AI Can’t Write Symphonies and Neither Can You
In the 2004 film I, Robot, Will Smith’s character asks the robot Sonny “can a robot write a symphony? Can a robot take a canvas and turn it into a masterpiece?” to which Sonny replies “can you?”.
AI Can’t Write Symphonies and Neither Can You is a brand new event from the Scottish AI Alliance. On the 26th of March 2025 we will be at Summerhall in Edinburgh to explore the intersection of AI and creativity through a variety of media - from talks to performances to installations and everything in between. We’re looking for creative practitioners to explore the nature of human creativity through the lens of AI and postulate how it may change our perception of the arts in the future.
We’re delighted to announce an open call for projects to be featured at the event. We’re open to all kinds of ideas - we just ask that it fits these two criteria:
it must be inspired by the provocation above (the I, Robot quote above - or by any of the themes raised in the movie or book). It can be in relation to any kind of creative practice, not just music and painting.
it must reflect the Scottish AI Alliance’s values.
Some examples of ideas could be talks, debates, workshops, art installations, practical demonstrations of creative AI, performances - or something we haven’t thought of! There will be limited financial assistance available to successful ideas.
The call will be open until 23:45 on the 31st of October 2024 and you can submit your idea via the button below. If you would prefer an alternative method of applying - such as a phonecall or video call - please contact hello@scottishai.com.
This work has been supported by Creative Informatics, AHRC grant number AH/S002782/1 as part of the Creative AI Demonstrator project, co-funded by the AHRC and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
