The Robots are Here Panel Recap
The Robots Are Here: A Night of Conversation on AI, Creativity, and the Future
ASMP Chicago/Midwest organized The Robots Are Here Panel, bringing together creatives, technologists, and legal minds to discuss one of the most important topics today: AI and its impact on storytelling, production, and intellectual property.
The evening began with Ross Floyd, who framed the discussion with a reminder that AI’s evolution is moving quickly, but how it develops is ultimately up to us. “We have a difficult needle to thread,” he said, emphasizing the responsibility to shape the future we want rather than simply letting it happen to us.
Todd Freese followed with a look into virtual production. Sharing clips of recent projects, he defined the practice as merging physical and digital filmmaking to create new storytelling possibilities.
From the creative agency perspective, Scott Miller showcased a wide range of AI tools currently being used across the industry. Scott ended his talk by reminding us: “Although AI is helping us to create, storytelling is always human.”
The panel, facilitated by Ross, brought together:
Tobi Shinobi, Professional Photographer
Daliah Saper, Saper Law
Liz Miller Gershfeld, Creative Producer
Beth Huerta, Agent
Todd Freese, Resolution Productions
Daliah unpacked the legal uncertainties surrounding AI and copyright. She used the example of the Copyright Act. The Copyright Act was designed to encourage new technologies. But, the current law hasn’t caught up to the pace of AI.
“We aren’t sure yet how the law will shape the future,” she explained, but cautioned that as a society, “we need to ask ourselves what is the degree to which bad things can happen.”
The discussion revealed both the promise and challenges of AI: its ability to accelerate production and unlock creativity, alongside its risks to ownership, ethics, and artistry.
