Beyond the Hype: Stevens Symposium Charts Thoughtful Path Through AI's Creative Revolution

Artist Avital Meshi walked onto the stage at Stevens Institute of Technology wearing a small computer strapped to her wrist, connected to an earpiece. For months, she had lived with a GPT model whispering algorithmically generated phrases into her ear throughout her daily life. Now, in her performance GPT-ME, she invited the packed auditorium to witness this ongoing dialogue between human intuition and machine suggestion. The effect was both disorienting and intimate. Meshi admitted she could no longer identify where her own thoughts ended and the AI's began.

It was exactly the kind of unsettling, thought-provoking moment that defined Synthetic Narratives, a two-day symposium that brought leading international voices to Stevens to grapple with urgent questions: What happens to storytelling when human and machine authorship blur? How do we navigate the creative possibilities and ethical tensions of generative AI and immersive media?

"Standing in the packed auditorium as Synthetic Narratives began, I realized how far this conversation had come," said Jonah King, assistant professor in the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS), who co-organized the event with colleague Christopher Manzione. "What struck me most wasn't the technology itself, but the hunger for reflection."

A Space for Critical Thinking

In an era of breathless AI hype and apocalyptic warnings, Synthetic Narratives offered nuanced, interdisciplinary dialogue that acknowledged both promise and peril.

"I wanted to create a space where people could think deeply about what's happening right now — how AI is reshaping the creative process and what that means for artists, technologists and audiences alike," said Manzione, an associate professor in HASS at Stevens. "My hope was that this wouldn't just be another conference about technology, but one that felt human."

The symposium featured 11 AI-driven interactive and immersive artworks, a film festival of 17 generative AI films, four panel discussions and a closing keynote by philosopher David Chalmers of New York University. Speakers came from across the United States and abroad, including Camille Jeanjean, Cultural Attaché at the French Embassy and Program Director at Villa Albertine, who argued that "AI must serve culture, not the other way around."

Throughout the two days, certain themes emerged: AI isn't replacing human creativity, it's demanding new forms of literacy. The public doesn't need panic; it needs fluency.

"AI hasn't invented a crisis of truth, it's accelerating one that was already there," said Fred Grinstein, a media executive and consultant in synthetic media and provenance systems.

Angela Ferraiolo, professor of film at Sarah Lawrence College, proposed that the "morph" is replacing the cinematic cut, capturing how storytelling is becoming fluid, continuous and generative. Artist Thiago Hersan urged artists to engage directly with AI systems: "AI systems are black boxes. Artists must intervene to pierce their mystique."

The symposium closed with Chalmers drawing on the TV series Severance to explore consciousness and artificial intelligence. "Language models don't just give us answers," he said. "They force us to confront what it means to speak, to understand, and to exist alongside systems that simulate thought."

Where Technology Meets Humanity

The symposium exemplifies HASS’s mission to leverage tech-infused creativity to enhance human progress. At a technology-driven university like Stevens, the humanities program offers a crucial counterbalance, a space to question the tools shaping our world.

"The stories we tell through AI and XR will define how future generations imagine themselves," King said. "The task now is to ensure those stories remain expansive, ethical and deeply human."

By offering a 21st-century education powered by technology, HASS prepares students to combine technical skills with the ability to think critically, creatively and compassionately. The symposium demonstrated this approach in action.

"What struck me most was how open and collaborative everyone was," Manzione reflected. "Artists, researchers, students and industry professionals all came together to explore the same questions from different angles. There was this shared energy of discovery, and it felt like we were mapping new territory together."

By the end of the symposium, some of the most meaningful exchanges happened between sessions: artists comparing notes, forming collaborations and confessing uncertainty. Participants voiced concerns about climate impact, corporate dominance and labor precarity, while also celebrating new possibilities for expression and collaboration.

"I hoped people would leave feeling inspired, challenged, maybe even a little unsettled," Manzione said, "but ultimately more connected to the evolving story of what art and artificial intelligence can be."

About Synthetic Narratives

Synthetic Narratives: AI/XR + The Future of Storytelling was held October 24-25, 2025, at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. The symposium was co-led by Professors Jonah King and Christopher Manzione of the Visual Arts and Technology Program in the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. For more information, visit www.syntheticnarratives.com.