AI and creativity in dialogue: Students give an outlook on "new worlds"

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Vernissage by Master's students fascinates visitors
Students present their results on the topic of AI & creativity at a vernissage. Here: What could a world look like in which we bridge 100 years so that our world can regenerate?

What could a world look like in which we bridge 100 years so that our world can regenerate? The group led by Lan Chi Pham, Marsha Schön and Nina Kleber (from left to right) presented their ideas in a cinema trailer about astronaut Stella at the "AI & Creativity" vernissage. Photo: Cornelia Kamper / Pforzheim University.

What would a world look like in which humans were not the dominant species, but dolphins, wolves or ants? Or if there was only one type of music? Students on the Creative Communication and Brand Management Master's programme at Pforzheim University visualised answers to these questions and presented creative visions that they had developed with the help of AI at a vernissage under the motto "New Worlds". The three project groups used free AI tools such as ChatGPT, DALL-E, Perplexity, character.ai and LTX to bring their ideas to life.

"There's no denying that AI is already a part of creative work, and this will increase in the future," explains Professor Dr Konrad Zerr, who supervised the projects. There is a good reason for the topic: "If you look at the world, what is changing and what challenges we are currently facing, the topic was obvious," says Zerr. The students interpreted the motto in a wide variety of ways. 
 

Earth in the year 2100 - a search for new planets

The first group designed a scenario in which the Earth has to be regenerated for 100 years in the year 2100 after climate protection measures have failed. Two astronauts - Stella Lunas and Atlas Volt - set off in search of a new home for humans and come across an AI-dominated planet and a natural planet. "As a Star Wars fan, the topic was an obvious choice for me," reports student Marsha Schön. One of the biggest challenges was the fluid and natural movement of people, which is why up to four different programmes were used for some scenes. "What really surprised us was that LTX generated a cinema poster on its own, we didn't actually want to make a cinema trailer, but that was a good impulse that we took up," adds team colleague Nina Kleber. In conclusion, the team, which is completed by Lan Chi Pham, agrees: AI is a great support, although the women can understand the accusation that people become lazy in their thinking or creativity: "But everyone has to find their own personal way to prevent this," they explain. 
 

A new dominant species

Kim Schladebach, Vivian Votu and Eloise Mayerki developed three different worlds in which the following animal species are the dominant species:

  • Wolves: Hierarchy is for order, not power. Decisions are made by the elders, hunting is precise and respectful of nature.
  • Ants: A self-sufficient system exists in their colony underground. Food is grown in underground greenhouses.
  • Dolphins: Communication is key. With the help of sonar and holographic light projections, they create a unique underwater social system.

"We wanted to choose animals with different social behaviours in order to generate as many different worlds as possible," explains Kim Schladebach. "Of course, the films mainly emphasise the positive aspects of the worlds, which can be viewed critically, but we found it exciting to see how the worlds differ from ours and what could work better if humans were not the dominant species." However, working with AI also had its pitfalls: While AI tools deliver impressive results on texts and images, there is still room for improvement when it comes to videos. 
 

Music worlds

Ideas that were too specific were also a challenge. "You have to be very specific when promoting, or get involved with what the AI presents," say the students from the third group. They created worlds for the seven music genres pop, rock, classical, techno, indie, country and reggae - a world in which only this music genre exists. These differ in appearance, lifestyle and sound: while the classical world is more natural, the buildings are reminiscent of fairytale castles or the Renaissance and magnificent gardens adorn the landscape, the reggae world is characterised by bright colours, relaxed people and lots of sunshine. An immersive experience has been created with a fictional character called Melody, who travels through these worlds and sends visual postcards.
 

Conclusion: Humans and AI - a creative interplay

The AI vernissage impressively demonstrated that technology and creativity can go hand in hand - and the challenges and opportunities that arise from this collaboration. "You have to learn how to deal with AI these days. When we enter professional life, many companies already have AI that they use. But AI is only as good as you are and the commands you give it. I'm glad that we had the opportunity to test this out during our studies," summarises student Kim Schladebach. The event has already become a tradition and took place for the third time - started three years ago as pioneering work, the handling of AI is now part of the standard training in the MCM degree programme.


Galery:

 

4 students present their results under the motto "New Worlds". They had created different worlds, each containing only the following music genres: Pop, Rock, Classical, Techno, Indie, Country and Reggae. These differ in terms of visuals, architecture and human behaviour.
The world of reactions was colourful and reminiscent of a beach holiday.