Digital Futures Summit

Speakers: 

• Dr Teresa Crea, UNSW 
• Professor Danny Liu, University of Sydney 
• Dr Miles Thorogood, University of British Columbia 

At the foundation of AI is a relationship between artificiality and intelligence, which raises compelling questions about cognitive processes, creative intelligence, and the development of technological behaviours. This session introduced the Digital Futures Summit with a panel focused on interactions between the brain, literacy, and pedagogy in the use of AI in creative industries education, especially as it relates to screen and audio practice.

Speakers: 

• Natalie Beak, AFTRS 
• Dr Ruari Elkington, QUT 
• Majella Clarke, SAE 

AI in the classroom is a challenge for the education sector. For screen and audio education, navigating this challenge involved being open to how AI can enhance opportunities for creative, critical making in the learning journey while also being attuned to how such technologies can influence the nature of imagination and play in creative practice education. This panel discussed case studies on how AI can be used in the space. These case studies provoked questions about creative practice-based learning, innovation in education, and consequences on access and inclusion to respond to the impact of rapid technological change in the classroom.

Speakers: 

• Claire L. Evans, Writer and Musician, YACHT 
• Anton Andreacchio, Convergen 
• Arul Baskaran, ABC Innovation Lab 
• Anthony Frasier, ABF Creative 

The increasing sophistication of AI means that tools for generative creation are more widely adopted by industry professionals in the screen and audio sectors. This panel convened screen and audio industry leaders to explore the opportunities and challenges of experimenting with AI at the professional level and how adopting these tools might reshape professional production processes and workflows. Underpinning this discussion was the question of whether AI is just another tool to optimise professional practice or whether there are inherent limitations facing its standardised use in the screen and audio industries.

Speakers: 

• Brett Leavy 
• Joel Sherwood Spring
• Cienan Muir

The session explored how AI can be used as a tool in Film, Radio, Television and beyond to support our already existing Indigenous Knowledge (IK) systems. Looking at ways Indigenous Sovereignty and Indigenous Data Sovereignty can support the flourishing of future generations and to optimise for abundance rather than scarcity.

Speakers: 

• Angela Stengel, ABC 
• Annabelle Sheehan 
• Prof Jane Roscoe

This session explored some of the complexities surrounding AI and its use in the creative industries, from artists’ labour rights and ownership protection to the risk of embedded biases in the development of AI tools. With the widespread use and normalisation of AI in society and, particularly, the screen and audio sectors, these issues raise concerns about the inclusivity of voices, diversity of knowledge, and future workforce development.

In our third edition of AFTRS’ Digital Futures Summit series, Audio: Community, Connectivity and Audience, we brought together the big brains in audio to talk about the intersection of sound, radio, and podcasting and the possibilities for connecting with audiences, old and new, in this world of digital disruption.

Visionaries and leaders from industry, education, and government sectors came together to discuss big questions facing Australia’s screen and broadcast industries in a global context.

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This summit focused on the future of business in the Australian screen and broadcast sector, zeroing in on business models and leadership to capitalise on the innovations and growth of the digital age.

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Held online, the first summit in AFTRS’ Digital Futures series looked at current and future practices and the opportunities that virtual production brings to the local industry. The summit explored how the industry can leverage digital technologies to “leapfrog” through change to accelerate growth opportunities.

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