We know culture moves faster than it gets documented, so we’re taking the bar bell approach. That’s why each issue we split our findings into two themes:
Timely: What’s worth paying attention to now?
Timeless: What’s a longer term view point?
This week we’re looking at creativity in AI.
Adidas’ “Back Yard Legends” World Cup Ad bucks the trend of AI skepticism
The ad took over timelines last week as its gritty grassroots energy and celebrity features captured the minds of football fans. What went surprisingly under the radar, though, was the blatant use of AI in bringing a young David Beckham to life. The takeaway? AI works best in service of a human creative idea, not when it consumes the idea itself.
Google unveils prompt-based app creation at its I/O 2026 keynote
The keynote on 19th May was stacked with announcements around AI. But perhaps the biggest creative news was that the tech giant will now let users vibe-code native Android apps which are publishable to the Play Store right from AI Studio. As AI continues to democratise the modes of creative production, news like this recognises the other side of the puzzle: modes of distribution. By lowering the barriers to entry for app creation, Google is effectively turning its app store into a creative playground open to all.
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt being booed by graduates at mention of AI
The negative response around Schmidt’s speech at the University of Arizona’s graduation ceremony might well be remembered as a pivotal moment around AI perception, especially for young people. According to a recent Pew Research report, only 6% of US workers think AI will lead to more job opportunities for them long-term, while 32% expect fewer opportunities. With Gen Z taking the brunt of that hit, this moment hinted at the repercussions — something that feels like it’s only going to continue.
Emily has done it again, another term coined to add to a growing personal dictionary of ideas. Here marks a follow up to a new era of people taking hold of the tools and using them in ways that are in pursuit of perfection and beauty, and others that are feeding into the style or perspective of this new era of artificial creativity. As Trevor McFederie says a lot artists are actually looking at what AI creates with affection, not the other way around.
The brainchild of Mira Murati, a former OpenAI leader, who served as interim CEO during the attempted coup of Sam Altman. Since leaving, she has raised billions of dollars for a new start up which released a demo which shows a model built for interactivity and intelligence at the same time. A giant leap for a perspective that keeps humans in the loop. Taking visual and verbal interjections at the same time, it’s pointing in the direction of multi sensory AI platforms.
Claude, Anthropic - Keep Thinking
The Mac 1984 moment for LLMs, a shift in the brand perception of the company that now is starting to dominate in the world of AI. Not only is the music selection second to none - it speaks to the fear we all have of brain rot, and positions this new future as one where human ingenuity continues. Claude as the AI collaborator to help you solve harder problems, and think more than you ever thought possible.
Brian Eno, “Generative Music” (1996, SF Imagination Conference)
In this talk given three decades ago, Eno predicted the significant role machines would play in the creative process. During it, he defines ‘Generative Music’ — a kind that “specifies a set of rules and then lets them make the thing.” In the future, he asserts the artist’s job will become as much about specifying systems (aka “prompt engineering”) as raw improvisation: “If you move away from the idea of the composer as someone who creates a complete image and then steps back from it, there’s a different way of composing. It’s putting in motion something and letting it make the thing for you.”
Space10, Creativity in the age of AI film
A personal favourite of mine from Space10 offering from a much lauded creative practice helping to keep IKEA ahead of the curve, and many others through their public offerings of research. In this video essay, they chart the history of creativity and humans’ attachment to tools and also the very make up of what makes intelligence, the collection of thoughts, memories and references from the past to help to create the new.
A book that charts the history and stories behind the players who researched, studied and worked on artificial intelligence even when the rest of the scientific and technological community felt it wasn’t worth it. To understand the big questions we’re all asking, it’s important to understand the motivations of the individuals and the companies who have shaped this future we’re living in today.
A seminal documentary in the history of Artificial Intelligence, the reason I’ve picked this out as a piece for creatives in the now famous Move 37. An entirely new way of playing that wasn’t understood by Lee Sedol, master of Go. It inspires us to always think about the machines as things that can spark up unexpected moments of genius even if we don’t fully understand or comprehend them just yet. Another way of thinking is always better than one way of thinking.
Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this dispatch of Field Notes, make sure to subscribe to Explorers Club’s Open Dialogue Substack to receive future ones.
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