the AI Debate settled at New Mills Festival
Click here to fill in the baseline survey.
Over the summer High Peak Community Arts’ youth programme has been grappling with one of the most divisive issues in the arts today – the use of generative AI to create writing, art, music and even choreography. So as part of New Mills Festival, we invited everyone to join the debate.
Whether passionately for or against, or just wondering what all the fuss is about, people came to Spring Bank Arts on Sunday 21st September to see work made with and without AI, try some of the tools now available, take part in a live workshop collaborating with AI or to take part in the final debate.
Programme Manager, Sophie Mackreth said “this project has come out of the Creative Training Camps we ran for age 13 – 25 over the last year. When we started to design a project with them, all our discussions kept coming back to AI, with most people strongly against it and confused about what it would mean for career options. So we decided AI was the topic – aiming for people to move from a gut reaction, to a reasoned and informed choice on whether or how much to use AI in their creative futures.”
The young team behind the project created a baseline survey to gather public opinion, and are still calling for responses. Click here to fill in the survey.
Then the team recruited more young people to take part in three days of workshops to create work with, without and in collaboration with AI tools. Different groups worked in 4 artforms, producing music tracks, stories and monologues, visual arts and dance pieces. The teams came together for discussion and sharing, and looked at research into 3 ethical themes – Truth, Environment and Ownership.
Event Timetable
1:00 PM – Drop-in Hour
- AI vs HI Challenge: View spoken word, recordings, and filmed work – can you guess which is AI-generated?
- Try the Tools: Hands-on experience with leading generative AI apps for visual art and music
- Research Corner: Explore findings on ethical concerns including Truth, Environment, and Ownership
2:00 PM – Live Interactive Music Workshop
- Watch or participate in instrumental music making in collaboration with AI (come for the start if you want to participate)
2:30 PM – Live Interactive Dance Workshop
- Watch or participate in a choreography workshop in collaboration with AI (come for the start if you want to participate)
3:00 PM – The Final Debate
- Panel discussion featuring young people and professionals
- Live audience polling on key questions
- Reach final conclusions: Freedom of expression or obey the algorithm?
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