Abu Dhabi's AI Fellowship Treats Technology as a Tool for Storytelling, Not Disruption
James Gerde came to Abu Dhabi to make films with artificial intelligence. What he found was a city treating AI as something to be integrated into existing culture, not imposed on top of it.
The Seattle filmmaker, whose work blends motion capture with AI-driven visual transformation, spent a year in the emirate as part of the AI x Arts Fellowship at Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence. The programme pairs technical experimentation with cultural immersion and philosophical discussion.
"It's a big breath of fresh air," Gerde said. "To be able to come out to a place that is so focused on technological advancement, but also thinking about how it connects to art and history, is incredible."
A Different Approach to Technology
Gerde contrasts Abu Dhabi's strategy with what he encounters in the US tech sector. In Seattle, he said, technological development often happens in isolation from other sectors.
"The whole country's behind it," he said of Abu Dhabi. "The government's behind it. Everybody wants to see technological advancement and move into the future, but not in a way that forgets the past."
The fellowship reflects this philosophy. Fellows spend time at MBZUAI but also visit Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Zayed National Museum, and immersive art spaces. The goal is not tourism - it's asking how technology can tell cultural stories more effectively.
Gerde's own practice sits at the intersection of filmmaking and AI. He begins with real motion - dancers, athletes, or other movement - then builds scenes around it. AI enters at the final stage to retexture and reshape the footage, creating figures that appear to be made of water, paper, or organic materials.
"I use a lot of the same compositing and VFX pipeline," he said. "The difference is that the AI becomes the final step to achieve the look."
Addressing the Resistance
Gerde acknowledges the polarized debate around AI and creativity. He attributes much of the resistance to uncertainty rather than the technology itself.
"People see headlines about AI taking jobs or changing everything, and it can feel scary if you don't understand it," he said.
He does take concerns about authorship and compensation seriously. Training data often includes existing creative work, and artists should be paid for their contributions. But he separates that issue from whether artists should use AI as a tool.
"People have always created to express something, not just for profit," he said.
Building AI Literacy
Gerde expects AI literacy to become standard in schools the way digital literacy is now. Most people know ChatGPT exists but don't know how to use it in daily work.
"The next generation will grow up with it from the beginning," he said.
Concerns about synthetic media and misinformation remain valid. AI-generated images and video are becoming more convincing. But Gerde points to ongoing efforts around watermarking and metadata tracking, alongside public awareness.
"Right now, most AI content is still identifiable if you know what to look for," he said. "Over time, people will get better at recognising what's real and what isn't."
An Extension, Not a Replacement
For Gerde, the Abu Dhabi fellowship demonstrated how to position AI within creative practice. The programme encouraged experimentation with emerging tools while also discussing their social and ethical implications.
It also emphasized public engagement - fellows contributed to talks, workshops, and collaborations across the city's cultural ecosystem.
That outward-facing approach reflects a broader ambition: integrating AI into everyday life as a widely understood technology, not just a specialist tool.
"It's not about replacing anything," Gerde said. "It's about bringing everything together. Technology, art, history, culture. That's where it gets interesting."
For creatives exploring how to work with AI, his perspective offers a practical starting point: Learn how other artists and creators are using AI as a tool, and explore generative art techniques that extend rather than replace traditional practice.
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