Technology is advancing at an astonishing pace, bringing about dramatic changes. Some of these changes can be described as “revolutionary”: the rules of some industries are being rewritten from scratch. You can see the effects of new technologies in many areas, from iGaming sites like Hit n Spin to social media. Here, we will take a closer look at how technological changes are affecting our lives by giving examples from the entertainment industry.
Streaming Services and Content Accessibility
Did you know that Netflix was once a company that sent DVDs to your home address? Back then, no one believed that content could be accessed online at any time. We can say that this is the most important change that technology has made in the entertainment industry. Thanks to high internet speeds and fiber-optic network infrastructures, we can now access 4K quality streams from platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ anytime, anywhere. Technology has, above all, made entertainment much more accessible on a global level.
But that’s not all it has done: as we will discuss in more detail below, thanks to supporting technologies such as artificial intelligence, entertainment has become much more personalized. AI can determine what would entertain us the most based on user preferences and recommend the best content, which increases viewer engagement.
Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR)
In addition to upgrading existing forms of entertainment, technology also offers completely new ones. Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are the best examples of this. Contrary to popular belief, these technologies are not only used for gaming.
- Using VR, you can attend a concert organized on the other side of the world in real time and watch the stage as if you were there.
- Using AR, you can organize a D&D night with your friends in the middle of your living room: you can look through your phone’s camera and see your house as if it’s been transformed into a real dungeon.
- With Apple Vision Pro, you can get a cinema screen in 4K anywhere you turn your head.
All of these are highly immersive experiences and open up whole new avenues for entertainment. As technology advances, each will become even more realistic and interactive: one day the Holodeck from Star Trek could become a reality.
Artificial Intelligence in Content Creation
Entertainment is a very broad term and includes music, literature, and even visual arts. Thanks to technology, artificial intelligence can now create all these things too. It does not need inspiration or time: in seconds, AI can draw a picture, write a book, or even create music for you. For example:
- Microsoft’s AI analyzed Rembrandt’s style and drew a painting called ‘The Next Rembrandt’.
- You can listen to something new every day by subscribing to AI music platforms such as Mupert, Soundful, and AIVA.
- Goodreads has a long list of books written by AI, and some of them have received very high scores from users.
In other words, we no longer have to wait for human inspiration for new books, music, and paintings: AI can produce them for us on the fly. This technology is also being used to refine, edit, and enrich existing human content.
The Rise of Esports
What would you think if we told you that technology has also enabled the emergence of a new sport? It sounds like a bit of an exaggerated claim at first, but that’s exactly how eSports emerged. It is now recognized as a legitimate form of entertainment and has a massive viewership. Sponsorship deals can be as big and inclusive as traditional sports. Electronic sports are a brand new form of entertainment and we owe its emergence to technology.
And of course, thanks to assistive technologies such as streaming, eSports continues to evolve day by day. On platforms like Twitch and Kick, you can watch a tournament organized anywhere in the world in real time. This in itself can be considered a new type of entertainment.
The Evolution of Gaming
Games are one of the largest subcategories in the entertainment industry and have a global audience. No matter in which country you release your game, thanks to platforms like Steam and Epic Games, within hours people in another country can start playing it. Game platforms have turned them into a global product, enabling even independent studios to compete with big developers.
New technologies continue to change the gaming industry, and it is here that users are the most receptive to innovation. For example, GeForce Now allows you to play games at ultra-graphics settings without using powerful hardware – you stream the game from a remote PC. Cross-platform technologies allow gamers on different platforms – PC, console, and mobile – to play together.