Creativity & Generative AI: Philosophical Perspectives on Creative Uses of Artificial Intelligence
‘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 a common feeling: AI is transforming many aspects of our lives, even changing how we understand our fundamental capacities. 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 (film, plastic arts, 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 of us 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 abilities 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 adds to our concept of creativity, and how future iterations of this technology may transform how creativity is currently regarded as a 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 overview of the positions that philosophers have taken about the creative nature of generative AI. Day 3 will focus on how using generative AI in the creative process requires tackling ethical issues, including originality, authorship, and deskilling. The final two days explore how these ethical issues should govern the use of generative AI for research and education (Day 4) and for the future of work (Day 5).
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.
| Primary target group | PhD candidates & ReMa students |
| If places available also open to | Postdocs |
| Type of activity | Course |
| Certificate credit points | 5 ECTS (for attendance and a 20-minute presentation) |
| Organizer | Eindhoven University of Technology (Dr. Matthew Dennis) |
| Location | |
| Date | January 23, 2025 @ 10:30 |
| Venue |
DAY 1 (Wednesday): Foundational Issues
AM Session (10:30–12:30):
- COORDINATOR (seminar-style introduction): Matthew Dennis (TU/e). ‘Philosophical Challenges of Using Generative AI in Creative Work.’ (45 minutes)
- COORDINATOR (seminar-style introduction): Carlos Zednik (TU/e). ‘Primer on Generative AI.’ (45 minutes)
PM Session (13:30–16:00):
- GUEST TUTOR (lecture & guided discussion): tbc. ‘Primer on Creativity in the Philosophical Tradition.’ (90 minutes)
DAY 2 (Thursday): Key Philosophical Issues
AM Session (10:30–12:30):
- GUEST TUTOR (lecture & guided discussion): Carlos Zednik (TU Eindhoven). ‘Creativity as a Cognitive Capacity.’ (90 minutes)
- Plenary discussion. (30 minutes)
PM Session (13:30–16:00):
- GUEST TUTOR (lecture & guided discussion): Georg Spoo (Freiburg University). ‘Philosophical Precedents of Creativity.’ (90 minutes)
DAY 3 (Friday): Ethical Challenges & Practical Application
AM Session (10:30–12:30):
- GUEST TUTOR (lecture & guided discussion): Lily Frank (TU Eindhoven). ‘Generative AI & Deskilling.’ (60 minutes)
- Plenary discussion. (30 minutes)
- 1 x Participant presentation slot (20-minute presentation; 10-minute group discussion).
PM Session (13:30–16:30):
Guest Practitioner Session:
- Name: Helena Nikonole
- Title of Presentation: ‘Let’s break AI: Artistic Exploration of Ethics and Biases.’
- Short Bio: ‘Helena Nikonole is a new media artist, independent curator, and educator.
- Website: https://nikonole.com
W E E K E N D B R E A K
- Optional tour of NL-base AI-enabled artworks (Eindhoven & Amsterdam).
- Optional visit to Nxt Museum (https://nxtmuseum.com).
DAY 4 (Monday): Generative AI for Research & Education
AM Session (10:30–12:30):
- GUEST TUTOR (lecture & guided discussion): Philip Nickel (TU Eindhoven). ‘The Obligation to be Original.’ (90 minutes)
PM Session (13:30–16:00):
- GUEST TUTOR (lecture & guided discussion): Vlasta Sikimić (TU Eindhoven) ‘Guided Creativity as an Optimal Way of Advancing AI in Research.’ (60 minutes)
DAY 5 (Tuesday): Generative AI & Creative Work
AM Session (10:30–12:30):
- GUEST TUTOR (lecture & guided discussion): Mandi Astola (TU Delft). ‘Moral Creativity.’ (60 minutes)
PM Session (13:30–16:00):
- GUEST TUTOR (lecture & guided discussion): Matthew Dennis (TU Eindhoven). ‘Generative AI & the Future of Creative Work.’ (60 minutes; subject to time constraints)
Lecturers:
- Course leader: Matthew J. Dennis (TU/e)
- Guest lecturers: Carlos Zednik (TU/e), Lily Frank (TU/e), Philip Nickel (TU/e), Vlasta Sikimić (TU/e), Mandi Astola (TU Delft), Georg Spoo (Freiburg University), Paola Romero (London School of Economics), more guests to be announced soon.
- Guest practitioner: Helena Nikonole (https://nikonole.com)
- Course assistant: Kaush Kalidindi (TU/e)
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:
Registration will open in September.
The registration deadline is December 20, 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).
| Name | Eindhoven University of Technology (Dr. Matthew Dennis) |