AI & Creativity in Australia


Cognition, Policy & Practice




11/12/2026 10:00 - 19:00
UNSW School of Art & Design 
Paddington, Sydney


Talks and Live Musical Performances at the Crossroads of Creative Practice and AI. 


Presented by the University of New South Wales’ Creative Technologies Research Lab and AI Institute, the University of Sydney’s Designing with AI Lab, and Monash University’s SensiLab.


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It has been another turbulent year in AI while the dramatic disruption of the creative and cultural sector continues to unfold.

Eyes are on Australia, with its recent history of social media and news content policies, its lack of a text and data mining exemption, and its capacity for green datacenters, but a joined-up policy satisfying technological, economic and cultural needs remains elusive.

Meanwhile, ideas of what AI is and means for the creative sector continue to shift as the technology and patterns of us do also. Participants of this one-day symposium are invited to take stock of the emerging conceptual landscape from three perspectives — creative practice, policy and the science of creative psychology — looking nationally, regionally and globally.

Presenters will discuss creative practices, research and responsible AI thinking in the creative sector. This event is hosted at UNSW’s School of Art & Design, and co-presented by the University of New South Wales’ Creative Technologies Research Lab and AI Institute, the University of Sydney’s Designing with AI Lab, and Monash University’s SensiLab.

The event is catered with light lunch and refreshments.





Machine Eye. Designed at SensiLab, Monash University. Melbourne, Australia. Photo: Jon McCormack





Keynote Speakers


Immanuel Koh
Assistant Professor in Architecture and Sustainable Design (ASD) and Design and Artificial Intelligence (DAI) at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).

  Mary Lou Maher
Professor at the University of Sydney School of Computer Science

 Justin O'Connor
Professor of Creative Economy at Adelaide University



Musical Performances

Lucija Ivšić (ŽIVA)Musician and Researcher, SensiLab, Monash University
Oliver Bown Professor at the UNSW School of Art & Design; Co-Director of the Creative Technologies Research Lab

Program

10:00
Registration & Coffee


10:15Opening


10:30AI and creative cognition: presented by Designing with AI Lab, University of Sydney

Mary Luo Maher (Keynote)
Annabel Blake
Kazjon Grace (Moderator)


12:00Lunch


10:30Policies for putting arts first: presented by UNSW Creative Technologies Lab and UNSW AI Institute


Justin O’Connor (Keynote)
Kathy Bowrey
Oliver Bown (Moderator)


14:30Break


15:00How do we design creative AI: hosted by Sensilab, Monash University


Immanuel Koh (Keynote)
Rowan Page
Stephen Krol (Dolby)
Aileen Ng
Jon McCormack


16:45Closing Discussion


18:00Musicial Performances

Oliver Bown
Lucija Ivšić (ŽIVA)

Register Here