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Creative Technologies International Scan #4
This fourth edition of the International Scan series explores global developments in advanced technologies shaping the Creative Industries.
Posted: 12 November 2025AuthorsMarta Moretto, Joshua Dedman, Emma Openshaw, Peter Cobb and Dr Vicki Williams
PeriodJuly-September 2025
“Between July and September 2025, continued activity and discussion underscored the growing prominence of AI across the Creative Industries, with major events dedicating space to AI-focused content and panels, reflecting the sector’s active engagement with the technology”
Key Findings
- AI regulation is moving from consultation to implementation, particularly in Europe, where new rules under the EU AI Act are introducing transparency, dataset disclosure and emerging requirements around labelling AI-generated content.
- Creative sector organisations are increasingly shaping the AI policy debate, with guilds, unions and industry groups pushing back against broad text-and-data mining provisions and advocating stronger licensing and remuneration models for creators.
- Governments are developing different approaches to provenance, authenticity and AI-generated content labelling, creating a fragmented global landscape that producers and distributors will need to navigate.
- Jurisdictions are expanding production incentives across the wider screen sector value chain, including post-production, VFX, animation, games and immersive media, in order to attract investment and strengthen domestic creative ecosystems.
- Advanced media production and screen content are increasingly recognised as instruments of cultural influence and economic growth, with governments linking creative output to tourism, international reputation and wider cultural engagement.
- Creators and studios are experimenting with AI, virtual production and emerging technologies to scale and monetise content, often combining these tools with established intellectual property and cross-platform storytelling strategies.
- Advances in technology are reshaping distribution, exhibition and audience engagement, with new platforms and formats emerging alongside traditional screen industries.
- Debate around AI remains highly contested within the screen sector, with major studios, technology firms and public figures weighing in on questions of copyright, governance and creative control.
- Film festivals and industry events are increasingly showcasing AI and advanced technologies, reflecting the sector’s ongoing experimentation with new creative workflows and storytelling methods.
- Investment in virtual production infrastructure continues globally, with new LED volume stages and facilities emerging across Asia and the Middle East as part of wider competition to attract high-end production.
- Sustainability is becoming a more formalised priority across the screen and creative industries, with guidance, incentives and new initiatives encouraging environmentally responsible production practices.
- Questions around the role of large technology platforms in the creative economy remain unresolved, particularly in relation to data access, platform power and market influence.
- Games intellectual property continues to expand across film, television and other media, reflecting a broader trend toward transmedia storytelling and cross-sector collaboration.
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