Tuesday, September 29, 2026

Pyle Center, 720 Langdon St. UW Campus

Schedule

8:30am – 9:00am: Coffee and Refreshments

9:00am – 9:15am: Opening Remarks

• Derek Johnson, Professor and Department Chair of Communication Arts at UW-Madison

9:15am – 10:15am: Keynote Address 1

What futures does AI make possible for creative industries?

• Ben Relles, Creator and Entrepreneur, Reid AI & Founder and CEO, Make Believe

10:20am – 11:10am: Breakout Session 1 – Practices

What changes have we already seen in the day-to-day practices of creative workers and to what future challenges might those current trends lead? How do account for the specifics in different industry sectors?

• Music and Podcasting
• Film and Television
• Social Media and Marketing

11:15am – 12:05pm: Breakout Session 2 – People

How have work forces, local communities, and media audiences responded to the potential of AI creativity? What challenges and opportunities do those responses pose?

• Workforces
• Local Communities
• Media Audiences

12:00pm – 1:00pm: Lunch

1:15pm – 2:15pm: Keynote Address 2

What new concepts and frameworks do we need to develop to make sense of the creative potential behind AI?

• Tarleton Gillespie, Senior Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research & Affiliated Professor, Department of Communication and Department of Information Science at Cornell University

2:25pm – 3:15pm: Breakout Session 3 – Platforms

What kinds of platforms will most effectively deliver on the creative potential of AI technologies? How can our approach to the regulation of AI in relation to intellectual property, policy, and future
technological development support the future of AI creativity?

• Intellectual Property
• Tech Policy
• Platform Futures

3:25pm – 4:25pm: Panel Discussion

• How can we work together to advance these questions over the next year?

4:30pm – 4:45pm: Closing Remarks

5:00pm – 8:00pm: Social + Dinner + After Party