A Field Scan on sustained collaboration & co-creation between the Canadian artificial intelligence research ecosystem and the arts/culture/media communities in Canada.
WE ASKED
Do Canadians need a national Arts & AI initiative?
BECAUSE, WE LEARNED THAT
Diverse and cultural communities in Canada lacks significant access to AI and computational tools and knowledge.
The Pan-Canadian AI strategy supports long term cross-disciplinary partnerships with many sectors… except Arts and Culture.
WE ARE
Katerina Cizek (MIT)
Richard Lachman (Toronto Metropolitan University)
WE ARE SUPPORTED AND ADVISED BY
Canada Council, Banff Centre, CIFAR, Canada Media Fund, Academy of Film and Television and others
WHAT WE NEED
We need to build bridges between AI scientists and artists/culture-workers in order to strengthen the civic, artistic, scientific and economic health of Canada, to the benefit of all Canadians.
WHY IT MATTERS
Remain competitive internationally
Current Pan-Canadian AI Strategy includes many sectors except art/media/culture
Include diverse cultural approaches
Traditionally excluded communities can enrich conversations about ethics, AI development, use of data, potential benefits, and applications
Develop new opportunities and methods
Creative, cultural, research, and business
Develop future talent
Training, HQP, startups, media products, new pipelines
“There has never been a more important time in history for artists to make their needed mark with the right set of computational tools to humanize our collective future.”
John Maeda artist, designer, technologist, 2020
OTHERS ARE ALREADY DOING THIS
We have found comparable international programmes
EUROPE: S+T+ARTS
CHINA: Shanghai cluster
USA: public + private
NEXT STEPS
• Launch report at right time with the right partners
• Build consortium + governance models
• Case studies of successful collaborations
• Program development & piloting
• Strategy for sustainable long-term programming
