Creativity in the era of AI

Jari Björne, Johanna Hautala, Maria Lindeman, Tomi Paijo, Roosa Wingström

Respond to a survey on Creativity and AI at: https://link.webropolsurveys.com/S/A69328728D0E80D5

Humans are collaborating with Artificial Intelligence (AI) that can learn and generate novel outcomes, such as images, text or music. Prominent examples include the picture-generation model Midjourney and the chatbot ChatGPT. The surge of AI raises profound questions about the nature of creativity itself: Who or what can be considered creative? How does AI contribute to the work of scientists and artists? What are the ethical implications of AI? On the one hand, AI can serve as a partner that enhances our creativity. On the other hand, it appears to lack many essential human traits. Could AI be the embodiment of the void in human creativity – the beginning and the end of the cycle?

The LuotAI project (2020–2024), funded by the Kone Foundation, investigates the intersection of human and AI creativity in the realms of science, arts, and their boundaries. In this panel session, LuotAI brings together artists and scientists to discuss the implications of AI in creativity. The panellists include LuotAI researcher, associate professor Johanna Hautala, artists Maria Lindeman and Tomi Paijo and AI Academy lecturer, Ph.D. Jari Björne. Through their own artistic and academic work, the participants search for answers to compelling questions surrounding AI and creativity.

Jari Björne is a docent and university lecturer at the cross-disciplinary AI Academy project at the University of Turku. Before his Ph.D. in computer science, he worked in the field of biotechnology. Björne’s research involves applications of artificial intelligence on topics such as computational linguistics and bioinformatics.

Johanna Hautala, Associate Professor at the University of Vaasa, conducts research on creativity, knowledge creation and innovation processes between humans and advanced technologies. She applies perspectives of space, time, place and mobility in her research. She leads several research projects in this thematic area: Co-Creativity in the Era of AI (Kone Foundation), Second Machine Age Knowledge Co-Creation Processes in Space and Time (Academy of Finland) and Being(s) There(s): Geographies of Knowledge Creation Processes in Extended Spaces and Times (Academy of Finland).

Maria Lindeman holds degrees in acting (GITIS), teaching drama and acting (NOVIA and UNAM), dramaturgy and directing (SKH) and is active as a professional within all these fields. She has been teaching, working and studying in several different countries, such as Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, UK, Italy and Mexico – mainly in intercultural and international contexts. Recently, her main focus has been art as interdisciplinary expression and an interactive experience, including opera and installation art. At the moment, she is studying for a Ph.D. in directing contemporary opera at Stockholm University of the Arts. 

Tomi Paijo, a pioneering media artist, intersects art and technology to transcend traditional art boundaries. His work, ranging from installations to dynamic stage pieces, showcases the potential and complexities of artificial intelligence. Deeply comprehending the opportunities and challenges of AI, Paijo employs them as artistic inspiration, reflecting humanity’s relationship with technology and prompting ethical considerations. His art tells a compelling narrative of our digital era, underscoring our evolving interaction with AI.

Roosa Wingström is a doctoral researcher in Economic Geography at the University of Turku and acts as the chair of the panel. In her Ph.D. thesis, she studies the processes of creativity and knowledge creation in the work of scientists and artists. Her research focuses particularly on the spatial and temporal contexts of creativity.