[Air-L] STORYTELLERS + MACHINES 2024

[Dave Mee]

May be of interest to some on the list, particularly theme 3.

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2-4 July 2024, School of Digital Arts, Manchester Metropolitan University

Following on from the series symposium in June 2023,  Storytellers +
Machines 2024 will be a two-day conference shaping debate on AI
narrative, art and media at the School of Digital Arts (SODA) at
Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK. Theme of the conference
is “Controlling the Narrative: agency, interaction and influence in
creative AI”.

Storytellers+Machines 2024 is a transdisciplinary conference that
champions the contributions of artists, creative practitioners and
technologists, alongside other voices from academia, industry and
cultural sectors in the lively and contested creative AI space.

The open call for submissions to the conference is now open.

>> Deadline: 15 February 2024. https://storytellersandmachines.xyz

THIS YEAR’S THEME:
CONTROLLING THE NARRATIVE: AGENCY, INTERACTION AND INFLUENCE IN
GENERATIVE AI STORYTELLING AND ART


The theme for this year’s conference asks presenters to submit
300-work proposals for papers, artworks and performances related to
three overarching topics for discussion:

* AGENCY
* INTERACTION
* INFLUENCE


THEME 1: AGENCY

AI generative systems are possibly the first tools depicted as having
their own creative agency. Yet, the philosophical distinctions between
creators and their tools, audiences and their media are often blurred.

What kind of agency do audiences, authors and developers have when
using generative and AI tools? Should we think in terms of control at
all in these relationships and instead consider notions of
collaboration, borderless synthesis of human and machine or something
else?


THEME 2: INTERACTION

New forms of interaction and immersion for audiences are being
invented through generative and AI controlled narratives, artworks and
experiences. What are the emerging creative systems, aesthetics and
relationships between audience and producers of these forms?


THEME 3: INFLUENCE

The influence that algorithmic systems exert on society, communities
and identities, for example through algorithmic bias and corporate
ownership, is increasingly well understood and documented in the
media, academia and the software industry.

What are the socio-cultural and economic implications of such these
influences on artistic and creative media producers and their
audiences? And are there emerging strategies and tools that can be
used to avoid, mitigate or otherwise challenge types of harmful
influence and bias, particularly as they pertain to our narratives and
media?

https://storytellersandmachines.xyz