No, artificial intelligence (AI) will not replace human creativity. However, it can certainly enhance it. These were the main conclusions reached at the end of the first PRISM Conference, held on 13 May at the Théâtre du Crochetan in Monthey.
‘History shows us that every technological revolution has caused great concern,’ emphasised Joël Rossier, project manager at PRISM, at the opening of the conference. From printing to computers, fears of massive job losses have been expressed, before new opportunities emerged. This is also the case today with the emergence of artificial intelligence.
Matteo Sorci of Dell Technology emphasised the importance of the approach to be adopted in relation to AI. ‘It’s not the technology that’s important, but how we use it. We need to remain critical and not hesitate to test all tools and practices.’
Practical applications in the art world
The day highlighted several practical uses of AI in different artistic fields. In the film industry, for example, Sami Arpa, co-founder of Largo.ai, showed how artificial intelligence can predict the success or failure of certain film productions.
‘You can do a lot with data: predict revenues, decide on the right actors and determine the best target audience for films.’
For cultural venues, Marta dos Santos, director of the Chillon Castle Foundation, presented their experience with a chatbot that provides visitors with information from a ‘closed’ database linked solely to Chillon Castle.
‘Introducing a chatbot is not an opportunity to save money on reception staff. On the contrary, it makes their work more enjoyable by allowing them to answer questions that add value. This has a significant impact on the team’s well-being.’ However, Marta Dos Santos acknowledges some limitations to this type of tool, including the fact that it must be regularly updated and that the budget is not insignificant. ‘The tool will not last 5 to 10 years in its current form. An annual budget is needed to maintain it, especially as current AI tools are advancing rapidly.’
Artists who embrace AI
Several artists have spoken about their use of AI. Samy Abou El Ainin, an artist and member of the Art Valais collective, explained how he fed his previous creations into artificial intelligence to develop his own style. ‘The machine has been trained, to a certain extent, to understand me.’ He reflected on the very essence of art. Is it the creative process that is important, or is it the final result? In his view, ‘as long as the work speaks to us, it has done its job.’ His conclusion is clear. ‘AI doesn’t create for you, it creates with you! It helps us create, but it doesn’t do my work.’
For his part, artist Jonas Wyssen, who regularly uses AI in his work, raised an interesting issue. “AI content is so quick to generate that sometimes you forget what you’re doing. In a way, the machine takes control of the creative process. So we have to be careful not to get lost in the tools.”
For his part, Matthieu Saussaye, founder of the start-up Pulse Partners, showed how he uses AI to gather qualified user opinions, particularly when launching new artistic products such as video games. Thanks to his AI-based software, he can easily summarise automatically conducted online interviews and extract useful data. AI also makes it possible to adapt questions based on previous answers given by interviewees. ‘This allows for iterations on new products in hours rather than months, as is currently the case with face-to-face qualitative customer interviews,’ notes Matthieu Saussaye.
A future where humans and machines work together
The day converged on a vision where AI becomes a collaborator rather than a replacement. As Matteo Sorci summed it up so well, ‘AI must be our collaborator, or our superpower. But that also implies super responsibilities, including maintaining a critical mind and preserving creativity, which remains fundamental.’
Joël Rossier also concluded on a positive note. In his view, ‘AI will give us more time to do what is more interesting and creative. Paradoxically, it therefore brings more humanity to creativity.’
The Valais academies also in the spotlight
The conference also provided an opportunity to discover the academic expertise available in Valais in the field of artificial intelligence, with presentations by Sylvain Calinon from the Idiap Institute (Martigny), Antoine Widmer, Professor at the HES-SO Valais-Wallis, and Tim Meylan, Professor at the EDHEA. The Idiap Institute also presented its robot ‘Drozbot’, which can draw portraits with a pen based on a simple photograph.
The young company Arcanel Studio, based in Sion, took advantage of the PRISM conference to exhibit an immersive and interactive video mapping work. This creation adapts to the movements of visitors, creating a unique artistic experience.
Between research institutes, training, art and start-ups, this one-day overview demonstrated that the canton of Valais is well positioned in the current technological revolution. Around 100 people attended the first PRISM conference. This event, which brought together creators and technicians, was a great success. Further conferences and training courses will be organised throughout the year by PRISM.
This article is just the beginning! More content from the PRISM Conference on AI will be published soon, including profiles, cross-interviews and must-see resources. Stay tuned!
Comments recorded on 13 May 2025 in Monthey
