29 Oct 2026
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Mike Boland
AWE Talks: The Wild West of XR, AI & Storytelling
AWE USA 2026
Welcome back to AWE Talks, our series that revisits the best AWE conference sessions. With AWE USA recently concluded, there's a fresh batch of stage footage to keep us occupied for weeks.
We continue the action and insights this week with a look at XR's integration with storytelling. Specifically, how will XR elevate and advance Hollywood production? The star-studded panel breaks it down.
See the summarized takeaways below, along with the full session video. Stay tuned for more video highlights each week and check out the full library of conference sessions on AWE's YouTube Channel.
Speakers
Travis Cloyd, Director of the D.R.E.A.M.S. Program and Professor, California Institute of the Arts
Billy Zane, Co-Founder, General Human
Deborah Worrell, entertainment technology executive
Key Takeaways & Analysis
- Storytelling is a medium that's always benefited from inflections in technology, especially Hollywood production.
- We're now in another period of inflection and transformation, given XR, 3D production, and AI-assisted production.
- Among other things, this ties in location-based entertainment for immersive, multisensory, and interactive experiences.
- There are several subtopics under this broader discussion, including education, intellectual property, and digital humans.
- In education, the D.R.E.A.M.S. program at CalArts cultivates themed entertainment and LBE technologies.
- Meanwhile, IP is a big component, as legacy IP can be revitalized for modern audiences, including spatial experiences.
- Digital Humans is also a weighty topic, as performers' digital twins can help their work scale and define their legacy.
- But though these benefits exist, there's a dark side that we should work against, such as non-consensual IP usage.
- Emerging tech is a powerful tool to enhance emotion and storytelling, but it needs to be applied responsibly.
- We're still in a Wild West phase of AI and XR's integration with storytelling, so legal and technical guardrails are needed.
- One rule of thumb to align with these principles is to align with human-in-the-loop standards, especially in all things AI.
- Other challenges will include striking the right balance between narrative integrity and interactive elements
- This will all be a moving target, but the panel advocates participation and input, rather than shunning the technology.
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