WP5: AI in the Creative and Cultural Industries

This WP aims to generate new knowledge, inform policy and governance and promote responsible, equitable and future-oriented uses of AI in cultural contexts. It will do so by integrating perspectives from interdisciplinary research—including law, social sciences, the humanities and the arts, economics, informatics and technology studies, and sustainability research—together with insights from cultural institutions, rights organisations and other sector partners.

Description

AI is transforming the creative and cultural industries at a structural level in terms of reshaping how cultural content is produced, distributed, governed and experienced. These developments raise complex questions across legal, economic, artistic and socio-environmental domains: AI challenges established rights frameworks and introduces new risks related to identity misuse; shifts business models, labour practices and power balances; influences artistic agency and cultural diversity; and raises concerns related to safety such as dataset misuse and harmful output, cultural bias and environmental impact. At the same time, AI enables more transparent and efficient governance and rights management, improved attribution, new forms of audience engagements, new creative possibilities and more sustainable forms of innovation.

This work package examines these transformations across four interconnected areas: (1) law, rights and governance; (2) economy, industry and labour; (3) artistic practices and audience experiences; and (4) ethics, diversity and sustainability.

Research Questions

RQ5.1 (Law, Rights & Governance): How should legal, regulatory and governance frameworks evolve to address the use and impact of AI systems in the creative and cultural sectors, including their handling of human-created works, personal data, and identity-related materials?
RQ5.2 (Economy, Industry & Labour): How is AI transforming economic structures, business models, and labour dynamics in the creative industries, and what systems are needed to ensure fair value distribution and sustainable industry development?
RQ5.3 (Artistic Practices & Audience Experiences): How is AI reshaping artistic practices, cultural production workflows, curation and audience experiences at a systemic level, and how can cultural diversity, creativity and aesthetic integrity be safeguarded?
RQ5.4 (Ethics, Diversity & Sustainability): What ethical, environmental, safety and socio-cultural risks arise from the use of AI in the creative and cultural sectors, and how can responsible, equitable and sustainable AI practices be developed?

Approaches

Create new knowledge, practical guidelines, sustainability assessments and supportive frameworks that enable transparent, sustainable, equitable, and inclusive uses of AI within the creative and cultural sectors.
Explore how AI transforms legal, economic, creative, societal and environmental conditions through empirical, experimental and practice-based research.
Reflect critically on the governance, economic, artistic and socio-environmental implications of AI, including power dynamics, shifts in creative agency, cultural biases, safety risks and long-term sustainability issues.