AI-Driven Work Transformations in Creative and Cultural Industries – AI-CCI

In the contemporary landscape, characterized by the emergence of cutting-edge generative artificial intelligence, there is a growing apprehension regarding the impact of these technologies on the quality of work. The International Labour Organization (Gmyrek et al., 2023) issues a cautionary note, highlighting that AI's influence on factors such as work intensity and worker autonomy could surpass its quantitative effects on employment. At the forefront of this digital revolution are the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI), constituting 2.3% of GDP in 2019, experiencing the initial repercussions of generative AI. Our research project, deeply rooted in management sciences, aims to delve into the practicalities of how CCI professionals are assimilating these cutting-edge technologies into their day-to-day work. Our examination encompasses the acceptability of AI, job crafting practices, and the transformations in the skills and employability of these professionals, adopting a socio-material perspective (Orlikowski, 1992). To unravel these complexities, we employ a mixed method approach, combining a Q method to gauge the perceptions of CCI professionals and ethnographic case studies spanning three distinct CCI domains (video games, press, visual arts). The findings from our project will be disseminated through the orchestration of a scientific event themed "Empowering CCI Professionals in the Age of AI" and the development of training content tailored for (future) CCI professionals. This collaborative effort with our institutional partners aims to contribute to the establishment of work environments that empower workers in the era of AI systems.