AI and Creativity

Saïd Business School via Coursera

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Provider

Coursera
Pricing

Paid Course
Languages

English
Certificate

Paid Certificate Available
Duration & workload

15 hours 4 minutes
Sessions

Self-Paced
Level

Intermediate
Subtitles

English

Found in

Overview

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Build your subject-matter expertise This course is part of the AI in Media specialisation. When you enrol in this course; you'll also be enrolled in this Specialisation. ● Learn new concepts from industry experts ● Gain a foundational understanding of modern strategic tools ● Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on scenario-based projects ● Earn a shareable career certificate About this Course Generative AI represents a communications revolution on par with the printing press or the internet. This course provides a deep dive into how large language models are transforming the creative process; offering creators a 'factory in the sky' that enables rapid; scalable content production. You will explore the mechanics of how these models work—predicting the next token through vast statistical patterns—and learn to use them to generate high-quality text; imagery; video and music. Beyond the tools; you will engage with the philosophical questions at the heart of the industry: Can a machine truly innovate? Does 'stochasticity' represent a new form of creativity? By the end of this course; you will understand how to harness AI as a creative partner; beating the bot to produce 'luxury' human-made content in an age of automated 'slop'. What you'll learn ● Explain the fundamental architecture of generative AI and Large Language Models, including the processes of tokenisation, vectorisation and next-character prediction. ● Apply a variety of generative tools to create diverse media assets, including high-fidelity images, synthetic video, audio and dynamic game environments. ● Analyse the philosophical and strategic debate regarding machine creativity, using the concepts of stochasticity and 'temperature' to distinguish between algorithmic remixing and original human vision. ● Assess strategic models for organisational 'self-disruption' that balance the adoption of generative efficiencies with the preservation of human-led creative excellence.

Syllabus

Specialisation Introduction: AI in Media

This specialisation equips media professionals and business leaders with a comprehensive understanding of how AI is transforming the media industry. Across three interconnected courses, you'll explore the recommendation algorithms powering platforms like Netflix and YouTube, examine the capabilities and limitations of generative AI tools and develop practical strategies for integrating AI into media workflows responsibly. You'll critically assess both opportunities and risks, including copyright complexities, bias mitigation, disinformation threats and compliance requirements. Designed at Oxford Saïd Business School, this series prepares you to navigate the evolving media landscape, build AI-informed strategies and harness these technologies to drive innovation whilst maintaining ethical and legal standards. Please note that this introductory module is common to all courses in the AI in Media specialisation. If you have already studied the 'AI and Content Recommendation' and 'AI and Production' courses courses, you can skip this section, unless you find a recap useful.

Course Introduction: AI and Creativity

Generative AI is redefining the boundaries of human expression, transforming how media content is conceived, developed and delivered. In this course, you will explore the mechanisms behind Large Language Models (LLMs) and their role as a 'factory in the sky' for the rapid generation of text, imagery, video and immersive game worlds. You will analyse the creative opportunities and industrial disruptions posed by synthetic media, examining how professionals can navigate the shift from manual workflows to AI-augmented production. By exploring the concept of stochasticity and the debate around machine 'originality', you will learn how to strategically integrate these tools whilst maintaining the unique value of human empathy and creative vision.

Basics of Generative AI

Generative Al represents a seismic shift in the communications landscape, comparable to the invention of the printing press or the internet. In this module, you'll go beyond the hype to understand the structural hierarchy of the technology, distinguishing between Machine Learning, Deep Learning and Generative Al. You will explore the mechanics of Large Language Models (LLMs), demystifying how they use tokenisation and statistical probability to replicate human-like creativity. Finally, you will analyse the concept of the 'AI factory'—a new industrial paradigm that allows smaller organisations to compete with legacy players by generating vast value from cloud-based intelligence.

Generative AI Creative Tools: Part 1

In this module, you'll explore the rapidly evolving landscape of generative Al tools that are redefining how media professionals create content. You'll examine the specific capabilities, underlying mechanisms and ethical considerations of the leading models currently shaping image generation, video production and game world creation.

Generative AI Creative Tools: Part 2

Generative AI is not merely a technological upgrade but a fundamental shift that demands a strategic response from media professionals. In this module, you will explore the commercial inevitability of AI adoption and why excessive compliance can paradoxically increase business risk. You will also examine the philosophical debate surrounding machine creativity—analysing whether AI can truly originate or merely remix—and consider how human-created content is evolving into a premium 'luxury' asset in an automated landscape.

Practical Applications in Media of Gen AI

While Generative AI is often viewed solely as a tool for content creation, its strategic applications in the media industry extend far beyond simple output generation. In this module, you will explore how organisations utilise Large Language Models (LLMs) not just to produce content, but as creative benchmarks to elevate human standards and challenge teams to 'beat the bot'. We will examine the paradox of 'earned media', analysing how the mere presence of AI in advertising can drive virality and conversation. Furthermore, we will investigate the coexistence of synthetic media and the booming 'in real life' (IRL) economy, the complexities of AI in the music industry, and the critical role of human soft skills in ensuring career resilience in an automated future.

Course Conclusion

This final module consolidates your learning from across the course, summarising how generative AI tools emerging since late 2022 have revolutionised the creation of text, image, video, music and video games and exploring both the philosophical questions and business challenges posed by developments such as camera-less video production and synthetic actors. Finally, you will apply your knowledge through a peer-reviewed assignment that challenges you to develop AI implementation strategies for a TV production company—first to integrate AI across the professional production workflow, and second to compete with AI-empowered independent creators—while considering the impact on employment roles.