Critical and Creative AI

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 7
• Convenor: Dr Joel McKim
• Assessment: a 2000-word essay (30%) and a practice-based project with a 1500-word critical reflection (70%)

In this module we explore the significant impact of AI technologies on the arts, media and creative industries. You will work directly with some of the most relevant current AI models and tools to produce creative and experimental projects. This hands-on engagement with AI will help inform a critical understanding of the social, aesthetic and economic implications of contemporary technologies of automation within the arts and media. A particular emphasis will be placed on developing effective methods of working with AI ethically and responsibly.

The module is organised into two major units of exploration: image-based and text-based AI. Each unit combines conceptual and theoretical work with hands-on experimentation with existing AI tools and models, leading to the development of a creative project or critical intervention.

Indicative syllabus

• Political and ethical implications of creative AI tools
• Automation and creative labour
• A media archaeology of generative AI
• The politics of data and training sets
• History of AI-based art
• AI and creative writing
• AI and journalism
• AI and photography/still image
• AI and the moving image
• AI tools for collections/cultural research

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• display a strong understanding of the historical, technical and social development of contemporary AI technologies, particularly in the context of the arts, media and creative industries
• demonstrate critical and analytical skills that allow you to interpret the complexities of AI systems and their effects
• make use of new practical knowledge of some of the most relevant current AI models and tools and apply them towards the completion of critical and/or creative project
• perform both individual and team-based work, which include a strong awareness of ethical AI practices.