Join The Verge at the 2024 Chicago Humanities Spring Festival

The Verge is thrilled to announce that we are once again partnering with the Chicago Humanities Festival for a day of in-person conversations exploring the evolving intersection between art and artificial intelligence. The Verge’s programming will take place on Saturday, April 13th, in the ballroom located within the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, starting at 11AM CT — and you can purchase your tickets now!

Our sessions will explore how AI is reshaping the realms of art, film, and digital content creation. With introductory explainers providing context and information for newbies to AI, Verge experts David Pierce, Emilia David, and Mia Sato will navigate crucial conversations on how generative AI systems impact the art world, transform film production, and present challenges for distinguishing its generated content from human-made art. You can read full descriptions of each session below.

We hope you’ll join us in Chicago on April 13th!

Chicago Humanities began in 1989 to extend the rich ideas of the humanities to wider public audiences, connecting people to the ideas that shape and define us and promoting the lifelong exploration of what it means to be human.

The Chicago Humanities Spring Festival runs from March to June and includes headliners such as Jonathan Van Ness, Kara Swisher, Joy Reid, Kathleen Hanna, George Stephanopoulos, and more. Chicago Humanities events at SAIC are open captioned and offer a selection of accessible services. For more information, please email access@chicagohumanities.org or call the Box Office at 312-661-1239.

EVENT DESCRIPTIONS: 

11:00AM - 12:00PM | The Verge AI Sessions: AI and Humans with Mia Sato
Decoding artificial intelligence art and content

The proliferation of artificial intelligence tools has created a flood of AI-generated content online; much of it spammy, inaccurate, or even abusive. In her coverage, Verge reporter Mia Sato documents how generative AI is being used to accelerate the production of junk online and entrench existing disparities around art and labor. She’ll offer primers on how to spot this kind of AI-generated content — but is there another way forward to harness AI?

Artists and technologists are exploring fascinating ways to use AI that probe creative limitations and cut at the very question of what “human-made” can look like. Join Mia and pioneering artists and thinkers in the field to examine where AI-powered content appears today, and how automated tools could be used in the future.

1:00PM - 2:00PM  | The Verge AI Sessions: Art Creator or Thief? with Emilia David
Protecting artistic ownership and intellectual property

What guardrails do artists need in a new age of artificial intelligence? As artists voice concerns about AI replacing their work or using their creative intellectual property to train AI models without proper consent or compensation, lawmakers are beginning to take notice. The essence of this debate — what artists seek and how regulations should adapt — often remains overshadowed by broader discussions on copyright law and regulation. Join Verge AI reporter Emilia David as she leads Chicago Humanities through a crucial and timely conversation with one of the plaintiffs in the ongoing Andersen v. Stability AI case, Kelly McKernan, on the current legal challenges working through the courts and the impact of generative AI systems on the art world.

3:00PM - 4:00PM | The Verge AI Sessions: AI at the Movies with David Pierce
Should the film industry save artificial intelligence an aisle seat?

With the emergence of artificial intelligence, the film industry finds itself at a crossroads. Will AI become a useful tool or destructive weapon in filmmaking? In the recent Hollywood actor and writer strike, AI was the most contentious issue to resolve. Despite differing views on AI, its potential power to transform film production and the viewer experience is undeniable. David Pierce, editor-at-large for The Verge, guides a visually stimulating discussion exploring how AI is revolutionizing filmmaking. Explore AI in filmmaking with industry experts that share clips highlighting the innovative techniques and challenges. Get a thrilling rear window into how AI is reshaping movie production and inspiring new cinematic styles.