Paramount Skydance just made a key hire to help advance its AI push.
Barak Turovsky, who oversaw Google’s AI language product for seven years, is joining David Ellison’s company as the head of consumer AI, product chief Dane Glasgow told tech staffers on Monday afternoon.
Turovsky most recently worked at General Motors and has held positions at companies including Cisco, PayPal, SAP, and IBM.
Hiring Turovsky will help Paramount “supercharge” the company’s transformation as it uses AI to “meaningfully drive” growth, Glasgow told employees in an email, which was obtained by Business Insider.
Turovsky “will be responsible for growing our AI / ML team,” which will “explore ways to leverage AI” across its streaming business, headlined by Paramount+ and free streamer Pluto TV, Glasgow said.
Glasgow then listed the ways AI could help its streamers:
- Personalization
- Content discovery
- Platform intelligence
- Consumer engagement
- Monetization capabilities
The company has been looking to bolster its streaming services with new consumer-facing features. Paramount+ rolled out a short-form video feed, and the company is developing interactive features, including a shopping tool and one centered on sports stats. The company is also looking to put video podcasts on Paramount+.
Paramount is leaning into technology
Paramount software engineers have told Business Insider they’re increasingly using AI, and one said they’d used eight to 10 agents at a time to knock out tasks. This AI user said that “Paramount is getting better” at implementing tech, adding that it’s still catching up to companies like Netflix and Google.
Paramount’s product chief said in the Monday email that the company’s goal is to “attract some of the best talent available” as it leans into AI.
Ellison’s company recently hired fellow former Google executive Hugh Williams as an EVP and an “Executive in Residence.” Last fall, Glasgow joined Paramount from Meta, and revenue chief Jay Askinasi came on board from Roku.
Paramount is looking to hire AI aficionados down the chain of command, based on current job listings for lead software engineers with experience building “intelligent automation systems.”
The company will restructure its tech organization when CTO Phil Wiser steps down at the end of the month, Business Insider reported on Friday. The company will not replace Wiser and instead have four key executives report directly to Glasgow.
Turovsky, who joined Paramount on Monday as an EVP, also reports to Glasgow.
Robert Dumoulin, Paramount’s SVP of Applied Intelligence, will now report to Turovsky.
Read the full memo from Glasgow to employees here:
Read the original article on Business Insider
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