Mediapro, Microsoft launch AI and Synthetic Media lab
January 30, 2024
Mediapro has announced the launch of an Artificial Intelligence and Synthetic Media Laboratory in collaboration with Microsoft.
Both companies will share their technological and business knowhow in order to develop vital solutions for the audiovisual industry. Mediapro says this collaboration will allow it to respond to market opportunities and needs with technological innovation and in-depth knowledge of the business.
Mediapro and Microsoft are basing their collaboration on a human-centered approach, furthermore, undertaking to adhere to all legal commitments and ethical principles in the conceptualisation, development, deployment and use of AI solutions, which is the purpose of the laboratory.
The Artificial Intelligence and Synthetic Media Laboratory will see the involvement of about a hundred people from both companies, depending on the projects. The initiative has been driven by Mediapro ‘s Artificial Intelligence Centre, created in 2022, with the aim of leveraging the latest advances in AI in order to create new business models, products and services, as well as to provide audiovisual professionals with tools that facilitate the carrying out of processes related to creation, production and management.
The AI Centre will coordinate with the group’s business units to provide experience and knowledge in the audiovisual, entertainment and sports sectors, as well as with teams from Microsoft Spain and, at a global level, and depending on each project, with specific teams from the Product and Innovation areas of Microsoft Corporation.
The Artificial Intelligence and Synthetic Media Laboratory encompasses various fields of research, such as market and audience analysis, ad monitoring in broadcasting, the accessibility and personalisation of audiovisual and digital content, voice cloning, and improvements in video processing. The potential for Generative AI to create value in the sector is a priority area of focus for the team.
“Our continual embrace of innovation is something that has defined us as a company for 30 years and is something we always undertake in hand with the top technological partners. AI is going to revolutionise the sector and we must be prepared by creating our own solutions and applications and determining the role AI will take in the audiovisual industry,” commented Tatxo Benet, managing partner of Mediapro.
“We are excited about this collaboration, which we hope will mark a before and after in the use of AI in a sector as important as media,” added Alberto Granados, president of Microsoft Spain. “There are many use scenarios in which tasks will be made easier for industry members so they can spend more time being creative.”