Laura Herman - The Human Creative Director: Remixing, Seeing, Curating

Media Evolution

“What would you make if you did not have to generate it?”

Global platforms like Instagram and Tik Tok enable creatives to show their work to wider audiences. However, these platforms also operate using algorithms that determine which content appears in users' feeds and what remains unseen.

This dynamic has significant implications: firstly, algorithms replace the work that elite institutions such as museums and art galleries traditionally have done. We tend to explore what grabs our attention instead of spending time with art pieces that might need more time to examine and understand. Secondly, recommendation systems influence the way creatives show their work. Collaborators in Laura’s projects shared that they sometimes publish works that will perform well but not necessarily challenge them as artists or show their best work.

“How would you describe your taste to a machine?”

This has an influence on our perception of the world and on the evolving role of humans as creators. Laura believes generative AI tools can be seen as an additional tool in the creatives’ toolbox. Along with this, there is a shift of focus from production to curation.

Coming up with ideas and thoughtful concepts is becoming more crucial than the production process itself as this can be (partially or entirely) assisted by generative AI tools. Taste and critically selecting criterias will become sought-after creative skills. She closes her talk with provoking questions like how art pieces look different depending on who they were aimed to be created for.