Contemporary Conversations: AI and the Creative Industries – Brace or Embrace?

“I think there’s never been a more exciting time to be a human being…”   In this special instalment of Contemporary Conversations, produced in partnership with the Cultural Institute, we explore the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and the urgent questions the technology is raising about skills, ethics, the future of work and what it means to be creative.   Writer and broadcaster Nick Ahad chairs a panel of AI specialists:   Omar Karim, AI Creative Director and filmmaker, Digital Strategist Katie Moffat, and Dr Dibyadyuti Roy, Associate Professor in Cultural Studies, Media Studies and Digital Humanities in the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies at the University of Leeds, discuss the opportunities and the threats that AI presents for the creative industries.   They underscore the importance of demystifying the technology behind large language models – and recognising its limitations. They ask whether it’s possible to use AI ethically, and how the disproportionately negative effects of its expansion on the Global South might be addressed.   Who controls the pace of its evolution? What can we expect to see in the coming months and years? How can we keep human judgement and imagination at the centre of creative practice?   Produced by University of Leeds Galleries & Cultural Collections in partnership with the Cultural Institute.   Recorded in HELIX at the University of Leeds, 18 March 2026.