How can stories help audiences to imagine positive visions of AI that serve the public good?
The harms of AI are now widely felt, from addictive platforms and exploitative data practices to synthetic media and voice‑cloning that erode trust and deepen inequality. This session asks what happens when stories do more than diagnose the problem — when they help audiences imagine and demand something better. Bringing together artists, activists and technologists, the panel will explore how stories can build pathways beyond distrust and overwhelm towards action, agency, and visions of AI that serve the public good, moving from critique to concrete possibility. Drawing on recent documentaries, campaigns and creative projects, the discussion will consider how storytelling has exposed AI’s harms so far, and where it falls short. It will look at the difficulty of defining “what we really want,” the challenge of framing credible calls to action, and the tension between fear, fatigue and agency in audience responses.
Speakers:
Shehani Fernando (Immersive Producer/Director, Vocalize)
Ángel Maldonado (Founder, Empathy)
Ted Tremper (Producer, The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist)
Elise Tillet-Dagousset (Campaigns & Media Lead - Europe, Luminate Foundation)
Moderator:
Francesca Panetta (Artist and Director of AKO Storytelling Institute, University of the Arts London)
In partnership with AKO Storytelling Institute
