radio/podcast series Confirm Humanity Part 2

Art, Culture, and AI: Featuring Christine Bauer

The fifth and final episode of Confirm Humanity – Epochenbruch on Freies Radio Salzkammergut (editorial, production, and moderation: Mario Friedwagner) explores how AI is shaping art and culture. EXDIGIT researcher Christine Bauer contributes insights from the music sector, focusing on recommender systems, fairness, and the societal impact of AI. The episode highlights how these technologies interact with creative practices and raise questions about fairness, intellectual property, and societal impact. First broadcast on 19 December 2025.

Key Topics
Drawing on her research, Christine Bauer discusses:
• Artist responses to generative AI: from experimentation to cautious adoption or rejection – reflecting different conditions across genres and roles
• Authorship and accountability: questions about data use, authorship, and accountability in AI-mediated creative workflows
• Recommender systems in music: how algorithms affect visibility, audience reach, and value creation across genres and markets
She highlights the potential for AI to either reinforce existing inequalities or foster more inclusive, human-centered approaches – underscoring the relevance and impact of her research on fairness in algorithmic decision-making.
Furthermore, she offers insights from the music sector, describing a climate of uncertainty regarding generative AI. She observes diverse responses from artists: some experiment with AI, some cautiously adopt it, and others reject it – reflecting differing conditions across creative fields where generative AI affects groups unevenly.

The episode also includes contributions from:
• Magdalena Reiter (Kulturplattform Oberösterreich) on remix culture and practical uses of AI in cultural work,
• Matthias Wieser (University of Klagenfurt; UNIKUM) on artistic experimentation and theater as a laboratory,
• Manuela Naveau (Kunstuniversität Linz) on critical interventions in public space,
• Philipp Homar (WU Wien) on copyright and clarity about licensing, and
• Clemens Appl (University for Continuing Education Krems) on centering copyright on human creators.

Interdisciplinary Perspectives
The episode situates AI within broader debates about society, culture, and technology. It shows that engagement with AI in the cultural field extends beyond artistic output, affecting administrative workflows, accessibility, professionalism, and frameworks. In this sense, the episode emphasizes that importance of cultural perspectives in shaping how AI technologies are understood and integrated into society.

Listen to the episode: Confirm Humanity – Kunst, Kultur und Künstliche Intelligenz (Teil 5) (in German)
Series context: Confirm Humanity – Epochenbruch, Freies Radio Salzkammergut