AI and Creativity
Perspectives on generative AI and the future of creativity
Generative AI is gaining a foothold in our daily workflows. Join the conversation on GenAI, where we are now, and where we could be headed—and explore how we could navigate the largest technological revolution in our time.
This is an open forum to discuss varying perspectives from a computer scientist lens, an artist/creative lens, and more.
🗓 Agenda
Intro
Talk
Q&A
Casual mixer
💬 Some topics we'll tackle
Where are we now?
Where could we be headed?
How might we make GenAI more creator-friendly? not just coexist but create thriving societies with AI?
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Huge thanks to iU for letting us use the space!
• We can safely hold ~80 people. Once we hit that max, we will limit entrance.
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🗣 Panelists
Professor Ben Zhao (Joining remotely)
Ben Zhao is Neubauer Professor of Computer Science at University of Chicago. He completed his Ph.D. at U.C. Berkeley (2004), and B.S. from Yale (1997). He is a Fellow of the ACM, and a recipient of numerous awards, including the NSF CAREER award, MIT Technology Review’s TR-35 Award (Young Innovators Under 35), USENIX Internet Defense Prize, and others. In his 20 years as a professor, Ben has made research breakthroughs in diverse areas. But since 2016, his research has shifted towards protecting society at large from the misuses and abuses of AI. Today, he spends nearly all of his waking hours interacting with artists, writers, musicians, and finding different ways to preserve the value and ensure the survival of human creatives.
Mayumi Birt
Born in Japan, Mayumi earned her MBA from Portland State University. She has 30 years of management experience in the software and data center fields, rising to the position of President and CEO position of a major Seattle-area software company. As the founder of Ascent Partners, she recently worked with the State of Hawaii to address over-tourism, innovating an annual revenue increase of $35 million through digital transformation. Inspired by Professor Ben Zhao’s work on AI and the power of human creativity, Mayumi is actively supporting his outreach efforts in Japan.
Raphael Hodé
Raphael is a designer and entrepreneur who believes in innovation as a force for positive change. He is the co-founder and CEO of nowthen, a design studio working with ventures from idea to scale. Before starting nowthen, he worked as a Lead Designer at Designit, a global strategic design firm, and later co-founded kammeko, a sustainability startup. He passionately shares his thoughts and insights on design and innovation, either online or as a guest speaker. Raised in a family of artists and having worked in creative industries for over 10 years, he has been actively exploring how generative AI can support and enhance human creativity.
Hitomi Abiko (Moderator)
Founder of Creative Tokyo, CEO and Co-founder of Skydea.
Past life: Anime artist since 13 years old. Raised $14.8k across two Kickstarters for a collaborative art book series featuring 100+ artists. Original works featured at Toyota, PAX East, various art books, and magazines. Works @blizzmii (IG)
What is iU?
iU was founded in 2020 and is celebrating its 4th anniversary this year. iU has continued to expand as a leading learning platform in collaboration with various industries. iU’s goal is to enable students to develop abilities to bring innovation to the world!
What is Creative Tokyo?
Creative Tokyo is the largest creative community on Meetup in Tokyo, with 3,700+ members and 2,500+ on Slack. Our purpose is to be the consistent space for fostering new friendships among creatives in Tokyo. Our goal for every event is for you to feel like you’ve found your tribe. If you create anything at all, you are a creative—so do join in!
Join us on Slack - stay connected!
Join the Creative Tokyo platform for new ways to connect with peers and projects!
Job hunting? Visit our job board
We can't wait to meet you!
Creative Tokyo is an initiative by Skydea, a design-centric consultancy and idea incubator.