6pm Wed 20 May 2026
An Unexpected Story: AI and the Writer
Geoff Davis
An Unexpected Story: AI and the Writer - Panel Talk, host Geoff Davis
Eventbrite booking soon — Zoom only
Host: Geoff Davis (artist, writer and CAS Committee member)
18:00 GMT Wednesday 20th May 2026
Format: Zoom only
Other time zones: https://www.timeanddate.com
About the Talk
AI and Text: Are we witnessing novel forms of collaboration or fundamental challenges to artistic authenticity?
Professional writers are alarmed by the use of AI — to the extent that a novel, Shy Girl, edited using AI has been withdrawn from publication, and its author subjected to a predictable pile-on of outrage.
Despite the fact that almost all writers use AI in some form, whether for plot and character ideas, research, grammar and style checking, or simply as a creative stimulus.
Special guest: Dr David Link - more speakers to be announced soon.
Whether you are an artist, curator, collector, or simply curious about our evolving creative landscape, this Zoom-only session offers essential perspectives on thoughtfully integrating AI into creative practice while preserving the human values at the heart of artistic expression.
About the Host
Geoff Davis is an artist, PEN-published writer and CAS Committee member with a practice spanning four decades, from early text generation and computer art in the 1980s to contemporary AI-assisted works, along with novels and music. He is the editor of the AI Creative Anthology series (2023, 2024, 2026) and has hosted a series of AI and the Arts panel talks for the Computer Arts Society.
Davis is a researcher at UAL examining text generators, their practical use, and the emotional dimensions of both the user response and the tool itself — including sycophancy and what he terms 'mood bias'. His first Story Generator, written and released by Micro Arts in 1985 and distributed via the Prestel network, has been exhibited internationally from 1985 to 2025, and was described by curator Georg Bak as 'an early precursor of ChatGPT'. Davis also created pioneering Pixel art and Glitch art in 1984, and an animation responding to Valerie Solanas's SCUM Manifesto, exploring themes of Universal Basic Income, which he returns to in Pattern City, a novel due 2026. His art is in many international collections.
More information at linktr.ee/GeoffDavis
About the Speakers
Dr David Link, born in Düsseldorf in 1971. Artist, media theorist and programmer. Lives and works in Cologne, Germany.
His artistic works are shown at festivals and in museums worldwide. Exhibitions (selection): Arnolfini, Bristol, UK (2010); dOCUMENTA 13, Kassel (2012); Microwave Festival, Hong Kong (2012); YCAM, Yamaguchi, Japan (2013); ZKM, Karlsruhe (2015, 2018, 2019-2022); CCCB, Barcelona, Spain (2016); Manchester Art Gallery, UK (2016); MAK, Vienna, Austria (2019); Crone Gallery Wien Berlin (2021, 2022); Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art, China (2023).
His theoretical work can be found in: David Link, Archaeology of Algorithmic Artefacts (Minneapolis: Univocal, 2016). In 2024, he published Pandaemonium, a 300-page poem, entirely computer-generated (Berlin: Matthes and Seitz, 2024, in German).
More information: Dr. David Link
https://alpha60.de
Will authors soon be dining at Greggs? Image from SCUM Manifesto animation (Micro Arts, 1984) / Artificial Vandalism series (2025).
Eventbrite booking soon — Zoom only
Our next talk is Genetic Moo Talk and Exhibition on Tues. 16th June.
Visit Events for all Events and Exhibitions.
Image credits: Geoff Davis: Stills from AI Creative Anthology 3, 2026. Top image: From 'Micro Man' series (2024).