The Impact of Emerging Technology on the Media & Entertainment Industry
Using Artificial Emotional Intelligence for Netflix Recommendations
This paper was written for the Digital Technologies module for my MA in Digital Management at Hyper Island in Manchester.
Introduction
The development of recent and emerging technology has affected society in the way we communicate, work, learn and function. As technology becomes smarter, opportunities of rapid technological advancements are becoming seemingly endless, but so are their ethical implications.
This report evaluates the emergence of Artificial Emotional Intelligence (A.E.I.) and its potential impact on the UK media and entertainment (M&E) industry, while examining ethical issues and trade-offs associated with the disruption. Based on the research, an opportunity area was identified and a prototype developed and tested for the video on demand platform Netflix, which can be found in the above video.
Netflix — Disrupting the Media & Entertainment Industry
The M&E industry is comprised of a number of sub-sectors, including but not limited to: TV production and distribution, advertising, information publishing and events as well as social media and many more (Deloitte, 2017a).
The emergence of Netflix has not only fundamentally changed the way in which viewers consume television, but also the way it is made. In 2013 Netflix produced its first own show — House of Cards — and released all episodes of the first season on the day of the launch. Not being tied down by a traditional TV schedule of releasing one episode per week means that lengths of an episode can vary to suit plotlines. Furthermore, with the amount of data Netflix is able to collect on their subscribers, they are able to analyse which shows are being watched and what sort of content the audiences want to see in the future (Wilson, 2016).
Technology Trends Affecting the M&E industry
The two technology trends that will have the greatest impact on the online video industry are the emergence of fast and reliable fifth generation (5G) data networks and Artificial Emotional Intelligence, which are examined more closely below.
5G Data Network — Intelligently Connecting and Sensing
The fifth generation (5G) of wireless networks is predicted to disrupt the E&M industry due to radical increases in transmission speeds, quality and reliability. 5G will deliver up to 50 to 100 times faster data speeds than current 4G networks, meaning it would take seconds to download an HD movie with 5G as opposed to six minutes on a 4G network (Granados, 2017). It is expected to be available in countries such as the USA and China by 2020, rolling out to the UK no later than 2025, see figure 1 (Auchard & Nellis, 2018; Woods, 2017).
The Netflix Effect on Society and Ethical Risks of a 5G Rollout
DiSalvo (2018) states that he is “struck by a profound change in the psychological calculus of entertainment. Netflix has changed […] the dynamics of restraint and gratification that our brains have for decades been trained to tacitly obey.” This describes the phenomenon of binge-watching, meaning consumers watch several episodes of the same series in a short amount of time, instead of watching one episode per week, following a television network’s schedule (Mikos, 2016).
Some studies see binge-watching as a restorative experience, as it is a form of entertainment which can result in the consumers’ needs being satisfied (Panda & Pandey, 2017; Rubin, 2009), however Wheeler (2015) describes binge behaviour as an addiction, and states that overindulgence of Netflix can result in issues such sleep deprivation, isolation, lethargy and loneliness, which can in turn lead to depression and obesity.
The rollout of a 5G network will further encourage binge-watching behaviour as it becomes easier and faster to access and download Netflix content anywhere and anytime. This easy accessibility is already encouraging tendencies in individuals towards impatience and instant gratification and leading to social and health concerns, which will only increase the faster and more reliable roaming networks become.
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Entertainment
Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) is already integrated into the technology that we use on a daily basis. Devices such as Amazon’s Alexa and Siri on our iPhones are making our lives simpler and frictionless. Netflix and other VOD platforms use A.I. algorithms to analyse their subscribers viewing behaviour, which forms the basis for investment opportunities as well as feeding their recommendation system data. In fact, more than 80% of the TV shows users watch on Netflix are discovered through the recommendation system (Plummer, 2017). IBM (2016) recently used A.I. to produce a movie trailer for the film Morgan based on machine learning and big data. The machine was able to create the trailer in 24 hours when it typically takes a human between 10–30 days, posing a potential risk for job displacements in the post-production industry. Despite Netflix using complex algorithms to predict their consumers’ behaviour, the horror show Hemlock Grove failed to connect with its audience, surprisingly revealing flaws in the sophistication of the computational intelligence.
Despite rapid advancements in A.I., one major limitation has hindered widespread industry and consumer adoption: emotional intelligence (Beck and Libert, 2017). Human-machine interaction has made great strides, and the interpretation of emotional reactions is what can lead to machines interacting in a more natural way with their users and thus to true machine intelligence (Johnson, 2017; Mok, 2017).
Advantages of Artificial Emotional Intelligence
The term affective computing was coined and defined by Picard in 1997 (p. 1), as “computing that relates to, arises from, or influences emotions.” Emotions are powerful tools that help us separate what is important and what is not. “Something that provokes a powerful emotional response is unlikely to be disregarded — it lodges in our memory and feeds into our decision-making” (Clark, 2017). Marketing and advertising as well as the entertainment industry already tap into human emotions in order to predict what content will most likely incite a strong emotional reaction in viewers. Start-ups like Affectiva, Emotient and Sension are all developing applications which can analyse and differentiate emotions based on facial expressions. The unparalleled amount of data available nowadays and the advances in natural language processing and emotionally-aware algorithms will lead to a more engaging and personalised way of consuming media in its various forms (Hamet & Tremblay, 2017; Forbus and Laird, 2002).
In addition to marketing and advertising, affective computing is being used to create assistive and companion robots for seniors, alertness detection systems in cars, immersive gaming, more engaging education and aids to children on the autism spectrum (Picard, 2009). According to Jannsen (2012), building empathetic digital devices “could improve our health and well-being and greatly improve our future’s society.”
Ethical Implications of A.E.I. in the M&E industry
While A.I. is viewed as beneficial to human society, contributing to a more frictionless environment, it is also feared by many of becoming too smart and taking over human society. Even experts in the field, such as Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk, have warned about the threats that A.I. can pose (Marr, 2018). The potential dangers that A.I. & A.E.I. pose to privacy violations are vast, which has called for the establishment of industry standards from early on. However, this prompts the question of who is in charge of establishing and enforcing these laws, which has caused wide-spread industry debate.
Mike Ryan, digital futurist and founder of an ethical A.I. company commented on regulations (interview, 2 April 2018): “If you look at the history of professions — architects, accountants, lawyers etc. they study ethics and have accountable independent associations that enforce and ensure ethical conduct. The software industry has no such established models as the industry is too new to have this kind of historic checks and balance.”
Emotion Economy & Privacy Concerns
Mok (2017) warns about the dangers of an emerging ‘emotion economy’, a range of connected devices and services that are emotionally aware and become responsive to unspoken needs, ultimately altering society’s relationship with technology. Despite some of the positive applications A.E.I. will have in fields such as medicine and education, Joshi (2018) argues that emotions will become yet another data set that can be exploited by advertisers, politicians and hackers, through the privatisation of consciousness and an individual’s most private emotions.
Psychographic Targeting & Emotional Manipulation
In a world where companies such as Facebook and Google already hold large amounts of sensitive personal data, giving companies access to emotional responses carries a number of risks with it. Breaches in data security have already led to the manipulation of an entire society’s culture, when Cambridge Analytica illegally accessed millions of Facebook profiles and, with the help of A.I. was able to analyse and alter individuals’ political views, thus potentially affecting the most recent US presidential elections (Halpern, 2018). According to Halpern (2018), “psychographic methods bypass “individuals’ cognitive defenses by appealing directly to their emotions, using increasingly segmented and sub-grouped personality type designation and precisely targeted messaging based on those designations.”
Despite these ethically questionable outcomes, Kaliouby, CEO of Affectiva (2017) believes that holding information about the users’ personal states can assist in influencing users’ moods and wellness by suggesting the use of an app that can send out “funny or inspiring” content throughout users’ low-points in mood and can gamify their emotional state by giving happiness and mood advice. While this is only an example of a possible application of A.E.I., the question arises whether using the technology in such a way would actually benefit the world and outweigh its potential social dangers.
Conclusion
This report investigated 5G and Artificial Emotional Intelligence as two of the dominant emerging technologies that will likely disrupt the M&E industry in the coming years. While A.E.I.’s application in industries such as education and medicine will have a positive impact on the wellbeing of society, the use of A.E.I. in the media industry is likely to cause concern about stricter privacy regulations, as it will be utilised mainly to further individualise advertising content, contributing to a new ‘emotion economy’. While the adoption of A.E.I. and 5G by Netflix carry a number of ethical risks for society, in order for Netflix to remain the leader in online video streaming, they will need to keep on top of these new developments in technology.
References
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Interview
Mike Ryan, Digital Futurist: 2 April 2018
Video References
* All video and music material is from Youtube.
00:16–00:59
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1:19–1:27
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1:28–1:33
Affectiva (2017) Future Reflections on the Developing Emotion Economy. Available at: http://blog.affectiva.com/future-reflections-on-the-developing-emotion-economy (Accessed 24 March 2018).
1:34–1:46
Joshi, N. (2018) Artificial emotional intelligence: the future of AI. Available at: https://www.experfy.com/blog/artificial-emotional-intelligence-the-future-of-ai (Accessed: 24 March 2018).
2:14–2:42
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3:01–3:15
Ekman, P. (1993) ‘Facial Expression and Emotion’, American Psychology, 48(4), pp. 384–392.