Carnival City Gears Up for Tech Heavy Future With Customers In for AI Ride

• Carnival City in Brakpan is eyeing improving its existing infrastructure to enhance the customer experience
• The Gauteng family and entertainment hotspot is celebrating its 25-year birthday in October, led by a new GM
• Brian O'Connor treated media guests and other invitees to dinner at a Chef's Table event on Thursday, 3 October
• In an interview with Briefly News at the Eastrand attraction, O'Connor spoke about the AI innovations in waiting

BRAKPAN — Gaming, family fun and leisure will take on a new look at Carnival City in the next few years.

The attraction is eyeing mega strides as it marks its 25-year birthday celebrations in October as the mecca of entertainment in the East of Gauteng.

Carnival City customers in for AI ride

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Future-prepared, it is led by a new General Manager whose philosophy is renovating, innovating, and keeping things young, fresh and exciting.

An armed and ready Brian O'Connor, who took up his duties at the Sun International business on 1 May 2024, spoke excitedly about the five years ahead in an exclusive interview with Briefly News at the Brakpan playground.

After an extravagant night of treating media guests and other invitees to a fine dining experience at a Chef's Table event on Thursday, 3 October, O'Connor, previously the Operations Manager at Time Square Casino in Menlyn, Tshwane, spoke enthusiastically about what lies ahead for the gaming business.

"The gaming strategy is looking at [implementing] lots of enhancements [and] our teams [attend] the ICE Conference in Las Vegas to keep up with the international gaming trends by looking at what's out there," he said.

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"Customers like new things; trying new games ... It is the same on the table side. The discussion will [centre on] new and improved table games and jackpots in the next two or three years. [Ultimately], we aim to [enhance] certain gaming elements relative to the trends and markets."

President Cyril Ramaphosa, during South Africa's first Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR or Industry 4.0) Digital Economy Summit in July 2019, identified it as a means for the economy to harness trillions over the next 10 years.

O'Connor said Carnival had big plans for artificial intelligence (AI) as a game-changer after dominating discussions across industries since the advent of 4IR.

"We're looking at facial recognition to predict games and, from a surveillance point-of-view, enhance the experience for the guest," he said.

"An example of this is that when they get to the boom gate, it will open up, and the waiters will know that person so-and-so has arrived.

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"And it will be the same with the hotel, where, if you're checking in, the facial rec at the gates will enable the hotel to get the paperwork ready in the five minutes it might take to get to the desk.

"Various other ends are driving AI and automation, if you will, to improve the experience at Carnival. We must keep up with the trends and what's out there," emphasised O'Connor.

AI models lack transparency, research shows

In related news, Briefly News reported that a study published in October 2023 that aims to guide policymakers in regulating the rapidly growing technology found that artificial intelligence models lack transparency.

Stanford University researchers devised a "Foundation Model Transparency Index" that ranked 10 major AI firms. Llama 2, the AI model launched by Meta earlier in July, scored 54 per cent — the best score among the companies.

Source: Briefly News