Can generative AI be creative, or is it merely a copy machine that recycles stolen data it has been trained on? Adopting a usage-oriented perspective, this workshop invites a critical reflection on the disruptive impact of visual generative media on creative industries and professional practices. It does so by foregrounding the question of human-AI agency distribution, highlighting the unresolved tension between innovation and imitation inherent in visual generative media. The structure is three-part.

First, a lightning talk will invite participants to consider perspectives of artists and professional designers – both those in favor of genAI and those against it – drawing on a thematic analysis of 604 YouTube comments to video titled “AI vs Artists: The Biggest Art Heist in History” on the @yesimadesigner channel.

In the second part, participants will reflect on current and potential applications of generative AI in their own practice, to unpack four visions in relation to genAI integration – AI as a tool, AI as a threat, AI training seen as similar to inspiration and learning, and AI training seen as akin to data laundering. Additional perspectives are expected to emerge from this discussion.

In the last section, participants will collectively construct and negotiate the conditions for the ethical integration of AI into networked image cultures and society at large.

Dr Nataliia Laba is an Assistant Professor in Digital and Multimodal Communication / Humane AI at University of Groningen. Her research focuses on multimodal generative artificial intelligence and works at the intersection of critical data studies, discourse studies, and techno-ethics. Her current research projects address human-machine agency and a range of representational issues in the context of visual generative media adoption and use. These include how gender bias becomes normalized through prompting practices, the attitudinal stance-taking of non-human agents in AI-generated images of war, the effects of prompt modifiers on AI video generation, and the impact of visual generative media on the creative economy, professional designers, and artists.

Nataliia is particularly interested in discourse structure relations between tech companies, designers, critics, and users as a way of engagement with observable techno-cultural practices and activities considered essential for good AI stewardship.

Visiting Fellowships