OpenAI Forum to host virtual session on artists and AI image tools

AICreative Arts

6 Jul

Eric B. Zhou, a recent Boston University PhD graduate, will discuss research on how artists use text-to-image systems to test ideas, refine work and curate outputs.

***OpenAI Forum will host a virtual conversation with Eric B. Zhou on how AI image tools are affecting the creative process.***

OpenAI Forum will host a virtual conversation on July 9 with Eric B. Zhou, a recent Boston University PhD graduate, focused on how AI image generation tools are affecting the creative process for artists and other creators.

OpenAI Global Affairs announced the session in a LinkedIn post, describing the event as a discussion on how text-to-image tools can help artists explore ideas, test more options and refine their work.

The session, titled Artists and AI: Expanding the Creative Process, is scheduled for Thursday, July 9.

Zhou recently earned a PhD in Information Systems from Boston University. His research focuses on how generative AI affects human behavior and labor market dynamics in the creative economy, as well as platform policy, AI usage and data governance.

OpenAI Global Affairs said the discussion will cover how image-generation tools may lower barriers to entry for creative work. The supplied material did not include registration details, participation limits or whether a recording will be available after the session.

Research focus

OpenAI Global Affairs said Zhou’s research looks at how artists use text-to-image systems to try more options, refine ideas and curate their work.

The event description says: “AI is changing creative work in more interesting ways than the usual automation story allows.”

The session will also address where human judgment remains central in AI-supported creative work. According to the event description, the conversation will cover “where AI can give creators more room to experiment, where human taste and judgment still matter most, and what it would take for new tools to widen participation without flattening creative voices.”

Zhou’s academic background includes a PhD from Boston University, an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University and master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Washington University in St. Louis.

Zhou is a social scientist studying how generative AI reshapes human behavior and labor markets in the creative economy. His research also covers the effectiveness of platform policy interventions linked to AI usage and data governance. The biography says his work aims to identify “prescriptive solutions that address the structural and regulatory challenges of AI disruption in the arts.”

Before his academic work, Zhou worked as a machine learning contractor and in marketing analytics, including roles with Angel Flight West and Nielsen.