Utopian or Dystopian? Using a ML-Assisted image generation game to empower the general public to envision the future

TY - GEN

T1 - Utopian or Dystopian?

T2 - 13th Conference on Creativity and Cognition, C&C '21

AU - Rafner, Janet

AU - Langsford, Steven

AU - Philipsen, Lotte

AU - Risi, Sebastian

AU - Hjorth, Arthur

AU - Simon, Joel

AU - Gajdacz, Miroslav

AU - Sherson, Jacob

N1 - Conference code: 13

PY - 2021/6

Y1 - 2021/6

N2 - The rise of digital technologies and Machine Learning (ML)-Tools for creative expression brings about novel opportunities for studying creativity and cognition at scale. In this paper, we present a pilot study of crea.blender SDG-an online GAN based image generation game. We designed crea.blender SDG with two goals in mind: The first, to let people create images relating to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and through them, engage in large-scale conversations on complex socioscientific problems. The second, as a fun and inspiring gateway for public participation in research, generating data for the creativity and cognition research and design community. Specifically in this pilot, we study and affirm that the design of crea.blender SDG is flexible enough to allow users to create images that express both anxiety and hope for the future; affirm that user generated images express these ideas in ways that are meaningful to people other than the original creator; and begin to investigate which specific features of images are more closely related to dystopian or utopian ideas of the future. Finally, we discuss implications for future design and research with ML-based creativity tools.

AB - The rise of digital technologies and Machine Learning (ML)-Tools for creative expression brings about novel opportunities for studying creativity and cognition at scale. In this paper, we present a pilot study of crea.blender SDG-an online GAN based image generation game. We designed crea.blender SDG with two goals in mind: The first, to let people create images relating to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and through them, engage in large-scale conversations on complex socioscientific problems. The second, as a fun and inspiring gateway for public participation in research, generating data for the creativity and cognition research and design community. Specifically in this pilot, we study and affirm that the design of crea.blender SDG is flexible enough to allow users to create images that express both anxiety and hope for the future; affirm that user generated images express these ideas in ways that are meaningful to people other than the original creator; and begin to investigate which specific features of images are more closely related to dystopian or utopian ideas of the future. Finally, we discuss implications for future design and research with ML-based creativity tools.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85109107286&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1145/3450741.3466815

DO - 10.1145/3450741.3466815

M3 - Article in proceedings

AN - SCOPUS:85109107286

SN - 9781450383769

BT - Creativity and cognition (C&C '21)

PB - Association for Computing Machinery

CY - New York

Y2 - 22 June 2021 through 23 June 2021

ER -