Organized by AI Impact Alliance thanks to a one-year round of funding from the Art Council of Canada. Illustration by Valentine Goddard, 2025

Register on Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/_UoQHPBXTEaREf9p0SJ8FQ

Emerging from a deep dive into the critical and contemporary issues of generative AI, the Art-Laws grantees will unveil their works and reflections; artists (curators, social art and theater directors) will discuss best methods to engage a large number of citizens with diverse perspectives; esteemed guests will spotlight the role of artists in shaping legitimate AI governance and policy. Throughout the day, our participants will gain insights into an approach to the cultural governance of AI that is instrumental to digital sovereignty. Finally, expect to leave with a new space to imagine a repaired world, and, perhaps more concretely and urgently, to prevent an AI-assisted Tech Coup.

« We need to create space to imagine new, effective ways to repair our world rather than confine ourselves to thinking about answers within the limits of existing proposals and structures. Political change, especially in the context of digital disruption, requires imagination. » Marietje Schaake, The Tech Coup, 2025.

We hope you find our program to create a little bit of that much needed space.

March 27th. Free. Online. Registration Required. Click here to be added to our list of participants.

Program Overview

11:00 AM ET – Welcome Remarks  

Valentine Goddard opens the symposium with a short address on the role of artists in shaping AI governance and policy, an overview of the results of this pioneering initiative, how this unique approach to AI cultural governance has taken shape... and how it can contribute to upholding democracy and sustainable creative economies.

11:15 AM – Art-Laws Fellows and Grantees: Observations & Commented Presentation of their Art Works.

This session presents insights from the Art-Laws fellows and grantees, who have engaged in a deep exploration of the legal and economic implications of generative AI. Artists will share their works and reflections through brief presentations, accompanied by images and videos, followed by a Q&A session. Ends at about 13:15 ET.

Quelemia Sparrow is a Musqueam actor, director, and playwright whose work explores decolonial narratives and the intersection of Indigenous culture with new technologies. She examines the political implications of AI in Canadian artistic and theatrical practices. Her Art-Laws project focuses on data sovereignty, cultural intellectual property, and AI’s role in Indigenous storytelling.

Natacha Clitandre is a visual artist working at the crossroads of contemporary art, new media, and urban planning. She investigates the future impact of AI on everyday life, particularly how big data influences belonging and speculative urban development. Her Art-Laws project explores how AI reshapes the physical and digital spaces we inhabit.

Eija Loponen-Stephenson is an interdisciplinary artist and performance studies researcher. She examines the economic value and authenticity of abstract expressionism in the age of AI-generated art. Her Art-Laws project focuses on authorship and creative agency in an era where AI challenges traditional notions of artistic production.

Lunch/Health Break is from 1:15 PM to 2:00PM

2:00 PM ET – Engaging the Public: AI Literacy and Democratic Governance (Panel in French)  

This panel will examine best curatorial and directorial practices that foster AI literacy and engage citizens on important choices that need to be made on AI Governance as individuals and as social groups. The Art-Laws Grantees were selected based on an evaluation grid that integrated 8 best practices. These will be discussed along with Leclerc and Roy’s visions based on years of experience engaging the public on complex social and political issues. Guest Art-Laws jurors Petit and Vanderborght will offer their perspectives on the process and its outcome. This panel is intended for other curators in this space as well as for anyone hoping to engage citizens in AI governance.

Panelists

Dominique Leclerc – Director of Une Vie Intelligente (Théâtre Duceppe), a play exploring AI’s ethical, legal, and economic implications.

Annie Roy (ATSA) – Social art interventions on digital sobriety, sustainability, and sovereignty.

Interventions with Art-Laws Jury Members : Aurélie Petit, Karen Vanderborght and Valentine Goddard.

3:00 PM ET – Results of a National Survey of Quebec Artists about AI (French only)

Pascale Landry, CEO, Compétence Culture, presents an overview of a comprehensive study on the use of AI by artists and the sector’s overall readiness to AI adoption and its impacts.

3:15 PM ET –Cultural Governance of AI & Digital Sovereignty (In English)

This expert discussion explores new approaches to cultural governance in today’s tense geopolitical landscape and examines how we can strengthen the role of culture in democracy to protect our digital sovereignties. The panel will analyze how cultural institutions, and artistic interventions can shape AI policy and governance while preserving creative autonomy and public interest. This longer deep dive is split in two parts and invites participants to read the provided links to prepare/contribute questions. 50 minutes (5 x 10 minutes per speaker) followed by a discussion period moderated by Valentine.

Part 1 (Wilhelm, Hawcroft, Ding) focuses on policy implications with inspiration from a UK-based arts-led cultural data trust. Part 2 (Wong, Salvaggio) dives into questions related to digital sovereignty.

Panellists

Aurora Hawcroft (Co-author of Articulating Arts-led AI: Artists and Technological Development in Cultural Policy, U.K.). 10 min.

Kelly Wilhelm (OCAD Policy Hub, policy implications in the context of Canada's economic and political challenges, Canada). 10 min.

Jennifer Ding (ML solutions, data steward for the Choral AI Dataset, created as part of the Serpentine exhibition, U.K.). 10 min.

Şerife Wong (Tech & AI policy researcher, artist, U.S.). 10 min.

Eryk Salvaggio (Wrote the Anatomy of an AI Coup, teaches at Rochester Institute of Technology, U.S.). 10 min.

Q&A and discussion end at 4:25 ET.

4:30 PM ET - Valuing Art Production: Legal & Economic Perspectives (In French)  

Stéphane Moraille (lawyer, Bran Van 3000), La culture au Québec est un grand corps désarticulé) will discuss the economic and legal importance of valuing every step in artistic production.

4:45 PM ET – Brief concluding Remarks by Valentine Goddard followed by the Closing Ceremony with Elder Amelia Tekwatonti McGregor.

*Ends at 5 p.m. Easter Time.

🔹 Recordings will be made available to AI Impact Alliance members and it may take many weeks. AI Impact Alliance is a Canadian nonprofit dedicated to studying the social impact of AI and promoting the vital role of art in AI governance. Becoming a member is a meaningful way to support our mission—a mission that upholds democracy and sustainable creative economies.

Context and goals

It’s 2025 and Trump-Musk team have launched a war on the Canadian economy and our sovereignty, not to mention that they are eroding all the checks and balances of a democratic system in the U.S.. Our agenda will focus on the creative economy the implications of Generative AI for the arts and cultural sector more broadly. There are three reasons for that choice. First, the creative economy is a powerful driver of global growth. Second, the arts are a pillar of democracy. Third, cultural sovereignty is cardinal to our identities, our freedom to live by our values.

Indeed, the creative economy (design, digital media, film, music, software, etc.) is experiencing significant growth, with the UN estimating its value at $2,250 billion, outpacing the expansion of the global economy (UNCTAD, 2024). Exports of creative services surged by 29% between 2017 and 2022, highlighting their increasing role in international trade (UNCTAD, 2024). Looking ahead, forecasts suggest that the creative economy could contribute 10% of global GDP by 2030 (Forbes, 2023). At the same time, the AI Image Generator Market is projected to grow from USD 8.7 billion in 2024 to USD 60.8 billion in 2030, with a remarkable compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38.2% over the forecast period. Meanwhile, AI image and text generators are facing a number of lawsuits for intellectual property violations.

Grasping this economic potential requires a holistic understanding of the implications of the deployment of Generative AI, and now AI agents, for democracy. That is why, AI Impact Alliance, an independent civil society organization founded in 2017, has put together a grant and fellowship a program, the Art-Laws, that underscores the fundamental role artists play on that front. Three artists were awarded 5000$ to explore the legal and economic implications of Generative AI. While a handful of tech giants are pushing their AI systems to Canadian governments and artists, AI Impact Alliance received support from the Council for the Arts of Canada and our members to think without pressure, and to lead art-based research of the ethics and politics of Generative AI. Upon conclusion of this program, observations, questions and possibly some recommendations will be drafted. Optimistically, other iterations will follow. The upcoming symposium is the last of the 2024-2025 Art-Laws series.

What does creativism mean? AI Impact Alliance defines creativism as the intentional and strategic application of creativity as activism, legal inquiry, and economic critique to shape AI governance and cultural policy. It uses artistic and creative practices to challenge, reshape, and reimagine the ethical, legal, and economic frameworks governing AI technologies. It applies situational intelligence, adaptability, and artistic ingenuity to subvert extractive AI systems while proposing alternative governance models. As a strategy for resisting the AI-driven commodification of art, creativism also advocates for fair economic structures through artistic interventions. Art serves as a powerful tool to visualize and narrate complex policy dilemmas, making AI governance more accessible to the public. AI Impact Alliance’s methods include interactive storytelling, speculative design, and participatory AI prototyping, offering innovative ways to explore the future of AI regulation. Ultimately, through our Art-Laws programs and best curatorial practices, we see creativism as a constructive force for shaping legitimate policy, law, and economic fairness in AI-driven cultural landscapes.

Click here for the full program and biographies in English.

Cliquez ici pour la programmation complète et biographies en français.

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