By: Adrian Pennington
I am passionate about creating technology that enables us to translate the creator's true intent, technologist and neuroscientist Poppy Crum told the TR-X audience at the 2020 HPA Teach Retreat. For me, there is a truth that the content creator wants me to feel whether that's fear, joy, disgust . But my environment and technology that assumes we all look and react the same doesn't always allow that. That there are better ways of ensuring that the intent reaches every viewer or listener in the richest way possible is, I believe, a goal worth striving for.
Crum is deep into the future of what happens when technology knows more about us than we do, and she believes that although it's easy to jump to unsettling thoughts of the cautionary or dystopian tales of Mission Impossible or 1984, implemented ethically it's not a bad thing. In fact, she feels, it's probably the most empowering opportunity we have to enrich and elevate experiences of storytelling and technology capacity for individuals of all demographics and biological composition.
Today, she says, AI algorithms can detect our slightest facial microexpressions, differentiating between a real smile and a fake one, predicting or diagnosing our mental or physical health from the patterns of our speech, or even knowing whether we may have early signs of illness or are feeling emotions such as joy and suspense solely from the chemical compositions of our breath. Whether we like it or not, we've been sharing a lot about our internal states long before we made it common place to wrap ourselves and our spaces in digital devices that track our every move, exhale, or beat. But now we do, and there is a lot that can do for each of us.
Formerly Research Faculty in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and now Chief Scientist at Dolby Laboratories and Adjunct Professor at Stanford University, Crum has spent a lot of time studying the circuits of the human brain that create the unique perceptual realities that we all possess.
Each of us hears and sees the world differently as a result of the interaction between our individual biological capacity, and the environment around us, she said. The distributions of colors, contours, sounds we surround ourselves with in our urban or rural environments are vastly different. These shape our unique perceptions, and through neuroplasticity impact the way our brain allocates its resources. For example, if I have spent a lot of my life in a rural desert environment without a lot of difference in hue, fewer sharp edges, and more need for me to identify subtle shifts in shading and contour, my brain will allocate more resources to decoding the more limited set of hues and shifts in contours in order to be effective in that environment. In contrast, years spent in noisy cities will shape how we are each able to react and effectively attend to resolution across a wider color gamut, sharper edges, and the intensity and cacophony of sounds that surround us
Our relationship with technology and, by extension, the context we experience it in also shapes us. For example, someone who has just played their first forty hours of Call of Duty may be forever changed. They can be expected to have heightened visual acuity and faster and more effective probabilistic inference critical to strategic planning.
Any time you build a new way of interacting with content or technology you are affecting human capability, Crum said. The point is that we can do this by design.
This is already happening. Netflix, for example, uses data about its users to tailor film and TV recommendations to individual profiles. Its algorithms even adapt the color of artwork and font size. Audio playback systems can position the sound of an object in space in accord with the creative intent. Emerging technologies like object based broadcasting allow the content of programs to change according to the requirements of each individual audience member. Silicon Valley and Hollywood studios make use of electroencephalograms (EEGs) to understand how our moods affect the content we watch.
But all of this merely scratches the surface of the possible.
At present, Crum contends, most of our technology is built as one size fits all,' geared towards pretty much one demographic - typically a white male. It is not personalizing the way content is perceived at the individual user level in a way that delivers the true intent of the artist or the technology.
I'm not talking about avatars replicating emotions. I am saying that technology is not responsive to my internal state. Even the most intelligent thermostat on the market does not know whether I'm hot or cold, or what I'm trying to do at that moment. If it takes even a small amount of information learned through signatures of combined sensors from the environment or wearable technologies into account then suddenly it is remarkably more effective at facilitating the goal of translating the technology or creator's intent and improving the user's experience
This goal is tantalizingly in reach.
We already record detail about the creative intent in metadata. You can imagine extending that to capture more information about the emotions and feelings intended by a creative scene or effort. In addition to which the ubiquity of sensors and the ability to amalgamate our personal and biometric signals offers a way of closing the loop.
She has been able to show how changes in the density of CO2 in a space - such as movie theaters can correspond with changes in emotion and stress of individuals in the room.
One demonstration involved a screening of National Geographic's Oscar winning rock climbing documentary Free Solo. From special tubes installed throughout the theater, scientists in
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
04/06/2026
Sony Electronics is introducing the SRG-AS10, a 4K 60p-compatible PTZ auto-frami...
04/06/2026
This recent grad from Spring, TX, led creative-video output for the Aggies' men's basketball team last season and has been producing video and creating ...
04/06/2026
For the first time at a women's golf major, every player in the field will r...
04/06/2026
Three Panasonic PT-RQ45 40,000-lumen 3-Chip DLP projectors made their first live...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin and Akamai have announced a collaboration with NRJ Group, a French mult...
04/06/2026
Telestream will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7952), demonstrating media work...
04/06/2026
Sony has announced the development of RIALTO 65, a 65mm format image sensor block for the VENICE 2 digital cinema camera, targeting release in the first half of...
04/06/2026
KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N8025, June ...
04/06/2026
Bell Media's TSN and RDS are the exclusive Canadian broadcasters of FIFA Wor...
04/06/2026
The Challenge: Receiving Heavy Media Files From Road Games Quickly and ReliablyT...
04/06/2026
MASV, a managed file transfer platform used in broadcast and live sports product...
04/06/2026
NESN has announced the appointment of Fahad Haider as Vice President of Operations and Engineering. Haider returns to NESN, where he previously served as Vice P...
04/06/2026
David J. Halberstam, who spent almost 50 years in sports as a broadcaster and an executive, died June 2 after a years-long battle with brain cancer.
Over his l...
04/06/2026
Although collegiate production programs are tasked with delivering high-quality ...
04/06/2026
California studio, two production trucks, global distribution system are combine...
04/06/2026
New global program empowers and supports storytellers through scriptwriting course and access to industry experts
TikTok and Sundance Institute today announce...
04/06/2026
Steinberg DAWs now boast in-depth Tonalic integration
Celemony's innovative virtual session musician plug-in has just received an update that brings ARA...
04/06/2026
Get Hands-On With Over 20 Mic Brands
GearExpo UK is fast approaching, and if you've been looking for a chance to check out some new mics, then you'r...
04/06/2026
Combos feature new Amplifier Intelligence engine
Positive Grid's latest release sees the company introduce two new combo amplifiers that promise to offe...
04/06/2026
Is Your Job Making You Work this June?
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS Launches the World Cup Watchers' Rights Association to Stand Up For Australians&...
04/06/2026
Statement regarding unauthorised use of SBS logos on third party social content
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has become aware of social media posts in c...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming infrastructure, and Akamai, the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business onli...
04/06/2026
American Underground (AU), the Startup Hub of the South and a community of mor...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
NVIDIA and Microsoft Reinvent Windows PCs for the Age of Personal AI
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
RTX Spark - a 1-Petaflop Superchip, the Full...
04/06/2026
Inside the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man Grade
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Simone Grattarola discusses shaping the look in DaVinci Resolve...
04/06/2026
Cine Gear Expo Announces 2026 Awards of Excellence Recipients
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Ed Lachman ASC, Caleb Deschanel ASC, and M. David M...
04/06/2026
St. Vincents Live with Orchestra Tour to Feature Berklee Alum Ruby Plume Berklee alumni St. Vincent and Ruby Plume will appear on the same bill across seven d...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
All the Truth in My Lies Coming to Netflix on August 28
Entertainment
04 June 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Download the imag...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
Larry Tanz, VP of Content, EMEA, Delivers a Keynote Speech at ...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
Turn Your Living Room into a Stadium With the New FIFA World ...
04/06/2026
Keeping conversations real on LinkedIn Published on Jun 4, 2026 Categories: Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Communications
Share
LinkedIn
Facebook ...
04/06/2026
BackStory follows four Irish young people as they travel back to their parents' homelands
Modern Irish identity is enriched by cultures and influences from...
04/06/2026
June's forecast with GeForce NOW: 100% chance of gaming.
GeForce NOW is lining up new adventures for the month, from big-name blockbusters to quirky indies...
03/06/2026
SES and Viva, Mexico's ultra low-cost airline, have launched multi-orbit satellite inflight connectivity on Viva's Airbus aircraft. A total of 60 A320s ...
03/06/2026
The College Football Playoff, ESPN, and TNT Sports have announced kick times and...
03/06/2026
RED Digital Cinema will exhibit at Cine Gear Expo 2026 (Booth 33, June 5-6, Universal Studios Lot), hosting three panels and hands-on product demonstrations.
P...
03/06/2026
Roku has announced the Soccer Zone, a dedicated hub for FIFA World Cup 2026 content available across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argent...
By: Adrian Pennington
