Session Preview: The Next Wave: Multimodal AI in Media & Entertainment
Lisa Jackson
SXSX 2025 - SJMC Student Media Coverage
Are you afraid AI will replace your job? Do you feel mild anxiety that your AI knowledgebase is constantly playing catch up due to the speed of its evolution?
One way to assuage these fears is to understand how new developments in AI can augment skills and creativity rather than replace them. Multimodal AI demonstrates an almost superpower-like skill for marketers and creators. In fact, media and entertainment are already embracing its capabilities – and you’ll see how at SXSW 2025.
What is multimodal AI?
Multimodal AI enables machines to see the world like we do. The AI reads different types of data (text, images, video, audio, tables) and can switch between different data types. In basic technical terms, the AI converts images, videos and text into numerical embeddings (vectors). These numbers allow AI to understand and compare content efficiently. Multimodal allows the user to go beyond a text input and text output. In short, a multimodal search helps the user find the multiple kinds of assets in seconds using a text description. There’s no need for excessive tagging or metadata creation.
CEO and co-founder of Coactive AI and SXSW session panelist Cody Coleman believes that AI is an assistant, not a replacement. It allows for richer storytelling.
“Multimodal AI gives marketers and media professionals superpowers to do more than ever before,” Coleman said.
For example, AI can analyze viewer data and tailor content accordingly. Enhanced storytelling comes with AI-driven recommendations and curation.
Multimodal AI goes for the gold
Coleman shared that his company provided multimodal AI capabilities for NBC during the Olympics. NBC utilized primetime footage with no tags or metadata added in but could search in natural language, resulting in multiple images and videos within seconds. In addition to the search capabilities, NBC utilized personalization capabilities.
“What they were also able to do is activate that content flywheel by taking ratings information and then generate metadata about what was on screen, minute by minute,” Coleman said. “They could understand how audiences at home were reacting with that content and create better experiences.”
About the Panelist
Coleman is also a co-creator of DAWNBench and MLPerf and a founding member of MLCommons. He holds a Ph.D. in computer ccience from Stanford and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT.
“I did my Ph.D. to democratize AI by making it resource and data efficient,” Coleman said. “My dissertation is literally resource and data efficient deep learning.”
He worked at Meta, Pinterest and YouTube and saw how they could leverage their content and deliver better user experiences.
“I got to see firsthand how AI, and specifically multimodal AI, can create better experiences and safer experiences for people all across the web,” Coleman said. “And how you can have this rich content flywheel, which actually enables you to find the right assets, the right content for the right person at the right time and have that kind of amazing content flywheel happen.”
Discussion Topics
In this session, Coleman and guests from media and entertainment will discuss how these superpowers translate into faster content discovery, personalization and engagement. Discussion topics include:
- How machines can see and interpret the world as humans do
- How multimodal AI is being used in media, entertainment and marketing
- Empowerment vs. replacement as AI augments human creativity rather than replaces it
Attendees will benefit from this guided discussion on how multimodal AI is unlocking value in massive media archives, accelerating content production and reshaping workflows, with practical advice for leaders embracing this revolution.
Session Information
This session is a must-attend for media, marketers content producers, creatives or AI enthusiasts.
The Next Wave: Multimodal AI in Media & Entertainmentwill take place on March 13, 2025, from 10-11 a.m. in Salon DE at the Hilton Austin Downtown.
Not registered yet? Get badges, wristbands and reserve hotels here.
Be sure to check out all of SXSW’s Film and TV industry sessions, meetups and panels here.