May be of interest to some on the list, particularly theme 3. -- 2-4 July 2024, School of Digital Arts, Manchester Metropolitan University Following on from the series symposium in June 2023, Storytellers + Machines 2024 will be a two-day conference shaping debate on AI narrative, art and media at the School of Digital Arts (SODA) at Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK. Theme of the conference is “Controlling the Narrative: agency, interaction and influence in creative AI”. Storytellers+Machines 2024 is a transdisciplinary conference that champions the contributions of artists, creative practitioners and technologists, alongside other voices from academia, industry and cultural sectors in the lively and contested creative AI space. The open call for submissions to the conference is now open.
Deadline: 15 February 2024. https://storytellersandmachines.xyz
THIS YEAR’S THEME: CONTROLLING THE NARRATIVE: AGENCY, INTERACTION AND INFLUENCE IN GENERATIVE AI STORYTELLING AND ART The theme for this year’s conference asks presenters to submit 300-work proposals for papers, artworks and performances related to three overarching topics for discussion: * AGENCY * INTERACTION * INFLUENCE THEME 1: AGENCY AI generative systems are possibly the first tools depicted as having their own creative agency. Yet, the philosophical distinctions between creators and their tools, audiences and their media are often blurred. What kind of agency do audiences, authors and developers have when using generative and AI tools? Should we think in terms of control at all in these relationships and instead consider notions of collaboration, borderless synthesis of human and machine or something else? THEME 2: INTERACTION New forms of interaction and immersion for audiences are being invented through generative and AI controlled narratives, artworks and experiences. What are the emerging creative systems, aesthetics and relationships between audience and producers of these forms? THEME 3: INFLUENCE The influence that algorithmic systems exert on society, communities and identities, for example through algorithmic bias and corporate ownership, is increasingly well understood and documented in the media, academia and the software industry. What are the socio-cultural and economic implications of such these influences on artistic and creative media producers and their audiences? And are there emerging strategies and tools that can be used to avoid, mitigate or otherwise challenge types of harmful influence and bias, particularly as they pertain to our narratives and media? https://storytellersandmachines.xyz