Google's Sanjay Gupta, President of Google APAC, recently delivered a keynote address at the APOS conference in Indonesia, where he passionately articulated his vision for Asia-Pacific's future dominance in global storytelling. Gupta presented artificial intelligence (AI) as the transformative "magic wand" poised to revolutionize the region's already vibrant media landscape. He opened his address by showcasing a compelling example of AI's creative capabilities: the collaborative effort between Google, Warner Bros. Discovery, and other partners to meticulously upscale "The Wizard of Oz" for display on the immense 16K screen at the Sphere in Las Vegas. This monumental task, involving thousands of researchers, producers, and programmers from both the film and technology sectors, demonstrated AI's ability to expand shots beyond their original frames, turning what was once unimaginable into a stunning reality.

Gupta underscored the unprecedented opportunities for Asian storytellers, attributing this potential to significant shifts in content consumption and creation. He highlighted the dramatic acceleration of global connections, contrasting "The Wizard of Oz's" decades-long journey from theaters to homes with today's instantaneous digital dissemination. Illustrating this scale, he noted that over 20 million videos are uploaded daily to YouTube worldwide, with creators like Indonesia's Justin Tobias achieving over 15 million subscribers and 6.7 billion views, a scale unfathomable a decade ago in the region. Asia's consumption patterns have evolved equally dramatically, with the average person in Asia now dedicating over seven hours daily to consuming stories across 5 billion screens, a substantial increase from 2 billion screens just ten years prior, signifying a strong demand for on-the-go content from short dramas to games.

Emphasizing that AI serves as an augmentation tool rather than a replacement for human creativity, Gupta provided further examples of its application. He cited director Darren Aronofsky's use of AI to capture challenging cinematic shots, such as a newborn's hand holding a mother's finger or intricate views inside the human body showing cell formation. Another innovative use case presented was Toonsutra's leverage of AI for real-time translation of films into "1000 different languages with the right lip sync for every character," effectively dismantling traditional consumption barriers. Gupta eloquently summarized AI's role by stating, "This room, the room of storytellers, I believe, are the wizards, if you will, and AI is a magic wand."

Gupta identified two crucial factors positioning Asia at the forefront of global storytelling. Firstly, its unique demographics: 50% of the world's population and 60% of its global youth, a segment that is inherently "young and open to experimentation" with new technologies. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, Asia's profound and "deep culture of storytelling" that spans millennia, from traditional Indonesian forms to Japan's Kabuki, from ancient epics like the Ramayana to contemporary phenomena such as modern anime, K-dramas, and web series. He proudly noted that "Creativity from this region is grabbing attention across the world today," with K-dramas attracting more viewers outside Korea than within, and Indian content accumulating over 45 billion hours of watch time globally on YouTube.

Despite this creative momentum, Gupta sees vast untapped potential. Asia currently contributes only 15% to global media revenues, indicating significant "headroom for us to grow and capture." The regional media and entertainment industry, valued at $60 billion and expanding, could experience substantial growth through deeper AI integration. Gupta declared, "This is a movement for Asia’s media industry. AI, combined with the ingenuity, dynamism and rich storytelling of this region and the large population will turbocharge creativity." During a subsequent fireside chat, Gupta addressed common industry concerns regarding AI adoption, specifically talent management and safeguarding creativity. He clarified that AI should be viewed as "a great tool, which is augmenting our business. It’s an add-on, it’s a plus," drawing parallels to the music industry's initial apprehension of digital transformation, which ultimately led to its flourishing. He concluded by challenging the assembled media professionals: "If anything is possible, what would you create, and how would you transform your business with the magic wand of AI?"