AI as a Creative Tool Sparks Human-Centered Innovation

How can we take charge of AI development and ensure that humans remain the most intelligent species, using AI to empower rather than overshadow our capabilities? That was the main focus at ekip’s workshop with multistakeholders from Lund, Sweden.

During a two-day workshop participants discussed and analyzed Archeology & Immersive Tech, Fashion Transformation and Digital Live Experiences

“It´s amazing to see how much progress three CCI portfolios can make in just a few hours with the right environment, says Charlotte Lorentz Hjorth. “This challenges and strengthens our innovation ecosystem”

Empathetic AI

The rapid advancement of generative AI presents both opportunities and challenges, particularly in the realms of design and entrepreneurship. As AI technology grows exponentially, there is a pressing need to ensure that it remains in harmony with human senses and emotions. This concept of “empathetic AI” is central to a new approach in education and innovation, particularly within startups and the creative industries.

“Instead of worrying about AI, we decided to take charge: explore and learn how to use and work with AI and immersive technologies, such as VR and AR, in favour of human creation and cultural participation. By working together and using our different strengths as authorities, universities, companies and organisations, we can explore how the innovation areas of the future and AI can interact”, says Birgitta Persson, Future by Lund a partner in ekip.

Copyright: Caroline Wendt

Important to tell stories

Within the Archaeology and immersive tech portfolio, work is already underway in Lund to digitise archaeological excavations in various ways and to use the possibilities of AI. At the same time, there is a desire to do events to bring the results to life, such as the excavations in Uppåkra, but it could also be about other events to bring history to life, for example in the case of the Battle of Lund.

“To create tools that we can use to tell stories, we need to be sure that we are building on qualitative and research-based data”, says Charlotte Lorentz Hjorth, who led this part of the workshop. Data should be accessible and AI can be an enabler, but we need to be sure that AI does not lead to synthetic data; that is, we need to be sure that it does not become a material that is fabricated.

This group also included Paola Derudas from the Digital Archaeology DARK Lab at Lund University

AI can help us archaeologists to filter out what we are interested in. It can also be a tool that helps, for example, game developers to use archaeology as an environment. Lund is both tradition and innovation, and we are a good place to showcase new opportunities and perspectives.

Digital concert at home

Within the Personalised digitised concerts portfolio, there is already a project to make it possible to give a digital audience a concert experience from home. With the possibility of selecting parts of the sound, choosing a location in the venue for a special sound experience and zooming in on the image or choosing the camera yourself. In many cases, AI is already used as an integral part of the technical equipment.

“This shows that AI, when used as a creative tool, can really drive human-centred innovation”, says Birgitta Persson.

AI as a humane support

The group discussing the third portfolio, Fashion & Textile transformation, took a perspective on AI as a general support structure for working with societal change. AI is already used in the industry, for example to optimise manufacturing, logistics and more, but the group participants considered what is needed for us to get intelligent but also humane AI support.

“We have talked about creating the platform IUAI, which stands for Intelligent Use of AI but also for I as in I and U as in you”, says Despina Christoforidou, Industrial Design, Lund University.

“How can we influence AI so that it really is a useful tool instead of us having to think about whether AI will take over the world? We need teachers in AI and teachers in our fields who have mastered AI. Now we are consuming AI where we do not know what the algorithms mean and are based on”.

The days also raised thoughts on how AI can be used to favour talent development.

“We could develop the portfolio of digital concert experiences through a series of events. We need to build test beds for concert experiences and many of the major organisers in the area are interested”, says Jesper Larsson, Malmö Opera.

It takes a while before new technology and new ways of using it become the normal behaviour. When the normal behaviour changes, it will motivate the knowledge to be incorporated into training and courses.

Other reflections centred on the fact that the support system may need to make entirely new efforts for incubators and innovation hubs working at the interface of different disciplines. It was also about how not to lose sight of the good qualities of human beings, such as using their emotions, their creativity and their ability to combine and collaborate across sectors.

One idea was that to thrive in an AI-driven world, we need to focus now on the skills of tomorrow and foster capabilities that enable seamless collaboration across sectors.

“During the workshop, we saw that more people need to have the opportunity to learn more about AI so that we don’t have to feel uncomfortable,’ summarises Katarina Scott from Future by Lund.

“Resources may be needed to train not only experts but also the general public. By spreading the use of AI and bringing in more areas, we can have a safer AI”.

The workshop had two main objectives: to discuss the impact of AI on CCSI and to further develop the current portfolios. The work with actors in the three portfolios continues and will, among other things, be included in the international forum Unexpected, which will be organised in Lund in June 2025.