Published on March 16, 2026
–
Updated on March 16, 2026
Dates
on the February 20, 2026
APRIL 27–29, 2026
Location
Campus Georges Méliès, Campus Valrose
April 27 and 28: Valrose Castle
April 29: Georges Méliès Campus
April 29: Georges Méliès Campus
From April 27 to 29, 2026, the XR2C2 Center is organizing a three-day conference on the relationship between creativity and AI in collaboration with the University of Montreal (CRIHN), EFELIA, Sic.Lab, and the City of Nice.
REGISTER
The rapid spread of “artificial intelligence systems,” particularly through large language models (LLMs), is transforming our relationship with knowledge, texts, images, and, ultimately, the world. While these technologies (driven by a small number of for-profit companies and fueled by massive investments) offer new possibilities, they also pose a risk of homogenizing thought by imposing the dominant worldviews of major tech companies.
In the face of this threat, the humanities—and literature in particular—have a crucial role to play: that of valuing and presenting the plurality of intelligences and cultures through their hermeneutic tools. Beyond technical questions, AI is redefining our relationships with text, images, and creativity itself. The question is no longer whether machines are intelligent, but how they contribute to redefining intelligence and the cultural objects they produce.
At the heart of these reflections lies a cross-cutting question: what is creativity in the age of artificial intelligence systems—and, more fundamentally, what is intelligence itself? The conference aims to explore the shifting boundaries between human creation and algorithmic production, by bringing together hermeneutic and critical approaches from literature, philosophy, art, design, media, and the cultural industries. The goal is to examine how certain algorithms model a formal definition of creativity, sometimes at the cost of reducing it to computational logic. In doing so, we question the symbolic value our society attributes to certain creative activities, the reasons behind this valuation, as well as the epistemological, cultural, and political consequences implied by this redefinition, which is subject to the logic of mass automation. The widespread and uncritical adoption of products developed by a limited number of technology companies collectively confronts us with the epistemological challenges of redefining the objects produced by these tools, such as texts and images.
Speakers: Dominique Cardon (Sciences Po); Lai Tze Fan (University of Waterloo), Geoffrey Rockwell (University of Alberta), Marcello Vitali Rosati (University of Montreal), Virginie Juillard (Sorbonne University), Valérie Pisano (University of Montreal), Jean Luis Gastaldi (ETH Zurich), Lauren Tilton (University of Richmond), Alexia Schneider (University of Montreal), Shiming Shen (Université Côte d'Azur), Sophia Galière (Université Côte d'Azur), Maria Giulia Dondero (FNRSH), Everardo Reyes (Paris 8), Marta Severo (University of Paris Nanterre), Luca Paltrinieri (University of Rennes), Philippe Robert (Université Côte d'Azur), Marco Winckler (Université Côte d'Azur), Nicolas Pélissier (Université Côte d'Azur), Maud Boissac (City of Cannes), Marianne Reboul (ENS Lyon)...
(subject to change)
(Please select the quantity first to proceed to the rest of the form)
The rapid spread of “artificial intelligence systems,” particularly through large language models (LLMs), is transforming our relationship with knowledge, texts, images, and, ultimately, the world. While these technologies (driven by a small number of for-profit companies and fueled by massive investments) offer new possibilities, they also pose a risk of homogenizing thought by imposing the dominant worldviews of major tech companies.
In the face of this threat, the humanities—and literature in particular—have a crucial role to play: that of valuing and presenting the plurality of intelligences and cultures through their hermeneutic tools. Beyond technical questions, AI is redefining our relationships with text, images, and creativity itself. The question is no longer whether machines are intelligent, but how they contribute to redefining intelligence and the cultural objects they produce.
At the heart of these reflections lies a cross-cutting question: what is creativity in the age of artificial intelligence systems—and, more fundamentally, what is intelligence itself? The conference aims to explore the shifting boundaries between human creation and algorithmic production, by bringing together hermeneutic and critical approaches from literature, philosophy, art, design, media, and the cultural industries. The goal is to examine how certain algorithms model a formal definition of creativity, sometimes at the cost of reducing it to computational logic. In doing so, we question the symbolic value our society attributes to certain creative activities, the reasons behind this valuation, as well as the epistemological, cultural, and political consequences implied by this redefinition, which is subject to the logic of mass automation. The widespread and uncritical adoption of products developed by a limited number of technology companies collectively confronts us with the epistemological challenges of redefining the objects produced by these tools, such as texts and images.
Speakers: Dominique Cardon (Sciences Po); Lai Tze Fan (University of Waterloo), Geoffrey Rockwell (University of Alberta), Marcello Vitali Rosati (University of Montreal), Virginie Juillard (Sorbonne University), Valérie Pisano (University of Montreal), Jean Luis Gastaldi (ETH Zurich), Lauren Tilton (University of Richmond), Alexia Schneider (University of Montreal), Shiming Shen (Université Côte d'Azur), Sophia Galière (Université Côte d'Azur), Maria Giulia Dondero (FNRSH), Everardo Reyes (Paris 8), Marta Severo (University of Paris Nanterre), Luca Paltrinieri (University of Rennes), Philippe Robert (Université Côte d'Azur), Marco Winckler (Université Côte d'Azur), Nicolas Pélissier (Université Côte d'Azur), Maud Boissac (City of Cannes), Marianne Reboul (ENS Lyon)...
Program
- Monday, April 27, from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the Théâtre du Château de Valrose, Nice.
- Tuesday, April 28, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Théâtre du Château de Valrose, Nice.
- Wednesday, April 29, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Georges Méliès Campus, Cannes.
(subject to change)
Registration
(Please select the quantity first to proceed to the rest of the form)
Organization
- Bruno Habran (Université Côte d'Azur)
- Alexia Schneider (University of Montreal)
- Shiming Shen (Université Côte d'Azur)
- Michael Sinatra (University of Montreal)
- Matteo Treleani (Université Côte d'Azur)
- Marcello Vitali Rosati (University of Montreal)
This work received government funding administered by the ANR under the France 2030 program for the EFELIA Côte d’Azur project, reference number ANR 22 CMAS 0004.
Partners :
Université de Montréal
Ville de Nice
Sic.Lab
EFELIA
Ville de Nice
Sic.Lab
EFELIA
