Foregrounding a creative-led approach to technology and AI innovation

Context

There has been a flurry of recent announcements and publications relating to the Government’s approach to Artificial Intelligence – most notably since the recently published AI Opportunities Action Plan, led by Matt Clifford CBE, which has outlined 50 recommendations to establish global leadership in this technological domain – in addition to the AI and Copyright Consultation launched by the IPO, DSIT and DCMS.

Foregrounding a creative-led approach to technology and AI innovation

The Creative Industries are known for embracing new tools and ways of doing things, innovating and pushing the boundaries of the possible. In addition, the sector and its creative workforce are long term innovators in AI and a wide range of other convergent technologies. The work of the Foresight Lab is foregrounding an approach to AI that is creative-led, that centres around creative innovation in AI, underpinned by ethics, safety, accessibility and responsibility to audiences. Illustrating the opportunities for UK leadership and global competitive at the intersection of the Creative Industries and technology sectors, our programme of work is assessing the current adoption of convergent and emerging technologies and tools across creative workflows.

The Creative Industries sector is one of eight growth sectors established by the Government accounting for £124bn in GVA in the UK (2024), more than the UK’s aerospace, life sciences and automotive sectors combined. Furthermore, the sector is primed to innovate; in 2021 for example, DCMS noted that 55% of creative firms were undertaking R&D activity.

Yet, references to the innovation opportunity of the sector, and technological innovation in particular, remain relatively absent in recent publications. The AI Opportunities Action Plan makes some promising references, particularly to new AI innovation opportunities, enabling trustworthy AI at scale, putting citizens first and establishing AI sector champions. However, the emphasis on AI innovation and opportunity alone risks underplaying the potential for AI innovation to occur in and across different sectors, including the Creative Industries.

This is also evident in the joint AI and Copyright Consultation from the IPO, DSIT and DCMS. This consultation has the potential to radically transform the way IP is managed and used to train AI models . Again, of nearly 20 references to ‘innovation’ in this consultation, only one directly speaks to the Creative Industries – and the rest seem largely to refer to the innovative potential of the AI sector alone and ensuring that this potential is given the opportunity to flourish.

The emergent policy positioning around AI and technological innovation risks taking a skewed approach to the innovation opportunity; AI and technology innovation and the Creative Industries are positioned as poles apart, consequently downplaying the innovation taking place within the creative sector and the sector’s reputation in driving new technological applications and advances.

The Foresight Lab is developing an expanding array of work exploring the intertwined innovation, tensions and future possibilities at the intersection of AI, convergent technology and the Creative Industries. Visit our page to find out more.