Morning, Thursday, 24th September 2026
Online
This conference will examine next steps for the development and deployment of creative technologies across the UK’s creative industries, including priorities for unlocking growth opportunities in the creative economy.
Bringing together stakeholders with policymakers, it takes place following publication of UKRI’s R&D strategy for the creative and cultural economy and announcement of £500m of funding in January 2026, continued implementation of the Government’s Creative Industries Sector Plan, and increased adoption of AI across content production, distribution, and commercialisation.
Regional growth and R&D investment
Looking at UKRI’s recommendations on CreaTech and supporting high growth creative-AI businesses, delegates will examine issues it identifies relating to funding pathways, IP and copyright frameworks, investment in CreaTech infrastructure, and co-ordinated approaches needed to support digital upskilling, creative education pathways and an inclusive CreaTech ecosystem. Further consideration will be given to options for supporting regional growth in relation to proposals within the Creative Industries Cluster Programme to expand place-based R&D investment and strengthen links between research organisations, creative businesses, and local economies.
Regulatory frameworks and innovation
While considering priorities for CreaTech development and deployment, delegates will examine safeguards and regulatory frameworks that may be needed alongside support for innovation following the Government’s decision not to introduce a text and data mining exemption for AI training. Delegates will discuss next steps for content production, licensing, and transparency, in the context of the Creative Content Exchange pilot, and its aim to develop a trusted marketplace for licensing digitised cultural and creative assets for AI use at scale. We also expect discussion on approaches to enabling lawful access to training data, including the role of public data infrastructure and institutions such as the UK Data Service and Office for National Statistics.
Next steps for technical standards, AI-generated content labelling, and digital replicas will also be considered, with government expected to engage further with industry following publication of the Report on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence.
AI deployment
Further sessions will assess the wider innovation landscape and application of AI in creative businesses, particularly the development of Small Language Models tailored to creative workflows, expansion of virtual production and immersive technologies, and growth of AI‑enabled licensing markets. Delegates will also look at how collective licensing schemes and public‑sector digitisation programmes can support responsible AI deployment, commercialisation of UK IP, and new revenue streams for creators and cultural institutions.
Overview of areas for discussion
- CreaTech strategy and growth:
- the Creative Industries Sector Plan - opportunities identified in UKRI’s Future avenues for CreaTech report - scaling a high-growth sector and strengthening the UK’s global position
- implementation of the UKRI R&D strategy for the creative and cultural economy - distribution of funding
- creative industries clusters and scale-up conditions:
- investment, infrastructure and skills requirements for cluster expansion
- role of UKRI, Arts and Humanities Research Council and public-sector innovation programmes
- access to finance, IP-backed lending and support for creative‑tech scale‑ups
- AI deployment in creative production:
- application in subsectors, including virtual production, games, design, publishing, music and immersive media
- emerging opportunities in Small Language Models and creative‑AI tooling
- supporting efficiency and creative workflows
- licensing, data access and commercialisation:
- implications of the Government’s Report on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence - next steps for labelling AI-generated content and personality rights
- development of the Creative Content Exchange pilot - implications for lawful AI training and monetisation of cultural assets
- growth of AI licensing markets and collective rights-management initiatives
- transparency, data provenance and technical standards
- skills and workforce development:
- training pathways for creative-AI roles - implications for education, industry partnerships and talent pipelines
- support for small firms and early-career creators adopting AI tools
