Abstract

In 2024, students on the MA in Advertising were asked to work with AI on three industry projects. In one with Havas, they created speculative fictions on what AI would mean for the agency in 2030; in a second they used practice-research to explore the affordances of AI for BBH and Advertising Week; in a third, in partnership with Genius Steals, they were encouraged to get AI to write their Final Major Project as a stimulus to better research. This presentation discusses the three experiences.

Session and activities

The three cases studies present three different ways courses can engage productively and critically with AI: speculative fiction/design; practice-research and provocation. The session is designed to provoke debate as well as open a new conversation about AI and education/training beyond fears and moral panics. Furthermore is designed to position UAL and its students as offering industry a powerful speculative practice-research laboratory for industry desperate for new thinking.