We would like to extend our gratitude to Eugene Chen for facilitating two exciting in-person events as part of our AI & Data Learning series!
On the evening of March 7th, participants gathered at Baked Cafe to hear Eugene’s keynote talk Data, AI and Art: Viral and Impactful Visualizations. Eugene started with inspiring audience members with various examples of strong visualizations. He then moved into describing a framework for creating our own. He noted that for an image to be successfully impactful, the viewer should learn something, be convinced of something, be motivated to take action or experience a positive outcome. The content of impactful images should both provide relevant insights and be entertaining. To quickly grab the viewer’s attention, images should have visual engagement and clarity. We can leverage AI tools to enhance our ability to create images that will be successfully impactful. The presentation was interactive and engaging; participants were encouraged to clap and scream to trigger a response from virtual games and visualizations.
Two days later, we joined Eugene again for our Generative AI Create-A-Thon. Participants used a variety of AI models to create everything from images to entire webpages. They delved into AI-powered marketing, making everything from branding materials for a pottery business to public service announcements about railway safety. AI models for storytelling were explored, prompting one user to create accompanying images for a short story about a female welder fighting gender stereotypes in the workplace. An exercise in improving on existing images resulted in fantastical pictures such as a grown man sitting on a giant mushroom. Prompting AI to create new images garnered everything from magical-looking cities and stunning landscapes to quirky road signs and mermaid cats. Finally, ChatGPT was used to assist in building and coding web pages. Participants were given the opportunity to submit their creations for prizes, including voting on each other’s submissions for a “people’s choice” category.
We appreciate Eugene taking the time to visit us in the Yukon and share his wealth of knowledge on data and AI. His contribution to our learning series was invaluable and we hope to have him back soon!
