In the first part of our three-part series, we explored adaptive media, its characteristics, and how AI, immersive technology, and blockchain converge in the new media era. Today, we'll take a closer look at the driving forces behind this new era and explore its future use cases.

Technological Advancement

AI is advancing at an exponential pace. The complexity of AI tasks, particularly in coding, doubles approximately every 7 months - far outpacing Moore's Law, which has accurately predicted the doubling of computing power every two years for five decades. This acceleration marks more than just progress; it's a tipping point. Combined with other emerging technologies, we're witnessing a major generational shift.

To understand the scale of this shift, it helps to look at Kondratiev cycles, long-term economic waves that last 40-60 years. Each cycle follows a familiar pattern: a burst of technological innovation, followed by a period of slowdown or stagnation. We’re not just evolving, we’re shifting into a new era.

Historically, moments like this have sparked profound shifts in how people live, work, and connect. And this time, the wave is coming faster than ever.

“The strongest candidate for the root cause of generational differences is technology. Technology has completely changed the way we live and the way we think, behave, and relate to each other. Unlike the ebb and flow of wars, pandemics, and economic cycles, technological change is linear” - Dr. Jean Twenge author of Generations

The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents, and What They Mean for America's Future.

Next Gen Users

With technological change being the root cause of generational differences, the next logical changing force are evolving user needs, preferences, and expectations - all calling for new channels and interaction features. This new generation brings different expectations for brands and uses different platforms to engage with them.

Different generations, different expectations, needs & preferences

For those who aren't familiar with different generations, here's a quick overview before we dive in.

Millennials (born 1981–1996): Adapted to the digital world
Gen Z (born 1997–2009): Mobile-first, human-driven
Gen Alpha (born 2010–2025): Internet-native, social-driven
Gen Beta (2025 onwards): Expected to grow up in even more advanced environments with embedded AI and ubiquitous connectivity

Millennials navigated the rise of the internet, while Gen Z came of age with social media and algorithmic feeds. But Gen Alpha-born from 2010 onward, is the first to grow up in a fully tech-saturated world and is the main driving force of the adaptive media era.They’ve never known life without smartphones, AI, or instant access to information. Nearly half have a tablet before age 6, and most own a smartphone before 10. Their exposure to technology begins early: 43% have a tablet before age 6, and 58% have a smartphone before age 10. Their worldview is being shaped not just by what’s online, but by how technology integrates into learning, play, and relationships.

Platform PreferencesGen Alpha gravitates toward visual and interactive platforms. YouTube is the most popular, with kids spending an average of 84 minutes daily watching content, both for entertainment and education. TikTok is also highly favoured, especially among older Alphas, with 44% reporting regular use surpassing traditional TV consumption. Instagram and Snapchat are also popular, but Facebook and Twitter are largely ignored by this group.

Influencer CultureGen Alpha is deeply influenced by social media creators. Over half say they trust influencers' recommendations as much as those from family or friends, and 55% are more likely to want products promoted by their favorite (virtual) YouTube or Instagram personalities. This influencer trust shapes their consumer behavior and brand loyalty from a young age.

Content ConsumptionThey prefer short, attention-grabbing videos and interactive content. Gaming platforms like Roblox are central to their digital lives, blending social interaction with entertainment.

Shopping and eCommercePredictions indicate that 28% of Gen Alpha will use social media for shopping, a significant increase from previous generations.

Generation Beta will likely take this evolution even further, while today's Gen Alpha provides the clearest glimpse into what's ahead. What will they expect from platforms and brands? We believe the adaptive media era and its characteristics mark the beginning of their new way of interacting on the web.

The Paradox of Hyper-Connectivity and Loneliness

As technology reshapes the way we interact, it raises profound questions about the nature of real-life human connection. Today, digital platforms offer companionship, entertainment, and support at our fingertips. Yet, despite being more connected than ever, many of us report feeling increasingly lonely-a paradox at the heart of our digital era.

This experience, however, is not universal. For digital-native generations like Gen Alpha, online interaction isn’t a replacement for something lost; it’s their default mode of communication. Their social lives are woven into the fabric of AI, 3D environments, tokenization, and decentralized platforms. While research is still unfolding, at AITV we envision a future where digital interactions foster genuine connection and enjoyment, complementing-but never replacing-the richness of in-person relationships.

Yet, this optimism comes with caution. The deep integration of screens and smart technologies into daily life brings new challenges. As interactions increasingly shift toward AI and virtual interfaces, we must consider the potential long-term effects on empathy, social development, and mental health.

We’re already witnessing these changes in our daily lives. The relentless stream of content, notifications, and algorithm-driven suggestions can be overwhelming. This constant barrage of information introduces a new driver of change: Information Overload- a challenge we must address as we navigate the technology first world.

Information Overload

We are living in the most information-saturated era in history. The average person now processes over 74GB of data each day, the equivalent of watching more than 16 movies-delivered through a constant stream of notifications, social feeds, messages, and media.

This overload of information isn’t just a challenge for brands (which we’ll discuss shortly); it has far-reaching sociopolitical consequences. The sheer volume makes it increasingly difficult to verify facts and discern credible sources, fueling the spread of misinformation and creating a growing trust deficit. People are left questioning what’s true and whom they can trust.

Over the past few decades, people have relied on traditional media conglomerates and TV news as trusted information sources. Yet there's growing recognition that these systems show significant bias and fail to resonate with younger generations.

Instead, young people now turn to streamers and influencers, sources that often lack credible backing. AI agents with credibility anchoring have emerged as a potential solution for today's information landscape. For example, many DeFi users now consider AIXBT their most trusted source for crypto market information.

Decentralized, traceable AI systems using on-chain recording offer a promising way forward. These technologies provide transparency by documenting content creation, validation processes, and data sources. While initiatives like Worldcoin are leading efforts to build trust infrastructure for online identity verification, a complete solution remains in development.

In conclusion, the information overload on mass media platforms and the lack of verifiability and trust in both modern platforms and traditional media create a need for new ways to consume information. These new approaches must emphasize verified, traceable content with better curation and less overwhelm. This brings us to our next key driver from a brand perspective: how can businesses grow and meaningfully connect with customers in an attention economy now saturated with AI-generated content?

Attention Economy

The digital landscape has never been louder, with countless brands competing for a finite pool of attention. Every swipe, scroll, and notification adds to this, making user attention an increasingly precious commodity.

For decades, growth meant grabbing attention. Fancy punchlines and full front ads, while some of it still works as per the old playbook, mass media tactics, spammy funnels, and brute-force distribution, are collapsing. AI has democratized content creation, bots can simulate scale, and users are tuning out with content overload.

“We don’t have a content shortage anymore, we have attention shortage”

Big brands are already shifting. Retail media is exploding, As was pointed out by CC Gong after taking part in a CMO dinner hosted by Nasdaq: CMOs are pulling ad budgets from Meta and Google and reallocating up to 60% to high-intent, alternative channels instead of a mass approach. Instacart, DoorDash, Uber, Amazon, Walmart: these aren’t just apps, they’re precision media channels.

On Uber, for example, you can serve different ads to someone heading to the Four Seasons versus someone going to Costco. Meanwhile, brands are building their own media empires. Podcasts are booming, and companies like Shopify are investing in owned content rather than relying on rented reach. They recognize that in today’s attention economy, owning your distribution is the ultimate moat for survival.

We're also seeing the rise of hobby-focused apps, from Bryan Johnson's "don't die" community to running apps. As content creation accelerates at an unprecedented rate, traditional attention economy strategies are becoming less effective. Users and brands alike are driving demand for new platforms as they recognize the critical importance of owning distribution channels.

In this new era, owning your distribution and brand identity are the only true competitive advantages. The battle for control over distribution-beyond traditional mass media-is intensifying. Whether established giants or innovative newcomers will prevail remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: the evolving attention economy is fundamentally reshaping how media platforms develop and how audiences consume content.

Future Use Cases

The next generation of media requires a complete rebuild of the technology stack with AI at its core, not just as an add-on. This transformation is already happening across several key areas:

Smart Discovery: AI-powered tools like KaitoAI that filter and contextualise content, replacing endless scrolling.
Agent-Powered Media Stream:AI agents that curate, narrate, and deliver content in real time are already going live. AITV is at the frontier here.
Agent Launchpads:Exploring the new token economy models, Launchpads like Virtuals are emerging to support this wave, offering toolkits, marketplaces, and tokenized incentive layers to create, fund, and scale these autonomous entities.
New Creation Tools:Agentic coding environments like Replit and Cursor act as co-pilots for creators who are not traditional developers; these tools empower users to build, iterate, and launch with zero friction, turning intent and textual prompts directly into coded output.
AI-Driven UGC Creation AI is unlocking more use cases for brands and content creators. Tools like MakeUGC allow users to create AI-generated ads in minutes, drastically reducing production costs by leveraging models like Sora, newer LLMs, and diffusion models. Native LLM (GPT4) can now also generate ad-ready visuals, but is limited to static for now.
Autonomous X AccountsAutonomous AI agents are now operating as fully independent social media personalities on platforms. For example, Aixbt is an AI-powered crypto influencer that analyses markets, posts real-time insights, interacts with followers, and even detects emerging narratives without human intervention. Aixbt’s unique blend of technical analysis and relatable humor has attracted over 400,000 followers in just three months, demonstrating the power and influence of autonomous AI agents in shaping online conversations and communities
Synthetic Media and Virtual InfluencersAI-generated virtual actors, voiceovers, and digital humans are redefining entertainment and influencer marketing. A leading example is Lil Miquela, who has over 2.45 million followers on Instagram, collaborating with major brands and blurring the line between virtual and human influencers.

AITV is not only adhering to these trends but actively pioneering them. By integrating AI-powered agents, immersive livestreaming, tokenized economies, and next-generation creation tools, AITV is building a platform that embodies the adaptive media era. Whether it’s real-time content curation, interactive avatars, or gamified audience engagement, AITV’s approach ensures it remains at the cutting edge of media innovation.

Gigi de Vries, Co-founder, Unknown Ventures
X & LinkedIn

Resources

Learn more about AITV

Part 2/3: The Adaptive Media Era. Drivers of Change & Future Use Cases

Technological Advancement

Next Gen Users

Different generations, different expectations, needs & preferences

The Paradox of Hyper-Connectivity and Loneliness

Information Overload

Attention Economy

Future Use Cases

Resources

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