Cannes Lions 24 | The Future of AI in a Creative World

The buzzword at this year’s festival was AI; the good, the bad and the ugly. No matter where you went, AI was on everyone’s lips, with speakers and guests all asking themselves the same question; what does the future of AI look like for creative industries?

From tech giants discussing AI in science and creativity to AI Art Studios and even AI programmes to prevent deforestation, the overall feeling seemed to be one of excitement and hope, albeit mingled with a touch of fear in the face of the unknown.

The Importance of Experiential Activations & AI 

Throughout the Festival this year there were a wide variety of experiential activations with almost all of them integrating the use of AI in some way. The most successful activations managed to create engaging experiences in a real life context that were as compelling as their digital counterparts. 

As an experiential technology studio, AI is something we work with daily on activations such as our AI Face Swap technology, and we know first hand the value AI has when it comes to interactive and immersive experiences.

It was exciting to see not only activations that were employing AI, but also attend talks discussing how AI can assist with speed, scale, and customisation in creative processes; allowing experiential activations to become more expansive, more effective and more engaging.

• Amazon Port’s AI Art Studio and Google Labs' Infinite Wonderland showcased, in real time, AI’s potential to create interactive and immersive experiences.

• Turkish Airlines showed a unique approach to using data processed by AI with their data painting project Inner Portrait in collaboration with artist Refik Anadol. The campaign celebrates human emotions during travel by measuring body and mind emotions using EEG data and transforming them into live artworks.

• Refik Anadol, İlkay Gurpinar and Rafet Fatih Özgür in discussion, highlighted the value of creative AI and AI artwork when driven by data and how this can enhance brand engagement and loyalty across all industries.

• LinkedIn transformed the Carlton Cannes rooftop into The Place to B2B running a week full of networking events, panels and creative sessions geared towards B2B marketing. The immersive space nurtured a networking environment in real life that mirrored the online ethos of its digital platform.

• Jennifer Cownie and Robyn DelMonte's live tarot reading was another experiential highlight of the festival, discussing the art of tarot compared to AI technology in regards to making predictions. They looked at how AI had been able to predict what the most successful Super Bowl ad would be, but also how valuable intuition and organic processes remain when it comes to predicting trends.

• Pinterest’s Manifestival beach space had a host of experiential activations from a tattoo parlour to a jewellery creation station. As one of the few spaces that focused on real life experiences, what it lacked in wow factor it made up for in engagement with a queue all the way down the beach! 

It was clear from the talks that ‘in real life’ experiential has never been more important. We live on our phones and apps a great deal of the time, so humans will, for the most part, crave social interactions as a form of escapism. 

This means those human experiences will need to be better than ever; unique, emotionally powerful and social. Technology and AI can and does play a crucial role in this, but not for technology’s sake, it’s there to enable an emotionally driven, personalised experience.

AI vs Human Creativity 

Despite all of AI’s strengths, it was clear across the board that without human creativity, it has little value. As Microsoft’s chief brand Officer Kathleen Hall put it in her talk about curiosity and AI in marketing, “AI is not creative, you are”. 

These advancements in AI technology do however beg the question; will agencies just become tech companies with good creatives? Most speakers were hopeful, despite a high degree of paranoia about the pitfalls of a creative future reliant on AI. 

• Vidhya Srinivasan and Alexander Chen talked about Google’s “Gemini” AI technology and its ability to enhance creative vision, empowering people within the industry without taking away the human element of their work. They dubbed this the “Gemini Era”, a forward thinking and responsible vision for the future that makes AI more helpful for everyone. 

  
  

• Guy Marks, Wesley Haar, ter, Asmita Dubey and Jared Spataro discussed how AI is transforming the landscapes across different industries in their Toolkit to Navigate AI’s Impact on Creativity. They shared their own practical perspectives on the impact and potential of AI across the fields of tech, marketing, media and creativity.

• Microsoft Copilot was another AI tool on display at the festival; a generative AI tool for augmented marketing and enhancing creative processes. Kathleen Hall gave an insightful talk about how creators and brands are using AI tools like Copilot in new and innovative ways to bring powerful clarity to creative brand campaigns.

• And an exciting talk from Meta by es devlin and Alex Schultz about the meeting of art and science within technology, and how AI technology plays a part in this dynamic, taking into account the human vs digital element of an AI Future.

Despite AI advancements, all the speakers throughout the festival agreed that human creativity is irreplaceable. AI is just a co-pilot, enhancing but not replacing human creativity. 

The blending of AI capabilities with human insight definitely leads to more powerful storytelling and innovative marketing solutions across the industry. The key message from tech giants, agencies and brands is that AI acts as the hunter and humans are the alchemists; creatives with ideas. 

AI for Good

As a B Corp certified company, we always have an eye on the existing or potential positive impact of technology. Business and AI for good, whilst on the agenda at the festival, could definitely have been more prominent. Despite this, there were some hopeful case studies and insights throughout the week. 

• In Microsoft's talk about their newest AI technology, they highlighted The Rhythms of the Rainforest case study; a successful example of AI for Good that uses AI tech to shine a light on deforestation, by tracking the sounds of animals and birds.

• Shailja Dubé from the British Fashion Council, Tyler LaMotte from Patagonia and Stuart Trevor, the founder of AllSaints, presented an inspiring discussion about sustainability and the future of fashion. It was interesting to hear each of their unique insights on Business For Good coming from varied backgrounds within the industry.

• Fahd Hamidaddin, the Head of Tourism for Saudi Arabia, gave an exciting presentation about their initiative to restore coral in the Red Sea, the Kaust Coral Restoration Initiative, and focus on more sustainable tourism.

• Building trust as a brand was an overarching theme in several of the talks at the Festival. In a polarised society, authenticity and transparency are required in order for companies and brands to grow. This felt extremely poignant as a B Lab company, where trust and accountability are an integral part of our business model.

Overall it was an inspiring week full of great conversations and insightful discussions. With AI technology becoming more and more in demand, it made sense that it dominated the festival, and the overall takeaway was one of hope albeit with a touch of trepidation. 

Find out more about Cannes Lions Festival here