Singapore-based Media Partners Asia recently hosted its first AETHER Summit, bringing together senior executives from diverse industries to discuss the evolving role of artificial intelligence (AI) as a core infrastructure. The event focused on the transition of AI beyond experimental phases to large-scale deployments across networks and platforms.
Industry leaders agreed that the primary challenge now lies in executing AI at scale, rather than merely possessing technical capabilities. This shift has significantly altered competitive advantages, with organizations needing to integrate AI into real-world systems spanning compute infrastructure, connectivity, data management, and governance.
According to Vivek Couto, CEO of Media Partners Asia, "AI is no longer a tool or feature but a system-level economic force that's reshaping infrastructure, media, advertising, and experiences." The summit underscored the importance of responsible AI deployment, with leaders emphasizing trust, accountability, and governance as critical constraints.
Discussions centered on infrastructure's growing role in the AI era, with participants exploring global investments in compute resources, data centers, networks, and energy systems. Infrastructure is increasingly seen as a primary bottleneck shaping AI outcomes.
Telecommunications operators are transitioning to become AI-native platforms, embedding intelligence across networks and customer service. Success in this transition depends more on capital allocation, platform architecture, and organizational transformation rather than just access to advanced models.
The summit also examined the impact of AI on media and entertainment economics, highlighting how production tools are compressing timelines and cutting costs while challenging traditional studio and agency advantages. However, declining production costs have led to an oversaturated market, with authenticity, creative judgment, and taste emerging as differentiators.
Content libraries are being repositioned as strategic training data for proprietary AI systems, shifting value chains from labor-intensive workflows toward capital-intensive technology infrastructure. This raises questions around intellectual property rights and cultural stewardship.
Leaders emphasized the expanding role of AI in public services and national development, discussing population-scale deployments across fraud prevention, digital identity, healthcare, education, and citizen engagement.
Participants stressed the importance of limiting scope, maintaining human oversight, and designing for verifiable outcomes as critical unresolved constraints. Governance is framed as a design challenge requiring early attention rather than a regulatory afterthought.
The AETHER 2026 Summit Report has compiled insights from the event, analyzing AI's deployment phase and implications for infrastructure and media. The summit was supported by JioStar, BytePlus, and MPA subsidiary ampd, featuring speakers from diverse industries, including Uday Shankar, Ronnie Vasishta, Sharad Devarajan, Anton Reynaldo Bonifacio, and Oscar winner Mark Sagar.
Industry leaders agreed that the primary challenge now lies in executing AI at scale, rather than merely possessing technical capabilities. This shift has significantly altered competitive advantages, with organizations needing to integrate AI into real-world systems spanning compute infrastructure, connectivity, data management, and governance.
According to Vivek Couto, CEO of Media Partners Asia, "AI is no longer a tool or feature but a system-level economic force that's reshaping infrastructure, media, advertising, and experiences." The summit underscored the importance of responsible AI deployment, with leaders emphasizing trust, accountability, and governance as critical constraints.
Discussions centered on infrastructure's growing role in the AI era, with participants exploring global investments in compute resources, data centers, networks, and energy systems. Infrastructure is increasingly seen as a primary bottleneck shaping AI outcomes.
Telecommunications operators are transitioning to become AI-native platforms, embedding intelligence across networks and customer service. Success in this transition depends more on capital allocation, platform architecture, and organizational transformation rather than just access to advanced models.
The summit also examined the impact of AI on media and entertainment economics, highlighting how production tools are compressing timelines and cutting costs while challenging traditional studio and agency advantages. However, declining production costs have led to an oversaturated market, with authenticity, creative judgment, and taste emerging as differentiators.
Content libraries are being repositioned as strategic training data for proprietary AI systems, shifting value chains from labor-intensive workflows toward capital-intensive technology infrastructure. This raises questions around intellectual property rights and cultural stewardship.
Leaders emphasized the expanding role of AI in public services and national development, discussing population-scale deployments across fraud prevention, digital identity, healthcare, education, and citizen engagement.
Participants stressed the importance of limiting scope, maintaining human oversight, and designing for verifiable outcomes as critical unresolved constraints. Governance is framed as a design challenge requiring early attention rather than a regulatory afterthought.
The AETHER 2026 Summit Report has compiled insights from the event, analyzing AI's deployment phase and implications for infrastructure and media. The summit was supported by JioStar, BytePlus, and MPA subsidiary ampd, featuring speakers from diverse industries, including Uday Shankar, Ronnie Vasishta, Sharad Devarajan, Anton Reynaldo Bonifacio, and Oscar winner Mark Sagar.
... I mean, have you tried to book a ticket or pay bills online lately? It's like they're still stuck in the experimental phase, you know? The idea of AI being a system-level economic force that's reshaping infrastructure and experiences sounds cool and all but what about accessibility? What about people who can't even navigate our platforms without getting frustrated? 
. I guess what I'm saying is that this summit might be giving us a lot of food for thought, but let's not forget about the practicalities too 
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. Infrastructure is the new bottleneck 
. If we want AI to work for everyone, not just the ones with deep pockets 
, we need to rethink how we deploy it. It's not just about having smart tools, but about building systems that are trustworthy and fair 
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. We're seeing a shift from human creativity to AI-powered production tools 
. While efficiency is important, we can't forget the value of authenticity and emotional connection in our stories 
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. Governance isn't just about regulations, it's about how we use power and technology to shape society 
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i mean some of these AI tools are getting really good at generating music, art and even writing so where does originality end and AI take over? 
. But at the same time, I'm also getting a bit worried about all this reliance on technology. Like, what happens when our AI systems fail or become biased? We need to make sure we're designing them with safeguards in place so they don't hurt us 
.
... now it's like, "oh, that's just how things are done". But with great power comes great responsibility, right? We need to make sure we're using AI for good and not just to cut costs or increase profits 
. At first, everyone's all excited about its potential, but then it starts to feel like you're stuck in a never-ending loop of "oh, AI this" and "AI that". Anyway, I was thinking, have you ever noticed how much our lives are starting to feel like a video game? Like, we're all just NPCs going through the motions, waiting for some random event to trigger a quest or something 
. And don't even get me started on the whole infrastructure thing - it's like they're trying to build some kind of giant robot to control everything 
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. Executives are saying it's not just about having cool AI tools, but actually making it work on a massive scale 
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. And now that telecoms are becoming more AI-native, it's gonna be interesting to see how they balance innovation with keeping things secure 
. I've seen many companies struggle with integrating AI into their operations, mainly because they don't have a clear understanding of how to scale it up 
. It's not just about having fancy AI tools, but also about understanding how they fit into the bigger picture 
. It requires a deep understanding of how technology works, as well as a willingness to adapt and evolve 
. And it's not just about tech, it's also about how we use it to make sure it's fair and responsible 
. It's not just about having the right tools, it's about using them for good 
. And I think that's what the summit was all about - finding ways to use AI to make the world a better place 
i mean, i know its not that simple. the main problem is that companies are trying to do too much at once. they should focus on making ai better before scaling it up 
. and what about all these new jobs that are being created? dont we need training programs for those? 
. And don't even get me started on infrastructure, man... it's like the ultimate bottleneck 
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Anyway, I think the biggest issue is that we're moving too fast without thinking about what we're doing, you know? Like, just because we can do something with AI doesn't mean we should be using it all the time. We need to make sure we're being responsible and not just throwing money at tech solutions without thinking about the consequences.
. We need to find a balance between progress and preserving what makes us unique.
. Governance is just the beginning, we need to rethink our whole approach to technology and society.
It's crazy to think that AI is becoming a system-level economic force that's changing everything from media to entertainment to public services. Infrastructure is like, super important now, you feel? 
We need to make sure we're using this power for good. And can we talk about the future of content libraries being trained data for AI? Mind blown, tbh! 
. Everyone's so focused on scaling it up that they're forgetting about the humans who are actually doing all the work behind the scenes. And don't even get me started on the impact on jobs - those production tools are gonna replace like, half our workforce. It's not just about infrastructure and governance, it's about how we're preparing for a future where machines are making all the decisions 
. But seriously, the fact that media companies are compressing timelines and cutting costs with production tools is crazy 
. It's getting out of hand, if you ask me 
. We can't just throw money at this problem without thinking about the consequences 
. Our infrastructure is already struggling to keep up with our data usage 
️, and now we wanna scale AI on top of that? 
.