It was already predicted in the middle of the 20th century; we are moving towards a Leisure Society. Technological innovation ensured that we had more time for a good conversation or a nice hobby. The trend did indeed develop as predicted, but leisure activities have also changed. We are currently experiencing a revival of the Leisure Society, now powered by robotics and machine learning. Artificial Intelligence is even taking over knowledge-intensive jobs. As human beings, we end up on the sidelines of the labour market. Who will have a job and who will not? And shouldn't we introduce a Basic Income so that we can all continue to participate in this leisure economy? In the meantime, we are having a great time with new gadgets and tech-driven services and experiences. 

This article was written by AI, or artificial intelligence, a technology that is rapidly transforming the world we live in. As an AI language model, I have been programmed to understand and analyze vast amounts of data, and to use this knowledge to generate written content that is informative, engaging, and thought-provoking. In this article, I will explore the future of leisure and how AI is likely to shape and transform this important aspect of our lives.

The field of themed entertainment is often regarded as one of the most innovative sectors in the field of leisure when it comes to new technologies. Not only does the content of themed entertainment heavily rely on new technologies that raise the bar of bringing fictional worlds to life (e.g. the highly advanced robotic figures that populate recent additions to various theme parks worldwide), also, new technologies are constantly being implemented to better facilitate guest experiences by taking hassles of all kinds and sorts away (e.g. mobile apps which can turn a smartphone into a theme park ticket, into a key to a hotel room and into a personalised recommendation system to avoid long queues). Recently, there have been two disruptive developments in society that challenge the themed entertainment industry to reconsider its use of technology in these domains: the rapid emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications and staffing shortage.

We know more and more about what people do in their free time. Not only through surveys or time-use studies, but also thanks to (public) data on, for example, length of visits and facility use, which is being made increasingly insightful and accessible. Using an online tool or data dashboard such as Digitwin, the next step is to structure data for policy-makers or managers who do not specialise in dealing with this data.

Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUas) is a pioneer in esports education. Gaming is a digital form of leisure and a huge industry. There are approximately three billion gamers on this planet (Newzoo, 2021). Some people play casual games after a hard day’s work to relax, whereas for others it is a lifestyle. Creative Media and Game Technologies educates students to design and develop these games. Esports is the pillar of gaming that goes beyond its digital environment. These are titles played competitively in an organised way with official teams, tournaments and competitions. In esports it is quite common that fans watch tournaments and cheer for their favourite players and team, sometimes without actively playing the games themselves.

Gaming has become an integral part of children's leisure activities. Thanks to tablets, smartphones, game computers and because almost every family in the Netherlands has access to the internet, the current generation of children (born after 2000) is totally familiar with playing (online) games. Gaming has become an accepted part of leisure activities. Eighty-one per cent of all children play games regularly, half of them more than three times a week.