Embrace Change

Celebrating new techniques and technologies has always propelled the media and entertainment industry forward. From the early days of color film and practical effects to the arrival of CGI, motion capture, and early machine learning techniques, every leap opened doors for storytellers and inspired the next generation of creators. I’ve been fortunate to see this spirit of innovation firsthand at places like Silicon Graphics—where advanced 3D computing helped break ground on iconic visual effects—and Apple, where I learned how putting powerful, user-friendly tools into the hands of everyday creators could spark completely new ways of storytelling.

After Apple, my journey took me to Lucasfilm, whereas CTO, I led research and development, IT, and information services across Industrial Light & Magic, Skywalker Sound, LucasArts, and more. There, the core philosophy remained the same: technology serves the story, never the other way around. We pushed boundaries with real-time performance capture and cutting-edge VFX pipelines, all in service of better narrative experiences. Little did I know during my Lucasfilm presentation at NVIDIA’s very first GTC in 2009 , that this would all come full circle…

Today, as Vice President and General Manager of Media & Entertainment at NVIDIA, I lead our Media2 initiative which brings together a collection of NVIDIA technologies, including NIM microservices, AI Blueprints, accelerated computing platforms and generative AI software, to transform all aspects of production and audience experiences, starting with content creation, streaming and live media.

Though the industry has recently been quiet about emerging AI and machine learning techniques, the reality is they've used them for years to automate tasks and enhance visuals and experiences. It’s time to bring that conversation back out into the open. AI has become a set of powerful, evolving tools that can bring new creative possibilities and production efficiencies. And just like the leaps we made with CGI and visual effects, it will require the same inventive artists and technologists who’ve always pushed boundaries in our craft. When our industry begins to openly exchange ideas in a shared vision for the future of entertainment, the possibilities will become limitless.

I'll be speaking at NVIDIA GTC about how generative AI enhances our existing AI foundations, enabling real-time workflows, personalized experiences, and new storytelling methods. I’ll show examples from our developers and customers who are using AI throughout their workflows as well as highlight a few startups doing amazing things with our platforms. ?

Key Takeaways:

• The latest advances in real-time AI for intelligent content creation—from neural rendering and RTX Kit to the innovative technologies that have been used in recent productions.
• Exploration of the newest tools and techniques being developed by our partner ecosystem.
• How AI enhances content delivery through hyper-personalized recommendations, boosting audience and fan engagement.

I hope you’ll join me as we explore this next frontier together and show that, once again, it’s the people behind the technology who shape the future of our industry.

?? Save the date for "How AI is Transforming the Way We Create, Personalize, and Share Content" on March 19th.