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 ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Mavis has launched Mavis Camera 8.2, the latest release of its professional camera app for the iPhone and iPad. This update brings support for iPhone 18 Pro and...
29/09/2026
Oak View Group (OVG) has announced Cisco as an Official Technology Partner, with plans to standardize infrastructure across its venue network on Cisco solutions...
29/09/2026
SportsNet Pittsburgh (SNP) won three honors at the 2026 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
Program awards went to Bucs BP in the Sports Program Live category (produced ...
29/09/2026
The Professional Women's Hockey League has announced home openers for all 12 teams for the 2026-27 season, along with a broadcast partnership with CBC under...
29/09/2026
Manifold technologies has been recognized as a contributor to the Media eXchange...
29/09/2026
FuboTV has announced My Local Sports, allowing subscribers in select markets to add their local regional sports network (RSN) as an add-on to a Fubo Sports subs...
29/09/2026
Asian News International (ANI), a wire agency and video news provider based in India, has deployed Grass Valley's AMPP Media Operating System and Framelight...
29/09/2026
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has deployed Ikegami UHK-X600 cameras as part of an upgrade to IP-based production infrastructure. The deployment ...
29/09/2026
REMI, REMCO models will drive the bulk of the broadcaster's NHL productions ...
29/09/2026
Three years in, the facility is supporting more centralized race production, com...
29/09/2026
NBC, Peacock, and NBSN are carrying all four Wild Card series with a production ...
29/09/2026
19 Nonfiction Projects Across All Stages of Production to Receive More Than $1 million in Support as Documentary Film Program Approaches 25th Anniversary
LOS ...
29/09/2026
Two new plug-ins launch alongside updated bundles
Zynaptiq have just announced the launch of two new plug-ins, alongside new and improved versions of two of...
29/09/2026
All-in-one bus processor revealed
Wes Audio's ng product range has come a long way since it was first introduced, and now includes a tasty selection of ...
29/09/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Ikegami announces that the South African Broadcasting Corporation, SABC, has chosen Ikegami UHK-X600 camera systems as part of an advance to IP-based operation ...
29/09/2026
Blendkit Offers 20% Discount to Celebrate Crossing 150K Asset Milestone
Brie Clayton September 29, 2026
0 Comments
Blendkit, the largest 3D asset libr...
29/09/2026
Interactive streaming specialist Ease Live supported more than 76.5 million fan sessions across three major European media operators during this summers FIFA Wo...
29/09/2026
Ease Live has added support for VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) to its graphical overlay technology, opening up new ways for broadcasters, streamers and rights...
29/09/2026
Rise AV has announced the launch of the inaugural Rise AV Awards, a new global awards programme celebrating the women, advocates and organisations across the AV...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Clear-Com announced that First Baptist Nashville has upgraded its production communications with a Clear-Com intercom solution as part of a comprehensive sanct...
29/09/2026
Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K Captured Action Shots for Sketch
Brie Clayton September 28, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's portable design and dynamic range...
29/09/2026
Kean Production Services Deploys AJA ColorBox to Deliver Consistent, Accurate Co...
29/09/2026
Berklee Alumni and Faculty Nominated for the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards A total of 28 Berklee alumni and faculty earned nominations across 20 categories this ye...
29/09/2026
Berklee's K-Pop & Beyond Explores Connections Between K-Pop and Hip-Hop Now in its fifth year, the series brings together artists, industry leaders, and s...
29/09/2026
We tend to think we live in a digital world, with hopes and fears around artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, data centres and the next big technolo...
29/09/2026
Today, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Apple relea...
29/09/2026
Final Cut Camera, the professional filming app for iPhone, receives a major upda...
29/09/2026
RT lyric fm is proud to announce the annual Choirs for Christmas competition callout. Warm up those vocal chords and join us on RT lyric fm for a celebration ...
28/09/2026
The NHL has announced Adobe as an Official Creative, Marketing and AI Partner beginning with the 2026-27 season. The partnership will provide the league and its...
28/09/2026
MultiDyne will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (October 5-7, Dubai Exhibition Centre), showcasing an expanded technology portfolio following its June 2026 acquisition of...
28/09/2026
ARRI and HONOR have announced the HONOR Magic9 Pro Max, a flagship smartphone carrying ARRI branding on the device and packaging as the first product-level expr...
By: Adrian Pennington
