18 - 20 OCTOBER 2022
BEYOND - where creativity meets R&D
A three day conference in October 2022, where thinkers, makers, investors and researchers across the creative industries come together to explore the relationship between creative research and business innovation. The 5th annual BEYOND conference will take place in Cardiff and online. Tickets released soon - get updates.
Beyond 2019
Beyond 2019
Beyond 2019
Beyond 2019
BEYOND – where creativity meets R&D. A conference where thinkers, makers, investors and researchers across the creative industries come together to explore the relationship between creative research and business innovation.
Last year’s BEYOND in November 2019 focused on the intersection between Artificial Intelligence and creativity, with themes addressing the opportunities, challenges and controversies these innovations present.
BEYOND provides a unique forum to share knowledge, discover opportunities and connect with business leaders, creatives, researchers, policy makers, journalists and funders.
Featuring lively debate, panels, short talks, innovative exhibitions and plenty of networking.
More details about this year’s programme, tickets, showcasing and speaking opportunities coming in September – sign up for BEYOND updates to be the first to find out.
What’s On
What’s On
Beyond 2019 Agenda
BEYOND 2019 day by day included conference sessions, innovation showcase, a poster exhibition and fringe events that made up last years’ event. View Full Agenda
Conference Programme
Building on the success of the first BEYOND in 2018, last year’s conference spanned two days featuring a single-track conference with keynote sessions, short-talks and panel discussions. It also included two exhibitions showcasing UK excellence in research-driven creative innovation with an innovation showcase and poster exhibition for doctoral candidates and early career researchers.
Poster Exhibition
Doctoral Candidates and Early Career Researchers working in the areas of research addressing the BEYOND 2019 conference themes, featured their work in the Poster Exhibition. Themes included Artificial Intelligence; Machine Learning; Creative Technology and Data and their application for, and influence on, the creative industries.
Innovation Showcase
A new addition for the 2019 programme, the Innovation Showcase featured outputs from creative research-led projects that explore new and novel ways to push the boundaries of what is possible. This included, but not limited to, prototypes as well as market-ready products being showcased as: physical models; visualisations; performance; interactive theatre work; VR/AR and mixed-reality demos.
Networking
Plenty of chances to network gave attendees the opportunity to make lots of great connections. This included an AI Primer event (pub quiz style) to test everyone’s AI knowledge and kick things off the night before day one of Beyond, taking place at the University of Edinburgh.
Investment Breakfast
Delegates and the wider business and academic community heard from tech businesses that have recently participated in the Audience of the Future – Investment Accelerator to learn more about upcoming investment opportunities across the UK. They also had the opportunity to network with invited businesses and investors. This was a free event, with the first 100 spaces reserved for BEYOND delegates and kindly sponsored by Immerse UK.
Research Symposium
What exactly is ‘creativity’ and more specifically, what does it mean to be ‘creative’ in the context of the Creative Industries? After introductions from Dr. Oli Mould (Royal Holloway) and Professor Vicky Gunn (Glasgow School of Art), symposium participants were encouraged to give ‘lightning introductions’ and to submit ‘burning issues’ they were keen to discuss. More information.
Speakers
Speakers
BEYOND 2019 featured a unique and inspirational line up of renowned speakers from across the creative industries from established veterans to rising talent. Sign up to the BEYOND newsletter for the latest videos of all the sessions and announcements on this years programme. View All Speakers
Themes
Themes
Themes
Themes
Featuring insights from the cutting-edge of creative research and industrial application, BEYOND 2019 examined the realms of Informatics, to explore the current and future impact of machine learning, AI and data on the creative industries, with themes including:
Just a Member of the Band
How is AI helping us to be more creative and supporting our creative endeavours to take us beyond our human capabilities? This session showcased new, innovative ideas, products and services where AI extends human abilities.
And the Award Goes to…
Can AI alone really do something creative and award worthy or do the creative industries present the greatest challenge for AI? Having explored the idea of AI as an assistant, this session considered whether AI can really become the author and take a leading role in creativity, and where do they figure on the credits.
Hidden Values: Data, Discovery and Recommendations
How can algorithms unlock unforeseen value in archives and data sets? What are the value logics that drive data-driven experiences? What are the current problems of recommendation and discovery? In this session, the value of data and how the value from existing data sets can be realised was assessed, along with how smarter ways to find things can be developed, moving into a world of curated and nuanced search and discovery.
Dark Data: Bias, trust and inclusion
From surveillance capitalism to prediction products to algorithmic bias there are clearly ethical and political challenges in the emerging data economy. Have even our creative experiences become raw material for training machines? This session explored the societal problems and unintended consequences of current implementation of AI and what we need to fix to make a better world.
Creative Tactics
Who are the next wave of creative companies building valuable businesses based on these new technologies? How can they balance social, cultural and environmental values with economic value? This session explored near-future products and services and how AI can be used for the greater good. Find out more.
“Imagine Me, Gentle Spectators”: AI and Storytelling
AI has the potential to change the rules of storytelling and transform audience experience, as well as impact on every stage of the production process. This session showcased recent immersive work, looking at emerging forms of narrative and audience/writer collaboration. It considered both the potential and challenges that AI presents creatively and commercially, and asked what next for immersive, AI driven storytelling?
Posters
Posters
The Early Career Researcher Poster Exhibition featured exciting new cutting edge work across themes including Artificial Intelligence; Machine Learning; Creative Technology and Data. See a selection below or view all the posters.
BLOG
BLOG
Human vs Things: How AI is disrupting the design process
It's a pleasure to share this article by Prof Chris Speed who is Chair of Design Informatics at the University of Edinburgh. Over to Chris... A great deal has changed since the Creative Informatics R&D Cluster began in...
How is AI impacting art production?
The capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI), robots and machines and the resulting impact on society, business and education are subject to numerous discussions and speculation. Perhaps the some of the pessimistic views on AI’s future are due to the controversial...
Early Career Researchers Exhibit Creative Research at BEYOND 2019
As part of its facilitation of UK research and innovation, this year’s BEYOND conference includes a poster exhibition that showcases research by early-career researchers into the creative and digital arts from across the country. The posters demonstrate projects...
Gallery
Gallery
Browse and enjoy photos of BEYOND 2019. A stellar line of speakers addressed an audience of business leaders, creatives and researchers.
Videos
Videos
Watch and enjoy all of the sessions from BEYOND in November 2019. A stellar line of speakers addressed key challenges and themes impacting the future of the creative industries.
Get Involved
Get Involved
Celebrating innovation and groundbreaking projects in the creative industries, BEYOND 2019 offered exciting opportunities for researchers and businesses to get involved…
Innovation Showcase
Featuring pioneering and creative research-led projects in a showcase pushing the boundaries of possibility. More info
Volunteering at Beyond
Volunteers helped to support BEYOND 2019. Lunch and refreshments were provided and volunteers had the opportunity to work alongside a highly experienced event production team.
Sponsorship
Raise awareness of your organisation and connect with leading names, businesses and researchers from the cutting edge of the creative industries. Get in touch for more info.
Attend
Attend
Attend
Attend
Why attend BEYOND 2019? Insights from industry innovators and academic experts to inspire and enlighten across two days of keynote sessions, short-talks and panel debates with plenty of networking to make valuable connections.
Experience pioneering work first-hand with demos from cutting-edge UK creative expertise in groundbreaking exhibitions.
For Business
- Connect with creative innovators, thinkers, experts and researchers
- Discover the latest innovations and creative technologies shaking up our sector
- Case studies from groundbreaking projects
- Experience first-hand demos from pioneering projects
- Find collaborators, researchers and funders to build your organisation’s capabilities
- Explore international inward UK investment opportunities
For Researchers
- Discover recent developments in the creative arts
- Connect with creative industry pioneers
- Experience and engage with practice-led research projects
- Connect and collaborate with leading creative tech businesses and industry stakeholders
- Indulge in a core programme of thought-provoking panel debates and roundtables
- Interact with local and international tech enthusiasts and experts
Tickets
Tickets
More details about this year’s programme, tickets, showcasing and speaking opportunities coming in September – sign up for BEYOND updates to be the first to find out.
Venue
Venue
Venue
Venue
ASSEMBLY ROOMS, 54 GEORGE STREET
EDINBURGH EH2 2LR
BEYOND 2019 venue: The historic Assembly Rooms are located in the heart of Edinburgh’s vibrant city centre. The Assembly Rooms website has advice on how to find the venue.
