Huayu Yang was awarded a bursary to attend the Digital Humanities Oxford Summer School in 2024. To join the mailing list and learn about the next summer school sign up here. Read about Huayu's experience at the summer school here:
In August 2024, I had the pleasure to attend the AI & Creative Tech online strand of Digital Humanities at Oxford Summer School. Sitting at my desk in the cool summer of Dublin, I was led through various fields of overlap between AI and creativity, as well as between AI and arts & humanities scholarship in general. It showcases not only the possibilities of AI as a research tool, but also its potential to provide new modes of perception and thinking.
Out of my research interest in the use of AI and VR in contemporary theatre performances, I signed up for DHOxSS 2024 to expand my understanding of AI in relation to the creative industry and beyond. And through the fully packed two-day programme, with theories and case studies ranging from linguistics to ethnography, from 3D reconstruction to immersive art, I was familiarised with a diverse range of concepts and practices, which has already become the new context of creation and research we are now situated in. In Dr Victoria McGuinness’s talk on the Fantasy Futures Project by TORCH, for instance, she introduces this interdisciplinary, intermedial project which combines game design, extended realities, motion captures, etc. to build new connections with the contemporary audience. It is at once a research project and a piece of genre-defying art, which integrates elements of video games, installation art, and immersive theatre. Its situatedness within the Oxford city and its user/audience-oriented design logic reminds me of the site-specific, multisensory performances that I have attended before: AI’s capacity to recreate and reimagine our everyday urban space could re-sensitise us to our embodied relationship with the world we are living in. While at the same time, the Fantasy Futures project also inspires me to think beyond the individual and speculate if these reconnections with the world facilitated by AI and new technologies could become catalysts for awareness and changes. This idea of recreation and reimagination also echoes Dr Matthew Nicholls’s session on 3D modelling and digital cultural heritage, in which he talks about his 3D digital reconstruction model of ancient Rome and its public-facing values. Apart from being inspired by the application of AI in rebuilding the connection between the public and human histories, I was also deeply impressed by the use of AI as a means of research impact and outreach and the potential of academic research to spark conversations and communications beyond academia.
There are other fascinating research projects and sessions that I have not covered in the blog post, and they are all rooted in different areas of creativity and scholarship. While these presentations altogether weave into a sketchy overview of the intersections between AI, arts and humanities. It provides a point of access into the field of AI, especially for students and early career researchers from an arts and humanities background like me. I would not say I have become an expert in AI and creativity after this, but when I encounter related topics again in my research, I am confident that at least I know where to start. Although it would have been nice to visit Oxford in person, the online format of this particular strand enables flexible, accessible attendance, which also befits the topic itself. Overall, DHOxSS 2024 has been a valuable, unforgettable experience for me. I am very grateful for the Digital Humanities @ Oxford Summer School for the opportunity to attend these thought-provoking sessions and I would highly recommend the AI & Creative Technology Online Strand to anyone who is interested in AI and creativity.
