Beyond the Soul of AI: Art, Ethics, and the Future of Human Expression
By Nasya Aiskha Safira of the Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia. Since the early 2025, Department of Research, Studies and International News 05-07-2025
On June 26th, the weekly Understanding Artificial Intelligence and Robotics training program successfully held their sixth session with massive enthusiasm. This session discusses digital transformation through cross-cultural dimensions. The main debate is the evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that was discovered from long ago to their massive influence nowadays, primarily breaking down the cross-cultural factors. This sixth session aims to dive deeper on the exploration of impacts and implementations of AI in Hollywood, visual arts, and media from industry experts’ perspectives.
This program is a product of a collaboration among the International Institute for Middle Eastern and Balkan Studies (IFIMES), Scientific Magazine European Perspectives, and SilkRoad 4.0 along with multiple global partners, naming the D-8, THC, ICCD, LLA, Modern Diplomacy, C4P, Modern Ghana, IAF, and many other. It gathers colleagues from researchers, practitioners, visionaries, and influentials across the globe to participate in this groundbreaking program. Each session provided three different astonishing experts of honour that will present materials that lead to discussion. The sixth session invited Igor Ridanovic, a post-production specialist from Hollywood Studios, Ceca Bukvich, a CEO of New York Music studios, and Eva Petric, a conceptual artist from New York-Vienna-Ljubljana.
Some key takeaways in this sixth session is how cultural dynamics influences AI development and implementation strategies. Media’s role is seen as a crucial point in the process of shaping technological narratives across societies. Therefore, it uses soft power dimensions, such as cultures, media, and arts to enhance technological leadership. This session also discusses how to build effective cross-cultural dialogue in the digital sphere since it has a vast impact on the shift of modern technology, especially AI in this 21st century. Various case studies are elucidated in order to give a concrete depiction of cultural factors affecting technology transfer and adoption. The dialogue then slides to the effects of AI in aiding re/search, professional correspondence, and academic writing, to also play a role in the global entertainment or infotainment industry. This explains the effect of AI utilisation in visual arts and performing arts.
The session began with Igor Ridanovic who started the discussion with a presentation of Behind the Scenes: How AI Is Changing Hollywood which covered the people and culture themes. He works in Hollywood and elaborates on where Hollywood stands in AI adoption with three points: how and where we use AI in Hollywood, what is working and what is not, and ethical and legal crossroads. Filmmaking is a global business. Post-production represents the final stage in the filmmaking process, occurring after the television show has been filmed. During this phase, all the individual components are assembled and refined to create the completed work. The software tools Ridanovic created for media and entertainment connect him to the world of AI.
In Hollywood, AI is being widely but quietly used as a tool that functions in translation, visual effects, content analysis, and many other areas. Yet, it has not been fully developed for full film generation. There are several factors that cause Hollywood to be of interest when discussing AI. First, the size of economic output that operates in the nation-like economy scale. There are multiple revenue drivers, such as theatrical exhibition, linear TV streaming, video-on-demand, location-based entertainment, etc. All of those combined will generate a huge economic activity. Second, early technology adopters. Hollywood has also been a really forward technology-looking industry. They have always been adopting new technologies over the years and AI change is a significant one that will profoundly impact the major global industry. Lastly, Hollywood movies have huge cultural influence. They have a great ability to influence how people think and a source of soft power as well.
The use of AI today in Hollywood is widespread. Nearly everyone is using it but not owning up to it. AI tools are widely used for object removal, speed changes, facial isolation, and more. However, the post-production is not capable of applying full AI-generated films that meets the adequate Hollywood standards yet. Hollywood studios are experimenting with AI, but the results show no major deployment breakthroughs. Another issue that hinders the use of AI is that it is a divisive matter. A dilemma of AI usage regarding legal or ethical concerns exists as a major debate in this sector, including copyright issues. This then raises the question of authorship and creative process of whether AI is seen as a fundamentally different tool. This is an ethical question that permeates in all kinds of discussion in Hollywood. It became a legal question that may shape business decisions. AI could potentially alter the nature of screenwriting and other creative roles in filmmaking.
The production process in filmmaking generally consists of four main stages: Development, Pre-production, Production, and Post-production. The Development stage involves story creation and script writing. Pre-production encompasses the initial planning and coordination efforts necessary to prepare for filming. While content distribution is not a formal stage of production, it plays a critical role in ensuring that television content reaches its intended audience. Additionally, visual effects (VFX), though not classified as a standalone production stage, are integrated throughout various phases and contribute significantly to the final product. Among the four stages, Pre-production, Production, and Post-production are particularly driven by technological advancements. As a result, AI has increasingly focused on enhancing these areas.
Many tools are in use within the film industry incorporating machine learning technologies since long ago, though they may not have originally been labeled as AI. Historically, AI-related technologies have been in use in other industries since the 1980s and 1990s. At the time, creators employed machine learning techniques without fully anticipating the transformative impact AI would later have on the industry. Although early applications of AI were not always recognized as such, they laid the groundwork for its current rapid development and integration. Earlier technologies lacked the sophistication and accessibility required to produce high-quality, end-to-end AI video content. The use of fully AI-generated videos was limited or virtually non-existent prior to the emergence of advanced AI models like ChatGPT.
AI is increasingly being integrated into visual effects workflows, enabling more efficient and cost-effective creation of complex effects. One notable application is AI-powered lip-syncing, which streamlines the localization process for global audiences. For example, a demo of a proof-of-concept developed by Igor Ridanovic showcased the use of AI to translate dialog and synchronize lip movements, enhancing realism in multilingual content. Similarly, the Swedish film Watch the Skies employed AI technology to align actors’ lip movements with dubbed English dialogue, demonstrating how AI can improve the quality and accessibility of international film releases.
AI tools such as DeepMind’s Veo 3 and short films like Ancestra have become central to ongoing experiments in the film industry. However, concerns have arisen regarding the data used to train these systems, as much of it reportedly includes unlicensed materials—a deliberate yet controversial approach. According to the current stance of the U.S. Copyright Office, content generated by AI cannot be copyrighted, underscoring legal and ethical challenges in the creative sector. There is a growing public perception that AI poses a threat to traditional jobs, including those in filmmaking. Nonetheless, the industry is clearly undergoing a transitional phase. Many of these AI advancements are supported by substantial subsidies and global research efforts. Despite the hype, creating a fully AI-generated short film still demands extensive research and development, along with iterative refinement. While the tools continue to evolve, a strong foundational understanding of traditional filmmaking remains essential for leveraging AI effectively in this transitional era.
The next speaker is Ms. Eva Petric, an artist that often utilizes technology. The discussion covers artistic explorations of AI and technology. Ms. Petric is a transmedia artist living and working in between New York, Vienna and Ljubljana, in photography, video, sound, performance, scents and installations. She is interested in how collective views are formed. She finds it interesting to have a capacity to work with AI images but also has its destructive side because art is a connection to what it is to be human. Every human is a creative human and since the beginning of mankind, art has been incorporated into rituals and traditions.
The reation of art holds a profound significance for humanity, rooted in emotional depth and human sensitivity. Relying excessively on AI in artistic processes may risk diminishing this sensitivity and may lead to what Ms. Petric believed to be a ‘collective dementia’. Nonetheless, the advancement of technology is both inevitable and intrinsic to human progress, driven by our innate curiosity and capacity for innovation. Rather than resisting technological change, it is essential to engage with it thoughtfully and responsibly.
Most of Ms. Petric arts embodies human perspectives, such as human emotional awareness (love and hate) and those being interacting forces in a form of installations (utilizes materials that connect and catalyse). She uses lace fabrics which when combined together, serves as a reminder of the profound interconnectivity that the universe is composed of. It is a very mathematical pattern. Ms. Petric creates installations and performances integrating science, space imagery, and human presence. She uses technology, like satellite data while emphasizing human creativity/vision. Her recent work which was inaugurated in Kenya combines sculptural art with environmental sectors.
Art possesses the unique capacity to evoke emotional responses and foster a sense of connection—something intangible yet deeply felt. It moves individuals, often transcending language and cultural boundaries, and invites exploration into shared human experiences. For the artist, the process of creating becomes a form of inquiry. The only way to truly understand art’s impact is to produce it and observe how it resonates across different cultures. Her work frequently engages with universal themes, reflecting a commitment to uncovering common threads that unite diverse audiences through artistic expression. She integrates art into various aspects of life. It remains a natural and essential process, even in an age increasingly shaped by technology and science. AI, in this view, should serve as a tool—one that enhances and expands human creativity rather than replaces it.
Art continues to offer space for human connections, rituals, and presence; elements that provoke fundamental questions: Is this for the good of humanity? For the good of mankind? Ms. Petric expresses hope that art will continue to reach and reverberate with a broader audience, emphasizing the importance of coming together around shared human values. Despite our perceived differences, we are inherently connected. She cautions against allowing technological advancement to dilute the essence of our humanity. Imagination, she argues, is something we do not yet fully understand, and it requires the freedom to create beyond the confines of existing material. While AI can generate and mimic nature, it risks overlooking the humility we owe to the natural world—an intelligence far older and deeper than our own. Pushing too far without reflection may lead us to what she called a ‘dead-end street,’ or a form of singularity where something vital is lost. In the end, as long as art exists, it affirms and preserves what it means to be human.
Dr Harvey Cary Dzodin was in dialogue with Dr. Philipe Reinisch. He was a political appointee in the Carter administration, longtime vice president of ABC in New York, and is currently an author and commentator in global media. Dr Dzodin discussed how truth, although never easy to discern, was much simpler when he worked for Jimmy Carter. He discussed how globally there was a sea change beginning with the world wide web in the 1990’s because before that time, knowledge was relatively difficult to obtain and then, almost overnight, people were drowning in information and it was more about getting people’s attention even momentarily.
Now matters have progressed from bad to worse to catastrophic with Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) full of intertwined information, misinformation and disinformation that makes it near impossible to determine which is which. Moreover, algorithms are splintering society into separate tribes who don’t communicate. At the same time the malevolent use of AI is technically getting easier to accomplish by the day, affecting elections and interfering with societal decision-making. Governments are failing to regulate advanced AI to the point where it’s already too difficult to regulate, as it has with other mature technologies such as cryptocurrencies and fintech. This is known as the Collingwood dilemma.
Considering the discussion above, it is clear for us as intellectual-minded individuals to formulate and arrange further steps in a way to respond to the ever-changing advanced global technology. By continuing exploring ethical frameworks and public education around AI, we can minimize the fatal disadvantages it sets out to human beings. It is essential to develop better systems for detecting AI-generated content, especially for elections/media. There is also a need to foster interdisciplinary dialogue between technologists, artists, and ethicists on AI development to unite differing minds about the dynamics of technology. This includes further sessions to dive deeper into specific AI applications and impacts. It is imperative that we collaborate and collectively develop effective strategies to address the negative aspects of AI. While it has not yet resulted in severe consequences, there is a shared hope that through cooperation, a constructive solution can be achieved.
