditionally charged enterprises based on individual licenses, which is far different from a usage fee. Many companies, the study found, are testing out a variety of pricing structures to see what works best. A vignette in the study from AI fiction writing tool Sudowrite's founder Amit Gupta laid out an issue they had with their original flat subscription-based pricing model: There were users paying $20 a month for the service, but their use of AI was costing the company $400 a month. They started charging by the word—and letting users develop custom tools—but that also could be more unsustainable if the users did a lot to modify those tools. Now they have a credit and usage-based model, but the company is still experimenting with it. While decisions on pricing and value calculations often come from the CFO or CEO, input from the CIO—who best understands cost, usage and value of AI-driven functions—is vital to driving revenue growth through a company's AI transition. CIOs also know which functions are needed for their enterprise, and which price increases may be worth budgeting for. Use of AI and new technology depends on infrastructure as well as service, and updating the technological capacity of a place can be a huge undertaking. The Kraft Group, which owns businesses including the New England Patriots and their home field Gillette Stadium, recently signed a five-year agreement with infrastructure provider NWN to upgrade the stadium and other playing facilities. I talked to Kraft Group CIO Michael Israel and NWN CEO Jim Sullivan about how they are preparing these mega-facilities for a more connected future. An excerpt from our conversation is later in this newsletter. The Clinton Clean Energy Center in Clinton, Illinois. All of the things AI can do with computing need power, and a lot of it. This week, Meta made a deal to get the power it needs, signing a 20-year agreement to buy all of the power produced at a Constellation Energy nuclear plant in Clinton, Illinois. The agreement starts in June 2027—after an existing state agreement runs out—and will expand the plant's output. Meta has prioritized finding sources of nuclear power, both with new plants and utilizing existing ones, to support its technology going forward. The company announced an RFP for nuclear energy developers in December, and says it has shortlisted potential new nuclear power resources. This is the second deal a tech company has made with Constellation to redevelop its nuclear plants for AI. In September, Microsoft announced a 20-year deal with the power provider for one of its reactors at its Three Mile Island facility in Pennsylvania (not impacted by the 1979 meltdown). Constellation has said it expects to restart the reactor by 2028. Amazon and Google have both been investing in small nuclear reactors, and Google announced an investment in three advanced nuclear energy projects by Elementl Power. These deals, coupled with four executive orders from President Donald Trump aimed at bolstering nuclear power, seem to be heralding a new nuclear power age in the U.S., writes Forbes senior contributor David Blackmon. In the meantime, tax incentives for renewable energy sources, including solar panels and wind turbines, are in line to be cut in Trump's latest budget. Still, Forbes senior contributor Ken Silverstein writes, renewable energy is touted by many as the fastest and least expensive way to get more power into the grid—and could also play a huge role in generating the electricity needed for the AI-driven future. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The Trump Administration is reorganizing the AI Safety Institute into a new group: the Center for AI Standards and Innovation. Forbes' Thomas Brewster writes that there are few obvious changes. The AI Safety Institute was created in 2023 as part of President Joe Biden's AI executive order, and operated within the National Institute of Standards & Technology to research risks in AI systems. The revamped Center for AI Standards and Innovation is still part of NIST but is under the purview of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and positions itself as taking a bulwark against 'censorship and regulations [that] have been used under the guise of national security. Innovators will no longer be limited by these standards.' But the statement about the revamped organization says that this group will also work on research to measure and improve security of systems, evaluating where risks exist. At this juncture, it's difficult to see what the big difference in purpose is—except, of course, that this iteration has a different name and was established by a different president. Outside of the government sphere, computer scientist Yoshua Bengio, often referred to as the 'godfather of AI,' launched a new nonprofit organization aimed at creating AI systems prioritizing safety, writes Forbes senior contributor Leslie Katz. LawZero is starting with $30 million in funding and is assembling a team of world-class AI researchers to work on a system called Scientist AI—a non-agentic system that behaves in response to human input and goals. 'Such AI systems could be used to provide oversight for agentic AI systems, accelerate scientific discovery and advance the understanding of AI risks and how to avoid them,' the statement on the organization's website says. 'LawZero believes that AI should be cultivated as a global public good—developed and used safely towards human flourishing.' Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images All USB-C ports are not created equal, and Microsoft intends to do something about it. Ports don't always have the same capabilities now, meaning users sometimes plug peripherals into their computers and they don't work. Forbes senior contributor Barry Collins writes that the company will establish minimum settings for all USB-C ports on its computers, meaning things will work every time they are plugged in. But while this will be a welcome change, it is a hardware one—meaning it will make no difference until users actually upgrade their physical computers. Kraft Group CIO Mike Israel and NWN CEO Jim Sullivan. In April, the Kraft Group—which owns the New England Patriots, MLS' New England Revolution and Gillette Stadium—signed a five-year agreement with tech infrastructure provider NWN to transform the tech framework for the Kraft Group's facilities, including Gillette Stadium and a new training facility for the Patriots. I talked to Kraft Group CIO Michael Israel and NWN CEO Jim Sullivan in April about the challenges of bringing the latest technology infrastructure to a place like Gillette Stadium, and how big facilities with a multitude of uses can plan for the future. This conversation has been edited for length, clarity and continuity. A longer version is available here. How do you come up with what you want to accomplish, and how do you figure out what kind of infrastructure is needed to make it happen? Israel: We have our Monster Jam [this weekend] at the stadium. On Saturday, I'll be walking around the stadium engaging. Gillette is one of the few stadiums in the country in which we own and self-operate our stadium. It's our security staff, our concession staff. I am walking around watching how our fans engage with us. How are our systems being used? Where are they inefficient? Where are they doing their job? How can we improve that experience? Guests will come up to me and say, 'How do I get to the gate?' 'How do I get to my suite?' 'Where's the nearest bathroom?' When they're asking me these things, that's registering in my mind: They don't have that information today. When you have these types of events, they're new users. You want them to have a positive experience because that's your lead in to a potential soccer season ticket holder or future Patriots season ticket holder. But even when you get to the Patriot season ticket holders, what can we do to enhance that experience? It's seeing how our guests experience things, what we're doing right, what we're doing wrong, and not sitting back and saying, 'I'm good. I'm going to go watch the game.' I've been here six years. I think I've seen 15 minutes of one football game. On a football day, I'll generally do about 30,000 steps walking the stadium, watching what's going on. The other side of the coin is what do we do from a technology perspective, looking at what do I need to do to ensure that I have connectivity, and what devices are now connecting to the networks that hadn't in the past? The system that waters the field is an IoT system that's attached to our network. If it's not connecting, it's not watering the field, and we don't know what's going on. We have to allow for connectivity, secure that connectivity, and make sure that that connectivity is reliable. We constantly do surveys after a winter to say, what got impacted by the winter? Do I have Wi-Fi access points that may be misaligned that need to be looked at? I have FIFA coming in next year. That's like having seven Super Bowls over six weeks here at the stadium. They're going to use my parking lots on the east and west side as fan activation zones. I don't have connectivity there. Working with the NWN team, we have to determine what does FIFA need? How do we light up those areas that when the fans are there, they have connectivity. Their booths can operate, their systems can operate, the fans can get connectivity, and we'll have maybe 50,000 or 60,000 fans in the bowl, but we could have an additional 50,000 people on the campus, and that's not a crowd that we're used to having. On the NWN side, how do you determine what to do in large facilities like these and how to support current and future needs? Sullivan: NWN, over the past five years, has grown from $250 million to over $1 billion dollars this year, and really expanded this full end-to-end IT infrastructure. The market is changing really fast with AI adding in. For us, it's working with organizations to start with the end state: What's the vision of what we have to have here, what we're trying to drive? And then, what's the required capabilities? Most of these environments, from the application, to the AI, to the infrastructure, to the unified communications, to security all have to be assessed as one holistic solution. Then we put in the right required capabilities from the technology, the services, the overall management, and co-management with Mike's team. We've reached the breadth and scale where we're dealing with organizations where there's hundreds of thousands of people, or states with 50,000 deployments of people and requirements. We can cover end-to-end, but also have the scale to handle a large project that goes across multiple technology domains and supports a smaller event, and all of a sudden it surges to hundreds of thousands of people. Everyone is getting used to [the fact] that customer experience needs to be world-class; there's expectations there. Ultimately, the Wi-Fi is going to be fast, strong and secure. And then going into these new technologies to a real beneficial evolution, where it's creating new user experience, new knowledge, but is also driving a backend that's going to create a lot more capacity demands on the networks, on the infrastructure. You've got to be able to tie it all together. What advice do you have for CIOs looking to bring more technology to their facilities, thinking about not only what to do today, but what to do in the future? Israel: Ultimately, it's not just if you build it, they will come. If you're building it, you need to be brainstorming how you're going to use it, and you need to have relationships with all of your stakeholders to understand what's holding them back, what would they like to see? In some cases, they don't know what they don't know, and we have to take these technology discussions, take the technology out of it, and think about how are we going to provide solutions. Sullivan: We did 5,000 distinct deployments last year. The really successful ones are driven with a positive outcome you're trying to get to. Collaboration and a partnership between the two as a seamless team really drives the most success to drive those outcomes. With the rise of agentic AI, non-human agents will soon have the ability to do significant work tasks, like the more technical jobs of database administrators. That seems like a huge leap, but here's how to start warming to the idea and embracing this kind of AI agent (even if you're a DBA). You may be an introvert, but that doesn't mean you can't be a successful leader. Here are 10 things you can do to become a thriving manager. Which Big Ten university just introduced an AI Fluency initiative, embedding AI education into the core of all undergraduate curriculum, regardless of major? A. Northwestern University B. Purdue University C. Ohio State University D. Michigan State University See if you got the answer right here.
