Welcome to the workshop on Generative AI and creativity, where we will discuss to what extent modern generative artificial intelligence is creative. We will bring together a diverse group of experts from the sciences and humanities in Trieste from July 3rd-5th, 2025 -- come join us! In addition, we will also have an artistic event that involves music and generative AI -- details to follow soon!
In addition to invited speakers, we would like to open a call for abstract submissions to augment and enrich the discussion.
Authors of selected abstracts will be invited to give a short talk of about 20 minutes during the conference, followed by a discussion.
📅 When? July 3rd to 5th, 2025
🌍 Where? Trieste, ICTP
👤 Who? Both humanities and science researchers
📌 Website: https://aicreativity25.github.io
🔗 Application: https://indico.ictp.it/event/10849
📋 Abstract: 350-word abstract (including spaces)
❗️ Abstract Submission Deadline: April 30th, 2025
Beware of the application!
Note that our workshop will be followed by Youth in High Dimensions, a workshop on recent progress in the theory of machine learning, high-dimensional statistics, and inference; for logistic reasons, all applications will be administered through the same ICTP site.
About
This conference will discuss whether artificial intelligence systems that generate text or images are ‘creative’. We will bring together a diverse group of experts from the sciences and humanities to facilitate a multifaceted reflection on the topic. Part of the topics will be of a general nature and will attempt to answer the following questions: What is generative AI? How do image-generating neural networks work? What are their social and philosophical implications? Another section will identify the technical specificities of generative AI and contrast them with conceptions of creativity developed in philosophy and particularly in aesthetics. We would like to discuss the role of randomness and explore its relation to chaotic systems, the different types of use of randomness in generative AI and the role of randomness in creative and artistic production. Other characterising elements will also be researched. Finally, the focus will be on the relationship between creation and generation and the identification of a creative process within the AI architecture.
Invited Speakers
Larissa Berger (Uni Siegen)
Alessandro De Cesaris (Università degli studi di Torino)
Alice Barale (Università degli Studi di Milano)
Alexandra Gilliams (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)
Roberto Trotta (SISSA)
Michael Benzaquen (CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique)
Topics
During the invited and contributed talks, we hope to touch on the following (non-exhaustive!) list of topics:
- Generative AI
- Creativity of neural networks
- Difference between creation and generation
- Links between randomness in machine learning and creativity
- Latent Space
- Is AI a case of extended mind?
- Who is the author of artworks created by/through/using AI?
Institutions involved: Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA); International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP); Università degli Studi di Padova (Unipd); Centro di Sonologia Computazionale (CSC).
Organized by: Lorenzo Bardone (SISSA); Michael Benzaquen (CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique) Sebastian Goldt (SISSA); Elisa Gremmo (Unipd); Matteo Marsili (ICTP); Fabiola Ricci (SISSA); Gabriele Tomasi (Unipd).