Gustavo Robles, Sales Director at AEQ, Spain, in the TKT1957 survey «The year 2030: AI or engineer?»

1. How will the broadcasting industry and broadcast technologies change in the next 5 years?
2. If we model the world of broadcasting and broadcast tech in 2030, what role will AI play?
3. How will AI change your business segment?
4. Which professions will AI displace in the broadcasting technology industry by 2030?

1. The broadcast industry is constantly evolving, and sometimes I feel very fast. As an engineer, I am very happy about this. Not long ago, all the talk in the industry moved from the analog world to the digital transformation. After a while, the whole broadcast sector started talking about IP technologies, and now most projects are related to the cloud, the Internet, virtualization and artificial intelligence. So in a few years, for sure, broadcast operations will be heavily dependent on cloud technologies, with many remote processes being carried out using virtualization tools, and obviously, artificial intelligence will be there too.

2. AI has not only come to the broadcasting world, it has come to all kinds of human activities, and today there are already thousands and thousands of cases in broadcasting, automobile manufacturing, textile industry, chemical industry, mechanical engineering, etc., where AI supports operations, increases activity and efficiency in radio and television. AI will help in data management, in content creation, in distribution… and of course in many cases that we cannot even imagine today, it is important to control AI in the broadcasting industry because of its huge impact on fake news, so regulation is also very important to avoid its incorrect use.

3. Today, AEQ is involved in radio and TV projects around the world with our technologies.  AEQ produces, for example, audio mixers and routers, audio codecs, radio automation software or intercom systems for TV. In all these segments, ia can support operations, and perhaps the most obvious example would be our automation software, where ia will automatically schedule programs, manage data or even create some content. In the case of mixers or routers, I believe that AI can work as an auxiliary aid in some situations. Or in the case of intercom systems, AI will be able to adapt the workflow and traffic in a dynamic + transparent way for the end user.

4. Unfortunately, every big change in one industry brings with it big changes in the people within that sector, in some cases very positive as described above, but in some cases machines will do human work. What kind of work? I feel that at the moment all operations related to archiving, data management, etc. will be increasingly intervened by AI. And also in some hyperlocal businesses today we can see virtual presenters supported by AI. Of course, human presenters will continue to play an important role in all stations, but for smaller markets AI will do the work of very local teams.

All the opinions of industry leaders can be seen in the survey “Year 2030: AI or Engineer?”