AI and AV: More Present Than Future

By Matthew Hale

Historical trends in emergent technologies teaches us that huge paradigm shifts in how we all operate our businesses, can happen in such a short space of time that some entire industries can get left behind. I don’t need to tell you about how broadband internet affected Blockbuster Video. Or how Napster forever changed the music industry. The recent trend in AI development is shaping up to be the next big mover in terms of technical workflows, and any task that requires information management.

So, what applications could AI have in the AV industry? And what implications will AI have for the future of AV tech? Well, to put it bluntly, everything is going to change. From recruitment selection to inventory management to programming entire control systems from schematics that were completely computer generated. None of this is out of the question. We have the technology now.

AI is already being used to transcribe and translate speech in real time, enabling and enriching international collaboration on a potentially massive scale. Take a look at Cabolo here: https://www.cabolo.com/. I have seen it used in conjunction with a Kramer MV-4X to overlay live subtitles on a camera feed, translated live from Italian to English, and many other features that blew my mind.

Systems are being developed to simplify AV project management. One deeply specialised and time consuming task is producing technical drawings and is already leaning towards AI. Consider XTEN: https://xtenav.com/. Their drawing tools are being developed to learn from user input, how to build an AV system using components in its database. It’s already a simple drawing tool with powerful features. So the more people that use it, the better it gets at predicting how components are to be connected. Eventually it will be possible to give a written project proposal or tender document pack to an AI that will create every schematic, identify every challenge, schedule the entire job and do almost anything else you can think of. It will happen.

So what does this mean for regular every day operations? How will tasks, workloads and jobs be affected?

AI will not replace you. Let’s get that straight. Did computers replace people? Will AI replace computers? It’s absurd to even ask. Clearly it’s a codependent relationship. The prevalence of any emergent technology is entirely dependent on the people that can use it. More importantly are those who can communicate the benefits that come from adopting and embracing it, to others. So if you want to improve your knowledge, skills and abilities, you should start by thinking about how AI can help you now. 

Anyone can start using AI to create tools to improve their every day workflows. No experience needed. You may have heard of ChatGPT. It is a conversational language model AI with remarkable abilities: https://chat.openai.com/.

It appears simple enough. A chat bot that wants to be helpful. But this apparent simplicity belies a frightening ability to understand extremely complex and specific subjects with accurate and comprehensive responses. Take for instance a concept from my previous article about EDID. I asked ChatGPT “How do I add audio to my EDID”? It responded with this:

“EDID (Extended Display Identification Data) is a standardized data structure that provides information about a display device’s capabilities to a connected computer. EDID typically does not include audio information.

To add audio information to your EDID, you will need to modify the EDID data structure to include audio information. This modification requires advanced knowledge of the EDID format and the ability to edit binary data.

There are software tools available that can help you modify EDID data, such as EDID editors or firmware update tools for your display device. However, it is important to note that modifying EDID data can potentially cause compatibility issues with certain devices, so it is recommended to proceed with caution and backup your original EDID data before making any changes.

It’s also worth noting that many modern display devices support audio over HDMI or DisplayPort connections, which do not rely on EDID to transmit audio information. Therefore, if your display supports these connections, it may not be necessary to modify the EDID to add audio support”.

An undeniably impressive answer for such a vaguely specific question. So I continued the conversation and told it to “Give me an example of an EDID binary with audio”. It responded:

00 FF FF FF FF FF FF 00 4C 2D 00 10 00 00 00 00

1A 1D 01 03 80 34 1E 78 2A E5 95 A3 54 4C 99 26

0F 50 54 A5 4B 00 D1 C0 81 80 81 00 01 01 01 01

01 01 01 01 01 01 56 5E 00 A0 A0 A0 29 50 30 20

35 00 5A C2 10 00 00 1E 01 1D 00 72 51 D0 1E 20

6E 28 55 00 D1 C0 81 00 00 18 8C 0A D0 8A 20 E0

2D 10 10 3E 96 00 D1 C0 11 00 00 1E 00 00 00 FC

00 41 63 65 72 20 48 44 20 54 56 0A 20 20 00 53

I copy pasted this into MonInfo, which corrected it and saved a .bin file that I imported into EDID Designer and behold, a functional EDID!

But wait, this EDID has no audio info at all. So it’s not what I asked for, but it’s a start. It might correct this if I ask it to, but I’m satisfied so let’s move on.

ChatGPT is currently free to use but expect that to change soon. Create a free account or login with Google or MS. Start interacting with an AI. Ask it to do something for you. Do you need an excel formula for something deeply specific? ChatGPT has got you covered. Do you need a python script that can scan a network for a port, host, or protocol? ChatGPT is your new best friend. What about that conditional logic problem that you can’t solve? Hex to ASCII conversions. Product recommendations. Control driver troubleshooting. Just ask ChatGPT. There seems to be no limit to its capabilities. Go prepared with a question to ask it, and be prepared to be astounded by its somewhat accurate responses.

I was having a problem with a barcode scanner and its output not working with some old software in our warehouse. I asked ChatGPT what to do and it wrote an autohotkey script that solved my problem. It was functional and elegant with comments for troubleshooting. It can work.

Get interested in AI now and develop your own understanding of how it can work for you.