According to Fast Company, the entertainment industry has a packed schedule at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, with more than 25 different panels and events. The programming is tackling the industry’s biggest tensions, questioning AI’s cinematic capabilities and its impact on advertising. It also puts a major focus on the growing creator economy. The discussions come after major controversy, like the debut of the first “AI actor,” Tilly Norwood, last fall. Despite deep concerns over copyright and job replacement, many speakers at the event are expressing a surprising optimism. They’re arguing that AI-powered tools can actually help artists harness creativity and tell stories they couldn’t before.
The Pivot From Panic to Pragmatism
Here’s the thing: the panic phase was real and justified. The outrage over Tilly Norwood wasn’t just about one digital character. It was a lightning rod for every fear about IP theft and human obsolescence. Lawsuits are flying, and that legal uncertainty isn’t going away anytime soon. But what’s fascinating about this CES coverage is the clear narrative shift. The conversation is moving from “Will AI destroy us?” to “How do we live with this, and maybe even make it work for us?” That’s a huge, pragmatic step. It means the industry is done just being scared and is now, grudgingly, in the messy phase of figuring it out.
The Creator Economy Angles In
This is where the optimism gets interesting. The quotes from folks like Dwayne Koh of Leonardo.ai aren’t coming from a traditional studio exec. They’re coming from the toolmaker side, the enablers for the massive digital creator economy. His point about “leveling the playing field” is powerful. For decades, high-end storytelling required gatekept resources: expensive cameras, editing suites, effects teams. Now? The barrier to entry for visual storytelling is collapsing. That’s terrifying if you’re a legacy VFX house, but it’s liberating for a million independent creators. The CES programming linking AI and the creator economy isn’t an accident. It’s where the most immediate, disruptive adoption is happening, far from the slow-moving studio boards.
The Studio Dilemma: Play Catch-Up or Get Disrupted?
So where does this leave the traditional giants? In a tough spot. They’re caught between defending their priceless IP libraries in court and secretly racing to develop their own AI capabilities. Look at the reported talks between Disney and OpenAI. That’s the tell. Even the most iconic content empire knows it can’t ignore the tech. Their path is harder. They have unions, legacy costs, and shareholder expectations. They can’t just “level the playing field”; they have to maintain a premium, high-quality summit. Their use of AI will likely be more about internal efficiency and pre-visualization first—saving money on early drafts and storyboards—before it ever touches a final product. But the pressure from agile, AI-native creator studios is only going to grow.
The Real Battle Isn’t Human vs. Machine
Basically, the panels at CES 2026 are hinting at the real conflict. It’s less about humans versus AI and more about old systems versus new workflows. The anxiety in Hollywood isn’t really about the technology itself. It’s about the economic and legal models crumbling underneath it. Who gets paid? Who owns what? Can you copyright a style? The optimism from the speaker stage is genuine, but it’s coming from those who stand to build the new tools or use them to bypass old gates. For the established industry, the mood is still fraught. They see both an existential threat and an unavoidable tool. Navigating that duality—without being eaten alive by the creators who have less to lose—is their 2026 challenge. The conversation has started, but nobody has the answers yet.
