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At Series Mania 2025 in Lille, the panel titled "Fast Forward – The AI Revolution: What Will Our Industry Look Like in 5 Years?" moderated by Elizabeth Le Hot brought together Marianne Carpentier (TF1 France), Eric Barmack (Wild Sheep), Guillemette Picard (Ubisoft) and Johann Choron (Google France) to explore the profound transformation AI is driving across content creation, gaming, and storytelling. What emerged was a dynamic, honest conversation that oscillated between hope and concern, artistic opportunity and structural disruption.

AI is no longer a side tool—it is becoming central to the way we create. From scripting to pre-visualization, from editing to voice synthesis, the creative process is being reimagined. As Marianne Carpentier noted, “It’s not just about the tech—it’s about changing how we work.” AI-based collaborative tools allow creatives to visualize, iterate, and share ideas faster, democratizing the development process and enhancing team collaboration. But this shift also demands cultural change within production companies, with new skills, new workflows, and support structures to embrace these rapid transformations.

One particularly fascinating frontier is the rise of vocal interfaces. Speaking to an AI instead of writing prompts opens up creativity for many who find language generation intimidating -  “When you talk, your brain opens differently.” This kind of interaction with generative algorithms is not only more intuitive but potentially more imaginative—allowing creators to brainstorm, shape stories, or build visuals by speaking, just as they would to a collaborator.

The gaming industry is already showing us what the future might look like. At GDC in San Francisco, AI-enhanced companions, responsive characters, and narrative-driven gameplay are pioneering hyper-personalized experiences. Ubisoft presented a strategic game where an AI character interviews the player—a formerly “non-playable character” now capable of dynamic interaction. Korean studios are designing native GenAI detective games that simulate real conversations to solve mysteries. These are not just gimmicks—they're reshaping immersion, storytelling, and user agency, serving as R&D for other sectors including TV, film, and education.

Eric Barmack said that a short film created with Runway’s AI tools, by a 22-year-old student from USC, imagined a night out with her late mother. It was a beautiful example of how AI can empower intimate, cinematic storytelling without Hollywood’s gatekeeping. Similarly, Jason Zada’s The Heist reimagined 1970s New York with explosive action using minimal resources. AI, when placed in the hands of individuals, becomes a force for artistic freedom, giving creators access to previously unreachable production value.

But the conversation also veered into darker territory. What if the future of media is not film and TV as we know it, but an endless stream of AI-generated short-form content, optimized by algorithms, watched in silence by children like the panelist's own—addicted, stimulated, and disconnected? This dystopian scenario challenges the role of the writer, the director, even the regulator. “Media might be outside of our collective control,” Barmack warned. The cultural specificity, craftsmanship, and values embedded in traditional media risk being drowned in a flood of algorithmically generated fragments.

Despite the disruptive potential of AI, the core message was clear: “It’s still about the story.” Amid the abundance of content, it is compelling, well-crafted narratives that will stand out—regardless of the tools used to create them. AI is not replacing the storyteller; it is augmenting the storyteller’s toolkit. As Choron put it, “It’s not because you can use AI that you should. Know why you're using it.”

Crucially, the panel emphasized shared responsibility. Tech companies must ensure ethical development and accessibility. Creators must be trained and supported. Regulators need to understand the full picture to craft meaningful policies. Education, transparency, and critical thinking are essential to building a sustainable creative ecosystem. The AI revolution cannot be shaped in isolation—it requires collaboration, dialogue, and clear purpose.