Digital Hollywood: The AI & Entertainment Summit
Tuesday, July 21st, 2026
4 – 4:50 PM Eastern Time Zone
Session III: A Virtual Event
The Future of IP: Managing Digital Identity
The concept of identity has never been more valuable — or more vulnerable. In the age of synthetic humans, deepfake technology, AI-generated likenesses and voice cloning at industrial scale, the management of digital identity has become one of the most urgent and commercially significant challenges in entertainment, technology and law simultaneously. Who owns your face? Who controls your voice? What happens to your digital identity after you die — and can it be licensed, monetized or replicated without your consent? From Hollywood talent to global brands, from everyday consumers to heads of state, the question of who controls digital identity in the age of AI is no longer theoretical. In this session we bring together the legal, creative and technology leaders building the frameworks that will govern the most personal asset any of us owns.
Speakers:
Dion Johnson,
CEO Indie Me, Moderator
Fetle Negash,
Vice President of Production, AMC Networks
Bill Ivers, CEO, STATE Management
Shayanne Andujar, Founder & CEO, SJA Capital
Dion Johnson is an executive technologist with 20+ years building entertainment and digital experiences that connect people. He scales technology into repeatable systems that ship, blending cinematic storytelling with operational rigor and cross functional leadership to deliver brand systems, digital products, and content ecosystems that lift engagement, viewership, and revenue. Dion’s foundation was hands-on. At Nickelodeon Animation Studio, he created 3D characters and supported modeling operations for TV and DVD, learning early that great storytelling is both artistry and process. As his career grew, so did the technical ambition. He integrated modern toolchains and production workflows to accelerate delivery and innovation, while leading teams and building future-forward experiences across AI, AR/VR, 3D, and immersive media. His work has supported recognizable names, including new-platform acquisitions for ABC and Netflix, along with CW, Sony, and Bleecker Street. His impact is matched by recognition, including PromaxBDA Silver and Gold awards and a Telly Silver for Web Design and UX, plus recognition as an AWS Generative Design, AWE and AI Speaker. He is also an accomplished filmmaker and visual artist, with films featured at the Beverly Hills Film Festival and World Culture Film Festival, and work exhibited at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History. That arc led directly to Indie Me. As generative AI surged, Dion saw the real risk was not creativity, it was trust. So he built the infrastructure he wished the industry already had. Dion is the CEO and Founder of Indie Me, an AI-powered content and marketing technology studio specializing in likeness licensing, IP validation, strategic distribution, and multi-channel monetization. Indie Me is positioned as infrastructure, not a point solution, designed to license likeness before misuse, validate content before production spend, and distribute media with proof of consent attached. With a booming social media following fueled by multiple instances of virality, he is positioned as a path for talent to win in an era of AI.
