Friday Night AI: “AI and the Future of Creative Expressions”

Panelists: Oana Ignat, Garrett Schumann
Moderator: Rada Mihalcea
Organizer: Michigan AI Lab, in collaboration with the Ann Arbor District Library
Where: AADL Ann Arbor downtown, 1st Floor Lobby (343 S 5th Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48104)

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We’ve all heard about ChatGPT and DALL-E — along with many other AI tools, they are already in use by writers and designers alike to streamline workflows, spark inspiration, and push creative boundaries. How does AI redefine the traditional boundaries of creativity in various domains such as art, music, literature, and design? Can AI truly be considered a creative entity, or does it merely mimic human creativity? And how can AI and human creatives collaborate effectively to enhance the creative process and produce innovative outcomes? Join us for a conversation on the forefront of AI and creativity where artists, writers, and AI experts will discuss the transformative impact of AI on the landscape of creativity.

About the speakers:

Oana Ignat is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Michigan, where she also completed her Ph.D. in Computer Science in August 2022. Her research interests are at the intersection of language and vision, where she aims to develop equitable models that work equally well across demographics such as income, race, gender, language, or culture. She is passionate about research applications for social good impact, and the use of AI to attract and retain minorities in CS.  Oana is also involved in several outreach programs, as a co-organizer for the ACL Mentorship global panel sessions and an organizer for the Launch your Confidence biweekly workshops.

Garrett Schumann s a composer, music scholar, and writer who teaches music-oriented courses for the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science & the Arts. Last year, Garrett published features about the historical and contemporary use of artificial intelligence by composers and experimental musicians in The New York Times and Chamber Music Magazine. In October 2023, Garrett gave a presentation entitled, “When A.I. Enters the Concert Hall,” here at the Ann Arbor District Library, and, in March of this year, led a workshop on the basics of making music with A.I. for University of Michigan faculty and staff. Garrett’s other research and creative interests include identity structures in music, heavy metal music, and the connection between music and place.

Moderator: Rada Mihalcea is the Janice M. Jenkins Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan and the Director of the Michigan Artificial Intelligence Lab. Her research interests are in natural language processing, with a focus on multimodal processing and computational social sciences. She is an ACM Fellow, a AAAI Fellow, and served as ACL President (2018-2022 Vice/Past). She is the recipient of a Sarah Goddard Power award (2019) for her contributions to diversity in science, and the recipient of a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers awarded by President Obama (2009).