Pixel vs. Protocol: Negotiating the Role of Multimodal Generative AI in Study, Work, and Play

When:	We 07-05-2025 14:00 - 17:00
Where:	House of Connections

How can we critically and creatively engage with generative AI across text, images, and videos? This workshop, part of the initiative by the Jantina Tammes School’s group Multimodality and AI in the theme Language and AI, will bring together academics and students to explore the potential and limitations of generative AI in academic, professional, and everyday contexts. This interactive event is designed to enhance critical understanding of different generative AI systems, including text, image, and video generators, as well as their creative and practical applications. By the end of the workshop, participants will have developed a deeper understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the multimodal facets of generative AI, critically engaging with its creative potential, ethical challenges, and real-world applications.

Programme

14:00-14:05	Welcome and objectives
14:05–14:25	Lightning talks 14:05–14:10 Overview of multimodal AI - Lambert Schomaker (Principal investigator of the HAICu project on AI for the cultural heritage, Faculty of Science and Engineering, RuG) 14:10–14:15 Text-to-text generative AI - Ana Guerberof Arenas (Computational linguistics, Faculty of Arts, RuG) & Sheila Castilho (SALIS/ADAPT Centre, Dublin City University) 14:15–14:20 Text-to-image generative AI - Nataliia Laba (Sector plan Humane AI, Faculty of Arts, RuG) 14:20–14:25 Text-to-video generative AI - Janina Wildfeuer (Lead of the Multimodality and AI working group, Faculty of Arts, RuG)
14:25–15:00	Tracing the DNA of AI-generated outputs Groups of four receive a set of input/output cards. a. Input: examples of the data used to train AI systems (e.g., biased text datasets, public-domain images, culturally sensitive videos). b. Output: examples of AI-generated content based on these inputs (e.g., text summaries, AI-generated art, deep fakes). Participants match input data with its corresponding output and discuss potential ethical concerns – bias amplification, attribution gaps, cultural appropriation. Groups categorize their findings by modalities (text, image, video) and discuss how ethical risks differ across these modalities.
15:00–15:15	Coffee break
15:15–16:00	Oblique Strategies for multimodal AI New groups of four draw three Oblique Strategies Cards and use the written prompts to create outputs using a text-to-text, text-to-image OR text-to-video generative AI system. Groups refine their outputs, experimenting with different interpretations of the prompts and discussing how the constraints influence their creative process.
16:00–16:05	Break
16:05–16:40	Student panel roundtable Provides a platform for students to share their experiences and insights on using generative AI in academic and personal contexts. Focus: how students have used generative AI, challenges they face(d), opportunities they see.
16:40–17:00	Reflections and closing

Join us to shape the future of human-AI collaboration! Registration open until 30 April. Any questions? Drop an email to event organizers: Nataliia Laba (n.laba@rug.nl) and Janina Wildfeuer (j.wildfeuer.rug.nl).

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