On the evening of June 1st, the event "AIGC Night: The Newborn of Humans and AI”, co-hosted by the Shanghai AI-Finance School and the School of Economics and Management at ECNU, and co-organized by the ECNU’s Singularity Institute, was held on the green lawn in front of the Alumni House. The event welcomed the presence of university leadership and distinguished scholars, including Prof. Xuhong Qian, President of ECNU and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; Mr. Guoqiang Han, Party Secretary and President of the Shanghai Branch of the Agricultural Bank of China; Prof. Shijun Tong, Chancellor of NYU Shanghai; Prof. Zhongjie Meng, Vice Chair of the University Council at ECNU; Prof. Chengqi Zhang, Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Technology Sydney; Mr. Qiang Wu, Member of the Standing Committee and Minister of Publicity of the Hongkou District Committee; Mrs. Pin Bian, Deputy Minister of Publicity and Director of the Cyberspace Administration of the Hongkou District Committee; Prof. Max Tegmark, Professor at MIT and the President of the Future of Life Institute; Mr. Brian Tse , the Policy Affiliate at the Centre for the Governance of AI, Oxford University and the CEO of Concordia AI; Mrs. Qi Liu, the Executive Vice Minister of the Publicity Department of ECNU; Prof. Hexiang Xing, Executive Dean of the Industrial Technology Research Institute; Prof. Desheng Yin, Dean of the School of Economics and Management at ECNU; Prof. Yilei Shao, Dean of Shanghai AI-Finance School; Prof. Guanjun Wu, Dean of the School of Political Science and International Relations; Prof. Jian Mao, a renowned contemporary film researcher and professor at the School of International Chinese Studies at ECNU; Prof. Feng Yan, Professor at the Chinese Department of Fudan University and Editor-in-Chief of Science Magazine "New Discovery"; Mrs. Yueting Wang, Vice President of Midjourney in Asia; Mr. Wei Zhang, Founder of Xinshixiang; as well as AIGC artists and representatives from the faculty and students of ECNU. The event was hosted by Mrs. Zijia Xu from Shanghai People's Radio Station.
AIGC (Artificial Intelligence Generated Content) is a major branch of AI with broad applications, gradually transforming traditional content creation, production, and distribution methods. The AI art, as a significant form of AIGC application, merges the emotional and intellectual essence of humanity with AI, heralding a new era of creative innovation. The AI art expands the boundaries of traditional art, offering new perspectives and ways of thinking, and demonstrating immense potential in art creation, scientific research, and economic development. As an important part of the first academic annual conference of the SAIFS, the "AIGC Night" event further explored innovative AI applications, continuing the interdisciplinary exchange and collision between technology and humanities.
Prof. Zhongjie Meng delivered the opening speech.
In the opening speech, Prof. Zhongjie Meng emphasized ECNU's commitment to nurturing a new generation of cross-disciplinary talents with innovative capabilities, international perspectives, and social responsibility. He highlighted the university's active exploration in promoting education, research, and practice across fields such as AI, finance, art, and literature, aligning with national and regional high-quality development needs. He expressed the hope that through events like "AIGC Night," a platform for openness, diversity, and innovation would be established, becoming a crucial vehicle for deep interdisciplinary integration of AI within the university.
Prof. Yilei Shao officially launched the AIGC night.
The ECNU student Qingchuan Liu presented the AIGC creations.
Prof. Yilei Shao, the Dean of SAIFS, officially announced the commencement of "AIGC Night". A student representative and AIGC artists shared how they used algorithms to generate patterns, colors, melodies, and other elements, integrating AIGC technology into their artistic creations. A series of art pieces showcased the innovative fusion of AI technology with traditional art forms, highlighting AI's growing role in art creation.
Mrs. Yueting Wang and the ECNU student Qingchuan Liu
During the live discussion segment, Mrs. Yueting Wang, along with Qingchuan Liu, an undergraduate student at ECNU, and high-level AIGC creators Xuxin Zheng (ID: 二金) and Zehong Li (ID: 八月初DMNK), discussed the current state and future of AI art from the perspective of artificial intelligence. They explored how AI technology, based on large language models, collaborates with humans to create AIGC works that convey artistic concepts. The discussion underscored how AI art creation will continue to evolve, enriching both creators and audiences' spiritual worlds and inspiring broader public creativity and imagination through AI tools.
(AIGC Creations: "AI at ECNU")
The event also featured a real-time AIGC creation competition. Six high-level AIGC creators, Ziyue Xu (ID: STEAMCHI蒸汽姬), Xingren Chen (ID: 麦橘MERJIC), Shen Wei (ID: 猫叔), Huiling Chen (ID: 陈慧凌), Yu Jin (ID: 酒鬼橋-BoozerBridge), Jia Liu (ID: 南墙_Rylee) were given prompts such as "The Taste of Time", "A Thousand Students Eating Lollipops", "Goodbye to Homo Sapiens", "Love ‘AI’ at ECNU", and "01". They engaged in prompt challenges and timed creations, with their processes and results displayed to the live audience, demonstrating the immediacy and interactivity of AI in art creation. Each creator presented their text-to-image works, imbuing natural language with new perspectives through AI technology, conveying human interpretations of art. Prof. Feng Yan, Prof. Guanjun Wu, Prof. Jian Mao, and Prof. Yilei Shao provided conceptual analyses and critiques of the creators' works.
The Roundtable Forum: "What is AIGC Art?"
The interdisciplinary roundtable forum centered on the question, "What is AIGC Art?" Panelists included Prof. Yilei Shao, Prof. Guanjun Wu, Prof. Jian Mao, Prof. Feng Yan, Mr. Wei Zhang, and Mrs. Yueting Wang. They delved into the definition, value, and future trends of AI art. Prof. Yilei Shao highlighted how art infuses technology with soul, adding warmth and emotion to algorithms and data, while AIGC offers endless possibilities. Prof. Guanjun Wu discussed how AI helps artists break traditional creative limitations, achieving bolder and more innovative artistic expressions. Prof. Feng Yan emphasized the authorship aspect of AIGC, changing perceptions of art creation and requiring human collaboration. Prof. Jian Mao pointed out that AI creation, free from traditional art rules, can produce unique artistic styles with high innovation. Mr. Wei Zhang noted that AIGC is fundamentally human made, with art being the result of active human creation, and the boundaries of AI art should be judged by human involvement. Mrs. Yueting Wang stressed the importance of the creative process in the AI era.
Prof. Yilei Shao
Prof. Feng Yan
Prof. Guanjun Wu
Prof. Jian Mao
Designated as the inaugural year of AI art in 2024, ECNU stands at the forefront of AI and art integration, witnessing the innovative development of technology and humanities. The university will further integrate resources through its three major projects: "Excellent Education," "Excellent Academia," and "Excellent Service," actively promoting interdisciplinary development involving AI with arts, literature, economics, and finance. This event, strongly supported by the Shanghai Branch of the Agricultural Bank of China, contributes new momentum to the national "AI+" fields, including AI art and AI finance.
Sources: Shanghai AI-Finance School,
School of Economics and Management, ECNU
