ozsw

Creativity & Generative AI: Philosophical Perspectives on Creative Uses of Artificial Intelligence

Description

‘I want AI to do my laundry and dishes so that I can do art and writing. Not for AI to do my art and writing, so that I can do my laundry and dishes’ (Joanna Maciejewska, 2024). This widely circulated quote captures growing unease about the potential displacement of human intellectual labour and creativity by AI. With the rapid deployment of generative AI in the arts, many creative professionals worry that this technology will be especially disruptive for the creative industries (image, video, new media), as well as for how we reward creativity in education and academic research. Simply put, generative AI is showing signs that it can perform a wide variety of creative tasks, often with speed, accuracy, and alacrity. This creates a problem because many still see creativity as a key capacity of human beings, equally as distinctive as rationality or the capacity for political participation. How should we respond to the seemingly creative capabilities of generative AI? Should we take these creative abilities seriously? What ethical issues must be dealt with in using generative AI in creative work? And looking in the other direction, does generative AI have anything to teach us about human creativity? If so, what can we learn from it? This course will explore how generative AI changes our concept of creativity, and how future iterations of this technology may transform how creativity is regarded as a fundamentally human characteristic.

Day 1 begins by exploring how philosophers understand creativity, as well as how generative AI shows signs of challenging this. This will be followed (Day 2) by an exploration of the key philosophical issues generative AI raises for creativity. Day 3 will introduce practitioners who use AI creatively, including the computer scientist, Iyad Rahwan, and the new media artist, Helena Nikonole. The final two days explore how these ethical issues should govern the use of generative AI (Day 4) and for the future of work (Day 5). During the course, participants will write an abstract on a potential paper on the philosophy of creativity and generative AI (assessed), as well as writing a plan for a future academic article on this topic (optional).

By the end of this course, participants understand the following topics: 

  • How generative AI can be deployed creatively in the arts, education, as well as the exact sciences.
  • How philosophical notions of creativity can aid understanding what is new about the powers of generative AI (and what is not).
  • How using generative AI in the arts, education, and academia requires addressing serious ethical questions.
  • How the future development of generative AI may cause widespread social disruption

Practical information
Primary target group PhD candidates & ReMa students
If places available also open to Postdocs
Type of activity Course
Certificate credit points 5 ECTS (seminar participation and writing a one-page abstract)
Organizer Eindhoven University of Technology (Dr. Matthew Dennis)
Location
Date January 22, 2025 @ 11:00
Venue TU Eindhoven Campus

Program

DAY 1 (Wednesday January 22): Foundational Issues  

AM Session (11:00–13:00):

  • Introduction & overview of course.
  • COORDINATOR (seminar-style introduction): Matthew Dennis (TU/e). ‘Philosophical Challenges of Using Generative AI in Creative Work.’
  • GUEST TUTOR (seminar-style introduction): Carlos Zednik (TU/e). ‘Primer on Generative AI.’
  • GUEST TUTOR (lecture & guided discussion): Paola Romeo (London School of Economics) ‘Creativity & the History of Art.’

PM Session (14:00–16:00)

  • GUEST TUTOR (lecture & guided discussion): Georg Spoo (University of Freiburg)‘Philosophical Precedents of Creativity.’
  • GUEST TUTOR (lecture & guided discussion): Caroline Bollen (TU Eindhoven) ‘Generative AI from a Practicing Musician’s Perspective.’
  • Plenary discussion.

PM Optional Reading & Writing Session (16:30–17:30):

  • Optional writing and brainstorming session of abstract.
  • Optional reading session of key texts.
  • Tea and coffee.

DAY 2 (Thursday January 23): Key Philosophical Issues I 

AM Session (11:00–13:00):

  • GUEST TUTOR (lecture & guided discussion): Carlos Zednik (TU Eindhoven). ‘Creativity as a Cognitive Capacity.’

PM Session (14:00–16:00):

  • GUEST TUTOR (lecture & guided discussion): Lily Frank (TU Eindhoven). ‘Generative AI & Deskilling.
  • GUEST TUTOR (lecture & guided discussion): Nathan Wildman (Tilburg University). ‘Virtually New Art? AR, VR, & Novel Art Forms.’

PM Optional Reading & Writing Session (16:30–17:30):

  • Optional writing and brainstorming session of abstract.
  • Optional reading session of key texts.
  • Tea and coffee.

DAY 3 (Friday January 24): Creating Art with Generative AI

AM Session (11:00–13:00):

  • KEYNOTE SPEAKER (1-hour online lecture) Iyad Rahwan (Max Planck Institute for Human Development). Website: https://www.rahwan.me/
  • Q&A with Iyad. Chaired by Matthew Dennis.

PM Session (14:00–16:00):

  • GUEST ARTIST (90-minute practitioner session): Helena Nikonole (new media artist, curator, educator). Website: https://nikonole.com
  • Q&A with Helena (30 minutes). Chaired by Kaush Kalidindi.

 DAY 4 (Monday January 27): Key Philosophical Issues II

AM Session (11:00–13:00):

  • GUEST TUTOR (lecture & guided discussion): Philip Nickel (TU Eindhoven). ‘The Obligation to be Original.’

PM Session (14:00–16:00):

  • GUEST TUTOR (lecture & guided discussion): Steven Kraaijeveld (Amsterdam UMC). Title: ‘AI‑Generated Art and Fiction: Signifying Everything, Meaning Nothing?’ (60 minutes)

PM Optional Reading & Writing Session (16:30–17:30):

  • Optional writing and brainstorming session of abstract.
  • Optional reading session of key texts.
  • Tea and coffee.

DAY 5 (Tuesday January 28): The Future of Creative Work

AM Session (11:00–13:00):

  • GUEST TUTOR (lecture & guided discussion): James Pearson (UvA) ‘Reflections on Creativity in the Philosophical Tradition.’
  • GUEST TUTOR (lecture & guided discussion): Matthew Dennis (TU Eindhoven). ‘Generative AI & the Future of Creative Work.’

PM Session (14:00–16:00):

  • Final abstract writing session
  • Optional article-writing session: Matthew Dennis (TU Eindhoven).

PM Optional Reading & Writing Session (16:30–17:30):

  • Optional writing and brainstorming session of abstract.
  • Optional reading session of key texts.
  • Tea and coffee.

Preparation and assessment

Participants will be assessed in the following ways:

  • Attendance
  • Writing a one-page abstract for a future article on the topic of creativity and generative AI.

Participants will finish the course with the following (optional) takeaways:

  • A plan for a future article on the topic of creativity and generative AI.
  • Academic coaching from multiple experts on how to write an article on creativity and generative AI.
  • Guidance on how to submit their article to top-tier academic journal.

Costs and registration

Costs:

  • Free for PhD candidates who are a member of the OZSW and/or 4TU Center for Ethics and Technology and/or another research school in Humanites (LOGOS);
  • Free for Research Master students who are a member of the OZSW and/or 4TU Center for Ethics and Technology and/or another research school in Humanities (LOGOS);
  • All others pay a tuition fee of 300 euros.

How to register:

  • Currently, only PhD researchers may use this link to register for the course
  • ReMA students and Postdocs may contact Eva Hendriks to be put on a waiting list. ()

The registration deadline is December 19, 2024. If registration has been closed because the maximum amount of participants has been reached, you can submit your name to the waiting list by sending an email to . Please also indicate whether you are a ReMA student or PhD candidate and whether you are a member of the OZSW or not.

The OZSW registration and cancellation policy applies to this activity (to be found here).

Contact information
Name Eindhoven University of Technology (Dr. Matthew Dennis)
Email