THE disastrous “Willy Wonka” experience in Glasgow which saw angry Scots demand their money back has shown clearly that AI is “only a tool for creative people and not a replacement for them”.
Speaking ahead of a series of events celebrating “extraordinary” work created by a unique collaboration between the creative industries and the tech sector, Edinburgh University’s Nicola Osborne (below) said there was a “challenging” conversation to be had about AI creativity.
“The Wonka experience was an example of how not to do it,” she told the Sunday National.
“While it showed the potential for generating really enticing imagery, it also demonstrated very clearly why it is so important to employ creatives to do creative work.”
Much of the promotional material and script for the event was generated by artificial intelligence (AI) but after paying £35 for a ticket, customers found a largely empty warehouse rather than the promised “whirlwind of wonder”.
The burgeoning world of AI and its positive potential for use across the creative sectors will be explored during the Edinburgh Science Festival in a panel event at the National Museum of Scotland on April 10.
It is part of several events showcasing the achievements of Creative Informatics – a five-year programme established in 2018 to bring together Edinburgh’s world-class creative industries and tech sector.
The project, funded mainly by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, has committed more than £3.5 million in research and development support for creatives, leading to almost 500 jobs, and is now coming to an end.
“It is a huge shame as we know that around 47 start-ups and spin-outs have come out of the programme and the companies we have worked with have gone on to attract a further £7.6m of funding and investment,” said Osborne, Creative Informatics’ programme manager.
“The project has had a practical economic impact on the sector and we would have loved to keep it running but we are trying to make sure our community is pointed [towards] organisation and opportunities that will support them in future.”
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Creative Informatics is a partnership between the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier University, Codebase and Creative Edinburgh.
Director Melissa Terras, who is also professor of digital cultural heritage at the University of Edinburgh, said: “These events and exhibits will showcase the incredible Creative Informatics community that has been built over the last five years, whose practice, products and networks will form a lasting and supportive legacy for creative professionals across Edinburgh and south-east Scotland.”
The programme has helped develop data-driven knitting, data-driven quilting and electronic skin for robots that go into space so an operator on earth can feel what the robot is touching.
The public will be able to view many of the incredible artworks, objects and innovations developed by the Creative Informatics community in a new interactive exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland throughout the first 10 days of the Edinburgh Science Festival which begins at the end of this month.
Exhibits include a VR obstacle course through digital landscapes traversing forests, valleys and cliffs from game designers BearHammer, as well as Ray Interactive’s collaborative music-making app that “transforms phones into magic wands”, allowing audiences to make music together in real-time.
Visitors will also be able to create their own music using building blocks in an AI-driven, Lego-powered DJ centre designed by Playable Technology, and take part in a digital exploration into Edinburgh’s fabled “lost” Empire Palace Theatre.
For adults, there will be a data-driven evening as part of the festival’s Nights Out programme. Let’s Play at Summerhall will feature interactive experiences, short talks from industry creatives and AI-generated beats creating a live soundtrack to the event.
“We want to share these projects and collaborations as it has been a delight every day to see new ideas and products emerge,” said Osborne.
“We are really keen to let people know what exciting stuff can happen when you start to think about doing research and development in the creative industries and give creatives the opportunity to take time out to do something new and innovative.
“They come up with such brilliant ideas and we are genuinely excited about how data and technology – and AI to a certain extent – can factor into creative work in new ways. It has been the most thrilling project to work on and we have had quite a diverse set of people coming through in terms of creative backgrounds, age ranges and gender diversity – which has made for much more interesting work.”
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Osborne added that one of the most interesting aspects had been seeing how vibrant the creative and tech sectors are in Edinburgh.
“However, when we started, they hadn’t been talking to each other enough so part of what we were doing was bringing them together,” she said.
“What makes me very happy is that a lot of people have now seen examples of what can happen when there is collaboration across those areas and hopefully that will continue.”
Find out more about Creative Informatics and the festival programme which runs from March 30 until April 14 at creativeinformactics.org or edinburghscience.co.uk
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