First-ever Creative AI Hub Symposium explores impact of AI on creative industries

Hosted by RTA Professors Dr. Hossein Rahnama and Dr. Afsoon Soudi, the first-ever Creative AI Symposium brought together faculty, students, and industry experts alike for a day of exploration, discovery and conversation regarding the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the creative industries. Noting that the creative disciplines are prone to disruptions, both Dr. Rahnama and Dr. Soudi commented that the convergence of creativity and AI is vital in keeping up with future shifts in the industry. 

“We officially launched the Creative AI Hub in 2023. One big motivation behind the hub is to build a community of creatives, practitioners, educators and researchers with a common interest in the impact and use of AI in the creative industries,” said Dr. Soudi, Creative AI Hub Associate Director. “This symposium was our inaugural event to introduce the work within the hub to the community at TMU and invite everyone to join the conversation and help shape the future of AI and creativity.”

Director of Creative AI Hub Dr. Hossein Rahnama highlighted the importance of AI and education coming together through the AI Hub.“Many of us who joined the Creative School with a computer science background went through AI education in a very long approach [...] and then we had a whole new ecosystem around the internet, and I think the same will happen with data science and AI,” said Dr. Rahnama.

Integrating AI across disciplines

Nine professors across The Creative School programs participated in panel discussions and lighting talks shared their experiences with AI in their respective fields. This includes Professor Dr. Reem Al-Asaleh who discussed her perspective on integrating AI in her Graphic Communications Management classes and its application to Digital Asset Management. Journalism Professor Angela Misri deep-dived into the impact of AI on journalism and the news industry and how AI can be used to strengthen the work of journalists. Professor Owais Lightwala shared his involvement in implementing AI into the curriculum in his courses at the School of Performance. RTA Professor Dr. Kristopher Alexander spoke about his work in gaming and AI and explained how we need to look at Artificial Intelligence in a different way.

“The way that we’re looking at Artificial Intelligence, we focus more on the “A” rather than the “I,” we can see how we can all take part in its development,” said Dr. Alexander.

Implementing AI education in the classroom

The Creative AI Hub is a unique interdisciplinary centre dedicated to redefining the landscape of artificial intelligence and data science. The Hub blends creativity, design innovation, and storytelling to unlock new dimensions in AI research and education and fosters a community where AI empowers everyone, regardless of background or discipline.

Dr. Rahnama’s extensive experience in AI research and education, stemming from his role as the Founder and CEO of Flybits, an AI/ Data Science company that was initially incubated at TMU’s Digital Media Zone, has motivated him to converge the worlds of AI and Data Science with education. He’s explored the design of Human-AI Systems, data governance, generative AI, and human-computer interaction. He has published more than 40 papers and holds 23 patents in computer and data science. Dr. Rahnama has also developed and taught a Creative AI Course at The Creative School, which aims to explore creative applications of generative AI across various benefiting sectors, including the creative industries.

With a background in physics, Dr. Soudi joined TMU after leading multiple machine learning intelligence teams, where she co-founded an award-winning software company. She holds multiple patents and has published work on Responsible AI, climate change, and media analytics.

In his opening statement, Dr. Rahnama underscored how The Creative School fosters seamless collaboration and partnership among all the various programs within the faculty. This interdisciplinary approach to education provides space for students, faculty, researchers and creators to come together to explore the unlimited possibilities of emerging and evolving technologies like AI. With the rapid evolution of AI, every discipline is experiencing its own set of impacts. Dr. Soudi echoed Dr. Rahnama’s statements, emphasizing the need for interdisciplinary collaboration on AI research to analyze the impact of AI on various disciplines and societies.

“We are very keen on partnership. We have to build this as an ecosystem. These are all things we cannot do alone; we really need research and education partners to get this done,” said Dr. Rahnama.

Dr. Rahnama and Dr. Soudi, alongside their colleagues, all have a mission in mind – to empower creatives, scholars and students by harnessing the potential of AI as a formidable tool for innovation and collaboration.

“Through the Creative AI Hub, we are creating student pathways to learn and experiment with AI in their respective disciplines while building the community across different programs and providing opportunities for innovation,” said Dr. Soudi. “We plan to introduce even more new AI courses for students across the Creative School, hold frequent research and industry talks within the Hub, and grow our professional partnerships,” she added.

At the Symposium, 30 students currently enrolled in the Creative AI course exhibited their innovations utilizing generative AI, including prototypes envisioning the future of the creative industries. Students in the course are encouraged to explore various applications of AI, and many student projects integrated generative AI into a variety of fields, including gamification, tourism, fashion, journalism, and more. In small groups, students team up and create a project plan, consider research methods, and create prototypes by the end of the semester, all around the topic of generative AI in the creative industries.

Looking to the future, Dr. Rahnama said he aims to reflect on the work coming out of the Creative AI Hub to showcase at the symposium in 2025, spotlighting scholarly, research and creative activities within the university, connecting with industry professionals and exhibiting student work. 

“What’s different today is we have a lot of data, we have a lot of computing power, we have cheap storage of data. The difference now is you have millions and millions of people who are training and fine-tuning all these [AI]  models,” said Dr. Rahnama.

The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University

The Creative School is a dynamic faculty that is making a difference in new, unexplored ways. Made up of Canada’s top professional schools and transdisciplinary hubs in media, communication, design and cultural industries, The Creative School offers students an unparalleled global experience in the heart of downtown Toronto.