Koltay drew on the Gartner Hype Cycle as a framework to understand how new technologies—AI among them—move from sky-high expectations to disillusionment, before ultimately settling into more balanced, real-world applications. While AI’s potential is vast, he noted that it can be overhyped early on, only to face underappreciation when initial goals are not immediately fulfilled. The most productive phase follows when we identify how, when, and why AI can drive meaningful improvements without overshadowing human values and societal norms.

The expansion of AI has been especially swift in sectors like media and entertainment, where personalizing content stands at the forefront of innovation. According to Koltay, the AI market in media reached nearly $20 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow fivefold by 2030. Yet he posed critical questions about the “price” society will pay—how AI-driven systems might transform the way we acquire information, engage in social discourse, and define freedom of expression in a shifting regulatory environment.

Koltay highlighted 2024 as a “landmark year” for AI regulation. With the European Union passing its first comprehensive AI Act, China introducing new regulations targeting generative AI, and the United States ramping up its AI-related legislative efforts, governments across the world are racing to keep pace. Meanwhile, a wave of lawsuits—including those by major media outlets and open-source advocates—are testing the boundaries of data ownership, copyright, and the lawful use of content for AI training. These legal precedents, Koltay argued, foreshadow broader ethical and social challenges, from labor market impacts to data privacy violations.

While Koltay acknowledged AI’s undeniable benefits—such as enhancing collaboration, productivity, and even reducing energy consumption—he underscored the duty to ensure that AI is designed, deployed, and governed ethically. Specifically, he called for continued dialogue to define the “acceptable boundaries” that preserve human dignity, freedom, and security. Only through coherent regulatory frameworks and forward-thinking practices, he concluded, can we ensure that AI remains a “key to humanity and responsibility,” rather than a source of harmful externalities.