WP2: AI in artistic processes

This WP focuses on AI systems used in producing works associated with the arts and creative industries, including visual arts, film, VR/XR, literature, performing arts, games, and music. Prompt-based, machine-learning systems are becoming normalised in many workflows, and practitioners and professionals are increasingly aware of their benefits and costs.

Description

Concerns include the effects of “outsourcing” creative work and decision-making to AI systems and the hegemonic cultural biases present in many commercial tools. Creativity shapes how communities see themselves and imagine new possibilities. When AI systems reinforce dominant cultural patterns and marginalised alternative perspectives, they risk narrowing public discourse, diminishing cultural diversity, and strengthening existing norms at the expense of exploration and innovation.

This raises critical questions about cultural agency: Who decides what stories are told, what images are seen, and what ideas shape our shared reality? This WP will explore new challenges in the creative process, challenging the concept of “neutrality” in AI systems and examining embedded biases. The goal is to ensure that creative tools contribute to more inclusive, diverse, and democratic cultural futures, balancing artistic control with machine dominance to preserve human aesthetic and artistic integrity.

Research Questions

RQ2.1: How can artists integrate generative AI systems into their ideation and production processes while maintaining creative autonomy and avoiding the risk of machine-driven homogenisation?
RQ2.2: What are cultural and ethical implications for artists and audiences when AI systems integrate into creative processes, and how can these be addressed to ensure diversity and originality?
RQ2.3: How can artists and creative producers employ generative AI tools to push the boundaries of artistic expression while critically engaging with the biases embedded in these systems?
RQ2.4: How can artistic exploration help expose limitations of current AI technologies and inspire the development of more inclusive, artist-centred tools that foster innovation and human agency?

Approaches

CREATE: new AI-based artistic productions and tools that prioritise artist-centred workflows, enabling creative control and innovation across diverse fields.
EXPLORE: existing AI tools to identify their potentials, limitations, and challenges, focusing on ethical and legal implications and cultural biases.
REFLECT: on how the interplay between AI and human creativity exposes new insights into the act of creation, its impact on audiences, and the social impact of art on contemporary society.