FutureScript: Should We Use This AI? | Episode 4
FutureScript: Should We Use This AI?
How Cinema Teams Evaluate AI Before It Reaches the Business
AI tools are arriving faster than most organizations can evaluate them.
Every week brings another platform, another promise, and another pitch claiming to transform marketing, operations, customer experience, productivity, or decision-making.
But for cinema leaders, the important question is not:
“What can AI do?”
It is:
“Should we actually use it?”
For Episode 4 of FutureScript, ICTA moves the conversation from experimentation to evaluation and adoption.
Join co-hosts Mark Collins and Keerthana Mahadevan for a candid conversation with Mark Cribb of Marcus Theatres exploring how AI solutions are assessed inside a real cinema organization.
We’ll look beyond demos and headlines to examine what happens when an AI idea meets the realities of an operating business.
What We’ll Explore
From Interesting Idea to Business Decision
A compelling AI demo is easy to find.
Determining whether that technology is useful, secure, scalable, responsible, and worth implementing is much harder.
This conversation will explore the questions cinema organizations need to consider before moving from curiosity to adoption.
How does a new AI solution enter the conversation?
Who needs to be involved?
What makes a use case worth testing?
And what causes an idea to stop before it becomes a pilot?
What Makes an AI Solution Worth Evaluating?
We’ll discuss how teams can distinguish between:
an interesting AI capability
a genuine operational problem
a viable business use case
a promising pilot
and something ready for broader adoption
Because using AI simply because it exists is not a strategy.
The strongest implementations begin with a clear understanding of the problem being solved.
Inside the Evaluation Process
AI adoption touches far more than technology.
Our conversation will explore considerations including:
business value and measurable outcomes
customer and employee impact
data and privacy
security and governance
integration with existing systems
operational readiness
vendor credibility
accuracy and reliability
human oversight
cost versus expected value
pilot design and success criteria
scalability
We’ll also discuss why some technically impressive AI tools may still be the wrong fit for an organization.
The Vendor Question
Cinema companies are increasingly being approached by technology providers offering AI-enabled products and services.
So how should operators evaluate the claims?
What should vendors be able to demonstrate?
What questions should buyers ask before agreeing to a pilot?
And how do organizations separate meaningful innovation from an impressive demo?
We’ll explore the conversation from both sides of the table.
Pilot, Learn, Decide
Not every AI experiment needs to become a permanent system.
A thoughtful pilot can help teams understand:
Does it work?
Does it solve the intended problem?
Can people actually use it?
Can we trust the output?
Can it integrate with the way the business operates?
And is the value worth the investment?
We’ll discuss how organizations can approach experimentation without turning every experiment into a major transformation project.
Why This Conversation Matters
The next phase of AI adoption in cinema will not be defined by who tries the most tools.
It will be defined by who learns how to evaluate technology intelligently.
That means asking better questions, identifying meaningful use cases, understanding risk, establishing expectations, and knowing when to move forward, modify an approach, or walk away.
This FutureScript conversation brings those decisions into the open.
You’ll Leave With
A clearer framework for thinking about AI adoption
Questions to ask when evaluating AI products and vendors
Insight into how a cinema operator approaches emerging technology
Practical considerations for designing AI pilots
A better understanding of the path from experimentation to implementation
Perspective on balancing innovation with operational reality
Featured Conversation
Mark Cribb
Marcus Theatres | Leader in Technology and Education
Mark joins FutureScript to share an operator’s perspective on evaluating emerging AI solutions and determining where technology may create meaningful value within the cinema business.
Mark Collins
Owner, Collins Theatre Systems | Sr Manager Global Cinema at HARMAN International
Mark brings the cinema technology perspective to the conversation, connecting emerging AI capabilities with the realities of theatrical exhibition.
Keerthana Mahadevan
Founder & CEO, Segmentide
Keerthana works at the intersection of AI, business systems, digital ecosystems, and human decision-making, helping organizations move beyond AI experimentation toward thoughtful implementation.
Event Details
🗓️ Thursday, October 29, 2026
🕚 11:00 AM ET
📍 Virtual
Join us for an open conversation about what happens before an AI solution gets the green light.
Whether you are evaluating AI for marketing, operations, customer experience, analytics, internal productivity, or something that has not yet been invented, this session will help you think more clearly about the decision itself.
About FutureScript
FutureScript is ICTA’s webinar series exploring the evolving intersection of cinema, technology, and audience experience.
Each chapter brings together industry leaders, operators, technologists, and innovators to examine not simply what technology can do, but what it means for the future of theatrical exhibition.
From AI and automation to emerging cinema technologies, FutureScript creates a place for the industry to ask better questions, share real experiences, and understand what is coming next.
The future of cinema is being written now.
🚀 Join the conversation.