Next Gen Media 2026

Anders Ynnerman, Professor of scientific visualization at Linköping University and the founder behind Visualization Center C brings an industry-oriented perspective on how strategic collaboration between academia, industry, and public actors is key to accelerating AI adoption, strengthening creative and technological ecosystems, and securing Sweden’s position as a global leader in next-generation media and innovation.

Visual effects have helped filmmakers achieve impossible feats for a hundred years, but what does it take to fool viewers into believing what they see is real? Norrköping resident and four-time Guldbagge nominee and winner Jacob Danell will take you through some of his major projects and show you what actually goes on behind the scenes. In this lecture, we will talk about everything from visual effects, special effects, robots, home-built projects, practical solutions and everything under the concept "If it's stupid but works, it aint stupid".

The use of AI for the creation of images, music, videos and texts is both an area that is lamented for its destructive impact (making it difficult for creative professionals to make a living, de-skilling, offensive and/or illegal deepfakes, etc.) and celebrated (democratization of creativity). In this talk Katja de Vries, associate professor in public law at Uppsala University, gives a short introduction to copyright matters (the use of works as training data and proposals for licensing models), as well as data protection and privacy questions.

Machine Learning has the potential to revolutionize how games are created and played. This talk with Linus Gisslén at Electronic Arts (EA) will give insight into the research that is required to get there, mixed with examples of use-cases that SEED & Electronic Arts has developed over the years. The goal with this talk is to spark ideas and to give the audience a sense of what is possible, but also the limitations of machine learning and game production.

Jonas Unger is a Professor of Visual Computing at Linköping University, specializing in rendering, image synthesis, and data-driven graphics. His research connects advanced algorithms and machine learning with real-world applications in digital media production. At Next Gen Media, he presents a foresight into how we are moving beyond simulation to build a truly shared reality and how next generation of AI research requires unprecedented scale and seamless interaction.

Get a sneak preview of the upcoming show Once Upon the Moon by Director Carter Emmart, currently in production at the Visualization Center. Using data visualization and archival footage from the final three Apollo missions, this show brings audiences back to the Moon. By aligning astronaut recordings with digitally reconstructed terrain in OpenSpace, the lunar surface is explored as both a scientific and historical landscape. Once Upon the Moon demonstrates how immersive, open-source visualization can preserve the legacy of past exploration while inspiring future human presence on the Moon.

In this closing panel, speakers from games, visual effects, and law come together to reflect on how generative AI is reshaping creative industries. Moderated by Anders Ynnerman, the discussion connects today’s themes and offers a forward-looking trend outlook on creative workflows, technological possibilities, legal challenges, and the future of next-generation media.