The Entertainment Technology Center at the University of Southern California is organizing its inaugural Synthetic Media Summit on June 8 on the USC campus to chart the course of AI-driven future. As artificial intelligence promises to change the way media content is produced, distributed and consumed, even altering the nature of media itself, are we fully ready? This high-level event will gather top AI experts and media executives to discuss the state, media use cases, and ethics of synthetic media for the news and entertainment industries.
June 8th, 9:00am – 5:00pm at the University of Southern California.
8:00am: Continental Breakfast and Check-In
REGISTER NOW to attend or watch via webinar. In-person seating is limited, and remote attendance is available at a reduced cost. Tickets can be purchased at Eventbrite, for $175 and $50, respectively (plus tax).
Scheduled Speakers (subject to change):
- Dr Morten Bay, Lecturer / Research Fellow, Center for Digital Future (USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism)
- Yves Bergquist, AI Researcher / Director, AI & Blockchain project (ETC@USC)
- Stella Biderman, AI Ethics Researcher (Eleuther.ai)
- Elizabeth Daley, Dean, USC School of Cinematic Arts
- Laura Davis, Associate Professor, Professional Practice (USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism)
- Angela Dunning, Partner (Cooley LLC)
- Laura Ellis, Head of Technology Forecasting (BBC R&D)
- Emilio Ferrara, Associate Professor, Communication, Computer Science and Preventive Medicine (USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism)
- Anthony Guarino, EVP, Global Production & Studio Technology (Paramount)
- Evo Heyning, Executive producer/ CEO (Realitycraft)
- Melody Hildebrant, CISO (Fox Corp )/ President (Blockchain Creative Labs)
- Renard Jenkins, SVP, Production Integration & Creative Technology Services (Warner Bros. Discovery)
- Julianna Kirschner, Lecturer, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
- Dr Mark Lemley, Professor, Director of the Program in Law, Science & Technology (Stanford University)
- Ryan Luu, Director of Product, CoreUX & Personalization (The Washington Post)
- Dr Gary Marcus, Author, Entrepreneur, and Professor of Psychology (NYU)
- Margaret Mitchell, Chief Ethicist (Hugging Face)
- Amli Murphy, Community Media Associate of Edutainment (Stability AI)
- Sanjay Pandit, CTO (CAA)
- Jennifer Peterson, Associate Professor of Communication / Director, Graduate Certificate in Science and Technology Studies (USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism)
- Nikki Pope, Head of AI Legal (NVIDIA)
- Nikola Todorovic, Founder & CEO (Wonder Dynamics)
- Ken Williams, Executive Director, Entertainment Technology Center at USC
- Simon Yuen, Sr Director (NVIDIA Omiverse)
| Time | Session | Speakers |
| 9:00am – 9:25am | Introduction | Elizabeth Daley, Dean, USC School of Cinematic Arts Ken Williams, Executive Director, Entertainment Technology Center at USC Dr. Morten Bay, Lecturer / Research Fellow, Center for Digital Future, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism Yves Bergquist, AI Researcher / Director, AI & Blockchain in Media project, Entertainment Technology Center at USC |
| 9:30am – 10:25am | How Generative AI Changes the Game for Visual Artists | Amli, AI Artist Evo Heyning, Executive Producer / CEO, Realitycraft Julianna Kirschner, Lecturer, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism |
| 10:30am – 11:25am | Where is Generative AI and Where It’s Going: The View from the Frontier | Dr. Gary Marcus, Author / Entrepreneur / Professor of Psychology, NYU Nikola Todorovic, Founder & CEO, Wonder Dynamics Simon Yuen, Sr Director, NVIDIA Omniverse Yves Bergquist |
| 11:30am – 12:25pm | Synthetic Media in the News: Friend or Foe? | Ryan Luu, Director of Product, CoreUX & Personalization, The Washington Post Laura Ellis, Head of Technology Forecasting, BBC R&D Laura Davis, Associate Professor, Professional Practice, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism |
| 12:30pm – 1:30pm | Lunch | |
| 1:30pm – 2:25pm | Generative AI: The View from the Studios and Agencies | Anthony Guarino, EVP, Global Production & Studio Technology, Paramount Melody Hildebrandt, CISO / President, Fox Corp/Blockchain Creative Labs Renard T. Jenkins, SVP, Production Integration & Creative Technology Services, Warner Bros. Discovery Sanjay Pandit, CTO, CAA |
| 2:30pm – 3:25pm | Is This Thing Even Legal? | Angela Dunning, Partner, Cooley LLC Dr. Mark Lemley, Professor, Director of the Program in Law, Science & Technology, Stanford University Jennifer Peterson, Associate Professor of Communication / Director, Graduate Certificate in Science and Technology Studies, USC Annenberg Nikki Pope, Head of AI Legal, NVIDIA |
| 3:30pm – 4:25pm | Getting It Right and Doing No Wrong: Generative AI and Ethics | Emilio Ferrara, Associate Professor, Communication, Computer Science and Preventive Medicine, USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism Yves Bergquist Stella Biderman, AI Ethics Researcher, Eleuther.ai Margaret Mitchell, Chief Ethicist, Hugging Face Dr. Morten Bay |
| 4:30pm – 4:45pm | Closing Remarks |