Déjà Vu Event Series | Looking Back

During the Summer 2024, Swissnex in San Francisco hosted several events, part of our Déjà Vu event series.

Mainstream Monotony – AI in Journalism & Storytelling

On August 15, Swissnex in San Francisco had the pleasure of collaborating with the San Francisco Chronicle for Mainstream Monotony—AI in Journalism & Storytelling

This event focused on AI in journalism and storytelling, with a panel discussion on the future of journalism in the age of artificial intelligence. As part of our “Déjà Vu” event series, Mainstream Monotony challenged journalists, neuroscientists, and entrepreneurs on the impact of AI in the creative storytelling process.

Our panel for the night consisted of David Eagleman, neuroscientist and author at Neosensory, Tim O’Rourke, Vice-president of content strategy for Hearst Newspapers, Pierre Ballenegger, Senior Video Producer & Journalist at Blick, and Manjula Nadkarni, CEO & Founder of Yuni. The discussion was moderated by Célia Heron, Deputy editor-in-chief at Le Temps and co-creator of the native podcast “Brise Glace.”

The panel tackled questions like “How do you see AI, and what is the future for storytellers and journalists in an AI-driven world?” “What are the concerns regarding ethics?” or even “Are there any biases? And how can we avoid them?”.

During the discussion, some interesting points were raised, among them:

“Storytelling is not going away any time soon. We are moving towards an era of hyper-personalization, but storytellers have an important function, and that’s carrying the general discourse.”
David Eagleman

“The pace of innovation is incredible. Some of last week’s problems are no longer a problem today. We consider it an opportunity but are cautious in integrating it.”
Tim O’Rourke

“As an artist and creator, I wanted to figure this out for myself rather than wait for a big tech company to tell me how things will be.”
Manjula Nadkarni

“The worst thing I can imagine isn’t journalists losing jobs to AI, but to journalists who are better at using AI. That’s why we take training very seriously.”
Pierre Ballenegger

The panel discussion was followed by a networking apéro, a great opportunity for our guests to discuss the topic with our speakers and share a moment together.

We want to thank all the guests for joining, our panelists for sharing their experience with us, and the San Francisco Chronicle for collaborating in this event and hosting us.

The Last Original – The Future of Creative Practices

On August 22, Swissnex in San Francisco had the pleasure of collaborating with the Geneva University of Art & Design for The Last Original– The Future of Creative Practices

This event focused on the future of creative practices in the age of artificial intelligence and was dedicated to exploring the dynamics, opportunities, and implications of artificial intelligence technologies for creatives and designers. Part of our “Déjà Vu” event series, The Last Original opened the dialogue between the creative industry and academia from the United States and Switzerland.

Our panel for the night consisted of Brett Amory, Artist/Educator at Stanford University, Douglas Edric Stanley, Maître d’enseignement at HEAD-Genève, and Erin Bradner, Director, Strategic Foresight and Adjunct Professor at Autodesk and CCA. The discussion was moderated by Nichol Bradford, Executive-in-Residence at the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM).

The panel addressed questions such as “How does AI influence creativity?” “What is the future of creativity and design in an AI-driven world?” and “How will the roles of creatives change?”.

During the discussion, some interesting points were raised, among them:

“It is interesting to see how AIs interpret images to generate new ideas. These new technologies lead us to new, unexpected outcomes.” “I think we should embrace AI as a tool and see it as a collaborator.”
Brett Amory

“Photography took a hundred years to be considered as art” regarding the use of AI in art; “I have more of a lateral approach regarding AI; it helps human optimization, and we should use it as a collaborative partner.”
Douglas Edric Stanley

“There is often a misconception about AI that it will replace humans. The process of implementing creativity in tools like AI is complicated and needs editing that humans make.”
“AI is a collaboration tool and not a replacing tool.”
Erin Bradner

The panel discussion was followed by the Opening Night of the exhibition Assembling Intelligence: Hybrid Strategies for AI, Art, and Design, showcasing The Geneva University of Art and Design’s take on artificial intelligence.

We want to thank all the guests for joining, our panelists for sharing their experience with us, and the Geneva University of Art and Design for collaborating in this event.

Fair Play? – Human and AI Biases in Gaming

On August 29, Swissnex in San Francisco had the pleasure of collaborating with the Geneva University of Art & Design and the Museum of Art & Digital Entertainment for Fair Play?–Human and AI Biases in Gaming.

This event focused on AI in the gaming industry, with a panel discussion on the future of creative processes in the age of artificial intelligence. As part of our “Déjà Vu” event series, Fair Play? focused on the role of AI in enhancing creativity in game design.

Our panel for the night consisted of Anthony Masure, Associate Professor & Dean of Research at the Geneva University of Art & Design (HEAD – Genève, HES-SO), Ari Kalinowski, AI Technical Designer at Delta_Ark, and Mason Young, Executive Director at Museum of Art & Digital Entertainment. The discussion was moderated by Tamara Kneese, Director of Algorithmic Impact Methods Lab at Data & Society Research Institute.

The panel tackled questions such as “How are AI-driven tools and algorithms revolutionizing game development?” “How will AI change the creative processes in game design?” and “What are the ethical concerns of AI in gaming?”

We spoke about personal worries such as addiction and robot intimacy (Ari Kalinowski), the difficulties of exploring the AI black box (Anthony Masure), the opportunities these tools allow younger generations to imagine a different world (Tamara Kneese), and the value of algorithmic opponents in games—or the lack thereof (Mason Young).

The panel discussion was followed by a networking apéro, a great opportunity for our guests to discuss the topic with our speakers and share a moment together.

We want to thank all the guests for joining, our panelists for sharing their experience with us, and the Geneva University of Art & Design and the Museum of Art & Digital Entertainment for collaborating in this event.