The event was organised by Dr Antonius van den Broek (Loughborough University London), Professor Jonathan Sapsed (Newcastle University), Dr Holly Patrick-Thomson (Edinburgh Napier University), and Dr Areti Gkypali (University of Athens), with support from the British Academy of Management. The symposium brought together practitioners and scholars across disciplines to discuss the evolving role of AI in creativity.
The first day featured a policy-focused opening from Professor Tom Crick, Chief Scientific Advisor at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), followed by a thought-provoking keynote from contemporary artist Rachel Maclean. Maclean presented her latest film, Duck, which uses deepfake technology to explore identity through surreal reimagining’s of cultural icons like James Bond and Marilyn Monroe.
A lively debate followed, pitting advocates of AI’s creative potential - including Dr Bart Vanneste (UCL) and Professor Deborah Roberts (University of York) - against critics such as Dr Sarah Otner (University of Sussex) and Dr Suran Goonatilake OBE (UCL), who voiced concerns about the risks. Despite the audience’s initial optimism about AI, the debate ended in a thoughtful draw.
Day two featured a series of paper and poster presentations, with contributions from early career researchers who examined AI’s influence across a range of sectors, including design, marketing, law, finance, and the screen industries.
The symposium fostered vibrant discussion and interdisciplinary collaboration, highlighting both the opportunities and challenges that AI presents to creative work in the 21st century.