Workshop on the future challenges for AI and the creative economy: Societal impacts of machines, intellectual property, and development towards 2030

Discussion on the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development cannot take place without contemplating the impact of artificial intelligence (AI). Be it positive or negative, AI will have a wide-ranging impact on the arts, and cultural and creative industries. The aim of the workshop was to discuss a number of key questions: How will intellectual property evolve to encourage creativity in the age of AI and thus contribute to SDG 9? Will the impact of AI in terms of jobs in the creative economy be positive or negative (SDG 8)? Could AI end up causing a setback in terms of gender equality in the creative sectors (SDG 5)?

This webinar was part of a series of conferences dedicated to the publication of the Guide to AI in Art and Cultural and Creative Industries. A key message stressed therein is that in the next few years we are likely to see profound changes to how all all cultural and creative industries (ICC) goods and services: music, visual arts, the press, book publishing, audiovisual, fashion, etc., are created, produced, distributed and consumed. This represents a unique opportunity for Francophony: a well-coordinated implementation of AI in CCIs industries could: multiply the creative potential of artists, generate new markets for CCIs, increase competitiveness, promote employment and even open up new fields of experimentation for scientific research. Conversely, the absence of an integrated vision when applying this technology could lead to a dramatic reduction in cultural diversity, the concentration of supply in hands of a small number of international technology players and a drastic reduction in jobs.