Quartz: AI will spark an era of 'rampant creation' for media and streaming companies

AI will spark an era of 'rampant creation' for media and streaming companies

Audiences will be major beneficiaries of AI in the media industry, Brightcove CEO Marc DeBevoise says in the latest episode of Quartz AI Factor

By Rocio Fabbro

Brightcove (BCOV) chief executive Marc DeBevoise doesn’t envision artificial intelligence replacing human creativity anytime soon. Instead, he believes the new technology will help free up resources at media and streaming companies that will open the floodgates for creation.

The streaming technology platform CEO told Quartz that tasks like cutting thumbnail images, following search engine optimization (SEO) best practices, and translating videos will soon be done by AI.

“What that will free up is the resources for those humans to make different decisions that can help optimize,” DeBevoise said in this week’s episode of Quartz AI Factor, a new video interview series filmed on location at the Nasdaq MarketSite (NDAQ).

“I do feel like the tool sets are gonna improve,” DeBevoise said, “and improve on the production and creation side to enable folks to really optimize the content they create for what audiences are looking for.”

“I don’t think it’ll ever take out the creativity of people coming up with new and inventive things from a content perspective,” he added. “And I do believe humans are the only way to create that in a really robust way, over the long term.”

DeBevoise said companies are already in what he calls the “productivity gains area,” with firms — including his own — looking ahead at how AI could help drive revenue and engagement growth. This next wave of AI use could come within the next 12 to 24 months, he said.

Brightcove’s platform helps companies host, share, and stream video content. The company has deployed an AI suite to serve its clients in four key areas: content creation, content management, content optimization, and cost to quality, or adjustment of quality to save money.

But DeBevoise sees AI going beyond the large language models (LLMs) being used today to run AI chatbots like ChatGPT, and being leveraged in an even more powerful way in the months and years to come.

“I think you’ve seen just the tip of the iceberg here,” he said. “And I don’t wanna call it iceberg ‘cause it’s not a negative thing, but I think there’s gonna be rampant creation, especially from folks that are less concerned about the [intellectual property] concerns of the entertainment and potentially news businesses.”

“I think you’re gonna see a wave of creation come from those companies and therefore a tonnage that comes through needs to be able to be managed by some good software tools and some things that are out there, like ours,” DeBevoise said. “But I think that’s gonna really change the environment from an engagement perspective. And I think the audiences will benefit.”

Watch the latest episode of Quartz AI Factor: https://qz.com/ai-sparks-rampant-creation-media-streaming-companies-1851682671