Artificial Intelligence (AI) Summit Participants 2026

Affan is the CEO of Fantastic Day, an ecosystem of production, product, and community. The studio creates music videos, documentaries, and feature content using both full AI and hybrid workflows. Fantastic Day developed complete production pipelines, delivering pilots and episodic content. The products team builds proprietary AI tools and pipelines for the entertainment industry. Through Machine Cinema, where Affan runs Partnerships and Operations, they've built a global community of thousands and have hosted 100+ GenJam workshops, training creators and enterprise teams on AI production implementation.  Machine Cinema has partnered with leading tech companies and AI tools like Google, ByteDance, OpenAI, ElevenLabs, fal.ai, Freepik, Luma AI, Morphic, Reve. They’ve worked directly with the companies building the technology while teaching the industry how to use it. They are currently in production on various AI projects including music videos for major label artists, developing episodic content with networks, creating previz and movie trailers to pitch and sell through projects. Their work in generative media proves that AI workflows can deliver studio-quality production at speed and scale.   Prior to Fantastic Day, Affan spent 13+ years building digital agencies and creative ventures. Co-founded Nuscreen in 2012, working with CN Tower, Turkish Airlines, TD Wealth Management. Launched Audiotorium during the pandemic, reaching 750K+ listeners and partnering with Reddit on live audio programming (earning recognition as one of the “Top 1% of audio creators in the world” by the Reddit Team). Earlier roles at MacLaren McCann (Microsoft, GM), BNOTIONS (Motorola, Rogers), Teehan+Lax (Bell Canada).  Affan built a career on spotting emerging technologies before they hit mainstream. From digital to ecommerce to web3. Now it's AI, and they’re building the ecosystem that will define the next era of entertainment.

Andrew Cochrane is an interactive and immersive creator for mediums such as virtual and augmented reality, installations, live events, and large-scale domes. Andrew is an expert in forming and leading multi-disciplinary teams to deliver innovative and technologically complex projects. He has been integral to the growing immersive entertainment space as a creator and thought leader. 

Currently, he is consulting and working with exciting new technologies – using AI and other emerging tools to architect experiences for audiences across numerous platforms and mediums. Most recently, he has been developing a new form of immersive musical experience called Loud Movies – an experimental blend of dance music and cinema that leans heavily on live event technologies. 

Previous accomplishments include building the studio, team, and processes for the content creation arm responsible for the Sphere in Las Vegas, MSG Sphere Studios. As the Senior Vice President of Post Production, Andrew was responsible for building and leading the Post, Playback, and Studio Technology teams driving the technology, audio, and video for the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas. 

His immersive credits span the gamut of live-action, CGI, and real-time experiences for clients such as HP, Intel, Adobe, USA Today, Google, GE, Disney, USA Network, Visa, Las Vegas, and many others. Andrew has also directed commercials for brands such as Disney, LG, VIZIO, Google, Target, Barco, and M&M’s. He has also done several traditional and VR projects featuring his own narrative and creative development, including “The Carrier” a VR short starring Karolina Wydra that is currently working through the international film festival circuit. 

Ben Cantil (aka Encanti) is an electronic music producer, educator, and co-founder of DataMind Audio, a music tech start up building AI-powered instruments for artists and sound designers. He is also a PhD researcher exploring AI as a creative tool, focused on preserving craft and ethical provenance. His work sits at the intersection of music technology, machine learning, and modern production practice. 

Carlos Sanchez is the Head of Global Business Development, Media at Protege, a company at the forefront of licensing audio-visual assets for AI model training. He brings more than two decades of experience in content licensing, distribution, and media innovation. 

At Protege, Carlos is responsible for securing high-quality, rights cleared media content that serves as the foundational elements of media data based datasets for training purposes for hyperscalers, AI model developers, and robotics companies.  Carlos works with in close collaboration with Protege's AI data science, product and engineering teams to source and optimize media partners' data for licensing for training purposes. 

Carlos began his career at Warner Bros., where he was a founding member of the studio’s Digital Distribution division. He later led global distribution efforts at Legendary Television, and most recently served as SVP of Global Content Sales at A+E Media Group, overseeing international licensing to leading SVOD platforms and managing a robust slate of FAST channels. 

Carlos holds a BA from UCLA and a Master’s in International Affairs from UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy. 

Carolyn Giardina is an award-winning journalist and author who has devoted her career to the art and science of entertainment. 

Having held editorial roles at titles including The Hollywood Reporter, she brings expertise in all areas of the crafts and the impact of technology (including AI) on entertainment and the creative process. Her work can be found in titles including American Cinematographer; Cinema Editor; and The Creative + Tech Orbit on Substack, a new collaboration with PLBK’s Christina Lee Storm and Annie Hanlon. 

Carolyn’s been honored with ACE’s Robert Wise Award for journalistic contributions to film editing, International Cinematographers Guild’s Award for journalistic contributions to cinematography, Women in Technology Hollywood’s Leadership Award and the Advanced Imaging Society’s Distinguished Leadership Award. She’s also a SMPTE Fellow and a lecturer at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film & Media Arts. 

Christina Lee Storm is Co-Founder of Playbook PLBK and Head of Studio, Narrative at AI-native studio, Secret Level. She is an accomplished executive and award-winning producer known for pioneering storytelling through emerging technologies in film, series, animation, documentaries, XR, and multi-platform storytelling. She has been instrumental in implementing creative and strategic production technologies for franchises, IP, and world-building with studios such as Netflix, Universal, and DreamWorks Animation. Notable titles she was involved with include Avatar: The Last Airbender, Rez Ball, Trolls, The Boss Baby, Trolls Holiday, Abominable, Trolls World Tour, and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. 

Christina produced feature film Newborn, starring David Oyelowo in partnership with BRON Studios, releasing theatrically in April 2026. She has also produced award-winning documentaries Life After Pi and Jurassic Punk. 

Christina is Co-Founder of The Creative + Tech Orbit substack. She is Governor of the Television Academy's Emerging Media Programming peer group, Co-Chair of the Advocacy Committee, Lead for the Academy’s Responsible AI & Production Standards Working Group, and an active member of the Innovation Advisory Committee. Christina sits on the Producers Guild of America’s Production Innovation Task Force, Los Angeles Mayor’s Entertainment Industry Council, and Runway’s 100 Film Fund Advisor Panel. She is a newly inducted member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, Class of 2025. 

Christopher Nichols is a leader in visual effects and computer graphics, with over three decades of experience spanning feature films, emerging technologies, and production workflows. He is Director of Special Projects at the Chaos Innovation Lab, where he plays a key role in shaping and advancing Chaos’s work in virtual production and real-time ray-traced pipelines for filmmaking. 

He is also the co-founder and producer of Monstrous Moonshine, an independent production company and creative studio, and the home of the CG Garage podcast. Launched in 2014, CG Garage is an industry-recognized podcast featuring conversations with filmmakers, artists, and technologists. 

Christopher’s film credits include Tron: Legacy, Oblivion, and Maleficent. He holds a BA in Mathematics and Fine Arts from Colgate University and a Master of Architecture from Rice University. 

 

Creative Director Daniel Thron is  an award-winning director, writer, and VFX artist who has worked in games, streaming, and film for over twenty years. He is known for his cinematics, long-form dramatic advertising work for Fox’s ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ and Chaos’s VRAY series, and was part of the original creative team behind the classic ‘Thief’ trilogy of games. His VFX credits include David Fincher's ‘Zodiac,’ and Denis Villeneuve's ‘Dune 2.’ 

 

Doug is an independent advisor, consultant, speaker, and senior advisor for Boston Consulting Group. He writes The Mediator, which is widely read and circulated in the industry. Influential posts include One Clear Casualty of the Streaming Wars: Profit, which correctly predicted in 2020 that the transition to streaming would be far more painful for the media conglomerates than expected. Forget Peak TV, Here Comes Infinite TV, written in January 2023, laid out the risk that several technologies, including AI, are on track to disrupt high-quality content creation, a view that has since become mainstream. His four-part series The Years Ahead in Media laid out the tectonic shifts affecting the media industry over the next 5-10 years.   

He is also writing Infinite Content: AI, the Next Great Disruption of Media, and How to Navigate What’s Coming, due to be published by The MIT Press in 2026.  

Doug is frequently asked to present his views about the evolution of the media business at corporate meetings, institutional investor conferences, industry events and academic institutions. For an example of a recent presentation, see here.  

From 2021-2022, Doug was the Chief Financial Officer and a Managing Member of Pugilist Capital LLC, an investment firm formed with the purpose of acquiring media and media-adjacent technology businesses.  

From 2015 to 2018, he was EVP and Chief Strategy Officer at Turner, a division of WarnerMedia, and member of the Executive Committee. In this role, he headed Corporate Strategy, Data Strategy and Research, with responsibility for extending Turner’s competitive position and developing the tools, platforms and processes to enable data-informed decision making throughout the organization.  

Before that, Shapiro was SVP, International and Corporate Strategy at Time Warner Inc. In this role, he helped drive Time Warner’s global strategy and business development initiatives across the company’s line of media businesses, with a focus on coordinating strategy among HBO, Turner and Warner Bros.  

From 2008 to 2013, he headed the Time Warner Investor Relations group, overseeing the development and execution of the company’s investor relations initiatives, formulating investor messaging and serving as the primary contact for Time Warner with the investment community. Over that time, he oversaw all investor communications around the divestitures of AOL, Time Warner Cable and Time Inc. and the rapidly shifting TV landscape, including the rise of over-the-top video competitors. During his tenure, Time Warner’s Investor Relations group was named as one of the top IR groups in Media several times by Institutional Investor magazine. Shapiro also served as a Board Director for Central and Eastern European Media Enterprises from 2014 to 2018.  

Before joining Time Warner in 2007, Shapiro was a senior analyst at Banc of America Securities (B of A) from 1999 to 2007. He covered the Cable and Satellite TV and Media Conglomerate sectors and was the head of the Media and Telecommunications research team. He was ranked as one of the top Cable and Satellite analysts by Institutional Investor magazine each year from 1997 to 2006, the last year he was eligible for voting. Prior to B of A, he was a senior analyst at Deutsche Banc Securities.  

Shapiro received a B.A. degree in economics from the University of Michigan. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. 

Eddie Perez is a three-time Emmy award–winning stunt coordinator, director, and second unit director known for his bold, cinematic action work and deep understanding of character driven storytelling. With over 300 credits to his name, Eddie has brought his dynamic stunt expertise to some of the industry’s most iconic films and series, including Deadpool, Blade: Trinity, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Sicario, Snowfall, and Wakanda Forever. Born in New York City and based in Los Angeles, Eddie's path to Hollywood was anything but conventional. He began his career as a personal trainer and bodyguard to stars like Mickey Rourke and members of Duran Duran, eventually transitioning into stunt performance under the mentorship of Hollywood stunt legends Paul Stader and Greg Elam. He also trained in acting with respected coach peter flood, developing a strong foundation in both physicality and performance. Eddie is best known for his nine-season run as stunt coordinator on showtime’s shameless, for which he won three primetime Emmy awards for outstanding stunt coordination. His work seamlessly blends high intensity action with emotional storytelling, making him a go-to for productions that demand both spectacle and authenticity. In addition to stunt work, Eddie directed the acclaimed short film The Test of Time, which screened at numerous festivals and won multiple awards. He continues to develop narrative projects as a director and producer. Whether designing jaw-dropping stunts or stepping behind the camera, Eddie Perez brings precision, creativity, and integrity to every set he walks onto. He is Currently the Stunt peer group Governor and the co-chair Innovation Advisory Committee. 

With a career spanning three decades across Hollywood, Silicon Valley and Madison Avenue, Eric has delivered iconic work at Apple, Omnicom, Entertainment One, and Monks. He is a multiple Emmy, Peabody and Cannes Lion winner. 

Additionally, Eric is an active member of the creative community and currently sits on the Board of Governors for the Emmys, where he Chairs their Innovation Advisory Committee, in addition to being the Innovation Chair for the Producers Guild of America and holds multiple advisory positions for the SXSW film festival. 

Eugen Bräunig is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker, recently recognized with three News & Documentary Emmy Awards for his work on "Trafficked" (Nat Geo). His work centers on archival-driven storytelling that explores the intersections of media, power, and identity across social, political, and cultural contexts. He recently co-produced "SALLY" (Nat Geo) and founded Houseguest Pictures in 2025. He leads a team of storytellers creating meaningful, visually resonant nonfiction films and experiences. He is also a member of the Television Academy, the Visual Effects Society, and a founding member of the Archival Producers Alliance. 

Fred Grinstein is co-founder of Machine Cinema, a 10,000+ member creative community at the forefront of generative AI filmmaking, producing GenJam™ events and summits across LA, SF, and New York. A media executive with two decades in premium film and television — including roles at Anonymous Content, Viceland, and A&E, with credits spanning HBO, Hulu, Sundance, and Tribeca — Fred now bridges traditional storytelling and emerging AI technologies as an AI consultant to History and A+E Networks, Adjunct Professor at USC and Chapman University, and Stanford Starling Lab Fellow researching synthetic media and provenance. 

Ghen Laraya Long is an international tech and entertainment attorney who's all about the intersection of law and content. She specializes in crafting deals for the creation, production, and distribution of everything from traditional film and TV to new media projects. Her clients range from indie producers and creators to major multimedia companies and startups. 

She has worked with industry heavyweights like Disney, CBS, Red Bull, and Yahoo. A frequent speaker at events such as the TV Academy's AI Summit, Televerse, AI On the Lot, Hollyshorts, Digital Hollywood and  the Athena Film Festival, Ghen is deeply involved in the future of the industry. She’s also a member of the TV Academy’s Standing Innovation Advisory Committee and on the Professional Representatives' PGEC. 

Ghen currently serves on the board of Fil-Am Arts and has previously held board positions at Greenlight Women, Women in Film, and Echo. 

Since 2017 Holly Leff-Pressman has been a senior leader at Screen Engine/ASI, a leading market research firm specializing in content monetization and platform analytics. She advises studios, streamers, and technology companies on distribution strategy, evolving audience behavior, and sustainable business models in a rapidly shifting media landscape – including understanding the implications of AI on the media industry. 

Trained as an attorney, Holly began her career as a litigation associate at an entertainment law firm before moving into early digital distribution at Viewer’s Choice Television, where she negotiated and oversaw licensing for pay-per-view and early video-on-demand programming—well before OTT became mainstream. She later served as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Pay-Per-View and Video-On-Demand at NBCUniversal, helping shape early on-demand strategy, and as Executive Vice President at Nielsen, where she led content solutions and measurement innovation during the rise of streaming. 

Holly serves as AI Legal Lead on the Television Academy’s Innovation Advisory Committee and is a newly appointed member of its Advocacy Committee. She also moderates the Television Academy’s TV Executive Peer Circle, Navigating Change, and leads the TVOT Connect programming initiative alongside founder Tracey Swerdlow. 

She has been recognized with CTAM’s TAMI Award, honored as a Cable TV Pioneer, and named one of MCN’s Wonder Women for her leadership and contributions to the industry. 

Jidenna is a Nigerian-American artist and filmmaker whose work spans music, cinema, and cultural storytelling. Known for his double-platinum breakthrough “Classic Man” and GRAMMY® nomination, his music blends Afrobeats, funk, R&B, and hip-hop, reflecting the breadth of the African diaspora. He has appeared on President Obama’s playlist, acted in HBO’s Insecure and A Black Lady Sketch Show, and released acclaimed albums The Chief and 85 to Africa, praised by The New York Times, Pitchfork, and The Guardian. 

In recent years, Jidenna has expanded into visual storytelling as a director and writer, creating AI-native micro-series and brand work. In 2026, he received his first Executive Producer credit on the Sundance-selected film Birdie. With KITA, his debut stop-motion animated short, Jidenna explores ageism and the loneliness epidemic through an unexpected bond between a delivery robot and a disabled tech entrepreneur, revealing how technology can both connect us and deepen isolation. 

Jonathan Handel is a transactional entertainment and technology lawyer at Feig/Finkel and independently, with an additional specialty in Hollywood unions and guilds, and is also a journalist, media commentator and occasional writer of screenplays, poetry and stories. A preeminent expert on Hollywood unions and guilds and the author of multiple books, Jonathan was a Contributing Writer for Puck news in 2022-2024 and a contributing editor at The Hollywood Reporter from 2010 to 2020, where he wrote about 1,400 articles. He has also appeared over 1,600 times as a commentator on entertainment law and business in most major television, radio, print and online outlets across the world. Jonathan has been an adjunct professor at UCLA, USC and Southwestern law schools. 

Named by the Daily Journal as one of the top 100 lawyers in California, Jonathan has been profiled in a book, articles, websites and podcasts. He is a member of the Television Academy and an associate member of the Dramatists Guild and the Society of Composers & Lyricists. He's a graduate of Harvard College (1982/83 AB magna cum laude in applied math and computer science) and Harvard Law School (1990 JD cum laude). Prior to law school, he worked in tech and was a Democratic party elected official and gay activist. Visit jhandel.com and jhandel.news. 

Lori McCreary is the CEO of Revelations Entertainment, a production company she and actor Morgan Freeman founded in 1996 with a mission to produce entertainment that reveals truth. The duo first worked together on McCreary's critically acclaimed “Bopha!” (Freeman’s directorial debut) in 1992.  

McCreary’s credits include the upcoming Rendezvous with Rama directed by Dune’s Denis Villeneuve, the upcoming Civil-War 8-part limited series directed by Roland Joffe, The Gray House, the Award-winning Invictus, 5 Flights Up, the groundbreaking documentary cancer film, The C Word, and Executive Producer of the hit 120-episode series Madam Secretary starring Téa Leoni. She is an Executive Producer of the highest-rated series in National Geographic Channel history, The Story of God and The Story of Us. McCreary also served as Executive Producer of Discovery Science's Emmy-nominated series Through the Wormhole, exploring how science pushes the boundaries of our understanding of the universe.  

McCreary is a unique combination: part producer, part UCLA-trained computer scientist. She maintains a passionate, ongoing dialogue with filmmakers, talent and executives to stay ahead of technology, and works to help change the landscape for diversity in the industry. 

Mitch Gould moved from Atlanta, Georgia to Southern California in 1989 to attend Pomona College, where he graduated with a BA in writing and literature. He was introduced to Asian style film making when he worked for the Japanese team Alpha Stunts on the popular television series Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. In 1998 he landed a job doubling one of the leads on the CBS series Martial Law. It was on this show that he began working for some of the Hong Kong greats (Sammo Hung, Stanley Tong, Dion Lamb, and Andy Cheng). Mitch teamed up with Andy and did a series of films starting with US Seals 2. They did the re-shoots for Warner Brothers Wild, Wild, West and Universal’s The Scorpion King. He also worked as a fight and wire choreographer on Universal’s The Run Down, Disney’s Hildalgo, as well as Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever. 

He worked as an assistant choreographer and wire coordinator for Sony’s Ultraviolet which was shot in Hong Kong and Shanghai. After returning to the US Mitch worked on Terrence Malick's The New World, Tony Scott's Domino and the wildly successful teen vampire feature, Twilight. Since then he has been regularly designing and shooting action for a variety of television and film projects. 

In the summer of 2004 Mitch sold his first screenplay Demon Hunter (Sean Patrick Flannery, Billy Drago), to acclaimed television writer and author Stephen J. Cannell. He then wrote and produced the The Devil’s Den (starring Kelly Hu, Devon Sawa, and Ken Foree) for Starz Entertainment. Following his deal with Starz, he wrote and produced the independent action/horror feature Hellbinders, starring Ray Park (The Phantom Menace, X-Men, GI Joe) which was picked up for distribution by American World Pictures and released in the summer of 2010. In 2011 he worked as a writer on the script for Capcom's Resident Evil 6 video game franchise. 

In addition to his writing, Mitch has spent the 2011, 2012 and 2013 seasons working as a creative consultant for the action and visual effects scenes as well as designing and shooting the action for Disney’s hit shows Kickin' It, Crash and Bernstein, KC Undercover, and A Gamer’s Guide to Life and Everything. After Disney purchased Lucasfilm Mitch wrote and directed a live action Star Was sequence for Disney XD. On the heels of that they started a short film department for film makers to create pitch projects, which is where Mitch developed Arcanum. 

Taking a break from Disney, Mitch wrote and directed the sci-fi/action feature film Battle Drone (starring Louis Mandylor, Jason Earles, and Oleg Taktarov) for Filmtiger. Battle Drone was recently acquired by Netflix for a March 2018 release. In 2019 Mitch has been working to develop a series based on the Battle Drone property while designing the action sequences for the Mark Cherry CBS All Access series Why Women Kill. 

Peter is a leading AI, media, entertainment, and tech expert who has worn just about every “hat” in his 30+ year career that spans both traditional and tech-driven media. He is a frequent speaker, writes an influential AI and media-focused weekly newsletter, has written as an expert columnist for major industry publications like TheWrap and Forbes, has written several best-selling industry books, and hosts a major music podcast series on Consequence. He is widely recognized as being a leading business force, influencer and thought leader in the worlds of AI, media, entertainment and tech. He represents and advises Artists, media and entertainment companies, AI agencies, and AI developers to understand the complex business and legal landscape and to define winning “ethical” strategies and solutions.

Peter is Chairman of Creative Media, a boutique media, entertainment, AI and tech firm that specializes in market-defining content and IP licensing and M&A, game-changing strategy and business development, and world-class business consulting. He has negotiated over $4 billion in deals over the course of his career, served as CEO and President of several pioneering media-tech companies that achieved highly successful exits, and acted as a senior executive and dealmaker at Universal Studios and other major media companies. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and began his career as an entertainment and intellectual property attorney representing media companies and artists ranging from Madonna to ground-breaking rap group N.W.A. 

Roahn Hylton, also known as "First Born", is a music producer and film composer from Houston, Texas. He attended Oral Roberts University where he became lead engineer at their conservatory of music before moving to Los Angeles. Hylton was a co-producer on Nicki Minajʼs first Billboard Top 5 single “Super Bass”. In addition to the song being a platinum hit in the U.S., “Super Bass” spent several weeks inside the top 20 and is Minajʼs highest charting solo single to date. He also produced “Gun Shot” for Nicki Minaj on her Platinum Album “Roman Reloaded”, which ranked #1 on the Billboard 200. He produced “Honeymoon Avenue” for Ariana Grande on her RIAA Gold Certified album "Yours Truly,” also peaking at #1 on Billboard top 200. He then produced "Rick James" and "No Complications" for Keyshia Cole on her 6th studio album, which eventually became the #1 RnB album in the country, making it his fourth number 1 album in 4 years. In 2019 Roahn was co-composer for ‘Free Meek’ on Amazon, which is produced by Jay-Z & Meek Mill as well as ‘Age of A.I.’ a docu-series from producer Robert Downey, Jr. Hylton was also a series co-composer for ‘Don’t F*** this up’ a Netflix series produced and starred by Kevin Hart. The series was nominated for Best Unstructured Reality Program at the 2020 Emmys. Roahn co-scored the currently untitled Nicki Minaj Documentary as well as the logo and theme for the 'Power Universe' on Starz produced by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. In July 2021 Roahn was announced as Series co-composer for 'The Wonder Years' on ABC premiering September 2021. The reimagining of the Wonder Years has become a prime time success earning the show a Peabody WIN. In addition to scoring the series, Hylton co-wrote and produced the main titles which has won the HMMA award for best main titles. In 2022 Hylton scored and Executive music produced Vampire Academy for NBC/Peacock writing and producing over 30 songs for the show including collaborations with Jordan Sparks, Skylar Grey, and Brent Fiyaz. In 2023, Hylton scored “Civil” the documentary following attorney Ben Crump, which would be nominated at the 2023 News & Doc Emmy Award for Outstanding Social Issue Documentary. In 2023, Roahn began scoring Bel-Air. The critically acclaimed hit series for NBC/Peacock. Bel-Air has become a hit for the network, becoming its most watched show amongst several demographics. in 2024 the show was nominated for an NAACP Award for Outstanding Drama series. In 2024, Hylton co-scored Chefs Table Volume 7 on Netflix. Most Recently Hylton earned his second Grammy Nomination for his work on Rocky Dawunis “RIse” Best Global Music Performance. In 2025, Hylton scored “SNL 50” chronicling the 50th anniversary of the iconic show Saturday Night Live. Now nominated for 3 Emmys including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. Also, in 2025 Hylton scored “Brave The Dark” A feature length international film release starring Jered Harris and Directed by Damian Harris released by Angel Studios. In 2026, Hylton produced a conversation series called Masters Vs Machine, focused on discussing the impact of Ai in Entertainment, policy, and creativity. Held during Grammy Week, the Emmys Ai Summit, and Oscar Week, this conversation series has hosted the top minds in music field and entertainment as well as government. Roahn’s advocacy includes his work as chair of the Human Rights subcommittee for the American Society for Artificial Intelligence. Roahn also serves on the board of SONA and is chair of the songwriters and composer committee of the Grammys Los Angeles chapter. He also serves on the Music Peer Group Executive Committee and AI task force for the Emmys. 

Shira Lazar is an Emmy-nominated digital culture expert, keynote speaker, and mental health advocate with over 1 million followers across platforms. As the founder of What’s Trending, a pioneering digital news brand with 3+ million followers, she has been shaping the creator economy and social media trends for two decades. 

Shira has shared her expertise on stages like SXSW, Cannes Lions, CES and NAB. She was named one of Fast Company's Most Influential Women in Technology, honored on Variety's Women of Impact list, and featured on AdWeek’s AI Trailblazers Power100 list. 

In 2024, she launched Creators 4 Mental Health, an initiative focused on bringing mental health tools to the creator economy through events, research and community programming.  

In 2026, Shira helped introduce the Creator Bill of Rights alongside Congressman Ro Khanna, advocating for fair labor standards, protections, and benefits for creators as workers and small business owners. 

Building her own brands has led her to also advise and consult with companies looking to make an impact through emerging tech. She shares her insights on AI and the creator economy in her weekly newsletter, The Alpha. She also hosts a podcast series called The AI Download, exploring the future of AI and culture. 

Tim Friedlander is a voice actor, musician, educator, and studio owner based in Los Angeles, known for his talent and advocacy on behalf of the creative industry.  
 
As the president and co-founder of the National Association of Voice Actors (NAVA), and co-founder of the new Creators Coalition on AI, Tim has tirelessly championed for artists' rights. 
 
Tim is known for his work on popular titles such as "Hunter x Hunter," "One Punch Man," and his portrayal of Long Caster in "Ace Combat 7." His performance as the English voice of Ares in the Netflix series "Record of Ragnarok" and as the English Voice of “Daigo Dojima” in the new Like A Dragon video game series have garnered attention and awards.  
 
As founder of the soundBOX:Studio Group, Tim operates out of his studio, soundBOX:LA and has strived to create studio environments that are safe, inspiring, and professional.   

Tim has been quoted in such outlets as the LA Times, WIRED, the NY Times, and the BBC and has presented to the UN Emerging Tech Committee, the FTC, and participated in the 2024 AI Summit on Deepfakes at the White House hosted by the NSA. His work in advocacy has taken him to Capitol Hill for over 100 meetings with lawmakers fighting for the rights of all Americans to own their voice, image, name and likeness on a federal level.  
 
Represented by Atlas Talent in Los Angeles and New York, as well as ACM Talent Management in LA and New York, Tim is a driving force in the creative industry, leaving an indelible mark with his talent, passion, and dedication. 

Tim Ursprung is a skilled advisor who brings over a decade of Capitol Hill and government relations experience to his clients. Tim develops and executes targeted advocacy and lobbying strategies to help his clients adjust to public policy developments and comply with ever-changing regulatory requirements. Prior to joining Venable, Tim worked as the vice president of federal legislative affairs at a lobbying firm, where he represented client interests before members of Congress and administration officials. Before the private sector, Tim worked in Congress for six years, where he advised then U.S. representative Peter T. King, who served as a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee.