Artificial intelligence is often framed in terms of disruption. In Abu Dhabi, the focus is increasingly on integration.
For James Gerde, the distinction became clear during his time in the emirate as part of an AI-focused arts fellowship. The Seattle filmmaker, whose work blends motion capture with AI-driven visual transformation, says he found an environment that pairs technical ambition with cultural intent.
“It’s a big breath of fresh air,” he tells The National. “To be able to come out to a place that is so gung-ho about technological advancement, but also thinking about how it connects to art and history, is incredible.”
Gerde is among a cohort of artists and technologists exploring the implications of artificial intelligence through the AI x Arts Fellowship, a year-long programme at Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence that combines technical experimentation with philosophical discussion and cultural immersion.
Participants spend time in Abu Dhabi working alongside researchers, engaging with institutions and developing projects that respond to the rapid structural changes shaping contemporary life.
For Gerde, whose work sits at the intersection of filmmaking, motion capture and AI, the experience offered something distinct from what he has encountered in the US.
“I come from Seattle, where there’s a lot of tech,” he says. “But it’s not really from the ground up in the same way, where people are pushing boundaries and trying to make new things in an open, exploratory way.”
A key difference, he argues, is the level of alignment across sectors. “The whole country’s behind it. 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.”
That approach was evident throughout the fellowship, which places as much emphasis on cultural dialogue as it does on technical development. Alongside time spent at MBZUAI, fellows are introduced to institutions across the emirate, from Louvre Abu Dhabi to the Zayed National Museum and immersive art spaces such as teamLabs.
“The point wasn’t just to experience the culture,” Gerde says. “It was to ask: how can we use this technology to tell these stories in a meaningful way?”
For an artist whose work is rooted in movement and abstraction, that question aligns closely with his own practice. Gerde began his career in film, shooting music videos and working in live events before encountering early open-source AI tools.
“I start with real motion,” he explains. “That’s the base of everything. Then I built a scene around it. The AI comes in at the end, mostly to retexture and reshape what’s already there.”
The results often feature figures that appear to be made of water, paper or organic materials, moving in carefully constructed digital spaces. Despite the technology involved, Gerde describes the process as deeply intentional and established in traditional filmmaking techniques.
“I use a lot of the same compositing and VFX pipeline,” he says. “The difference is that the AI becomes the final step to achieve the look.”
Much of his work focuses on dance, particularly ballet and contemporary forms, which he sees as a universal language.
“Dance is such an expressive form of movement,” he says. “People from any background can look at it and understand something. I try to create work that feels calm and accessible, especially at a time when there’s so much overwhelming content online.”
That sense of balance also informs his views on the wider debate around AI and creativity, which has become increasingly polarised.
“There’s always pushback when a new medium comes in,” he says. “Art naturally creates conversation. Not everyone is going to like it.”
He believes much of the resistance stems from 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.”
At the same time, he acknowledges concerns around authorship and compensation, particularly when it comes to training data and the use of existing creative work.
“People should be paid for what they do,” he says. “But I think it’s important to separate that from the idea of art itself. People have always created to express something, not just for profit.”
For Gerde, one of the most valuable aspects of the Abu Dhabi fellowship was the opportunity to engage with these questions in a structured, interdisciplinary environment. The programme encourages fellows to experiment with emerging tools while also participating in discussions about their social and ethical implications.
It also places a strong emphasis on public engagement, with participants contributing to talks, workshops and collaborations across the city’s cultural ecosystem.
That outward-facing approach reflects a broader ambition to integrate AI into everyday life, not only as a specialist tool, but as a widely understood and accessible technology.
“We’re still at a stage where a lot of people might know something like ChatGPT, but they don’t really know how to use it in their daily lives,” Gerde says.
He expects that to change as education systems adapt. “We’ll start to see AI literacy taught in schools; the same way digital literacy was. The next generation will grow up with it from the beginning.”
Concerns around misinformation and synthetic media remain part of the conversation, particularly as AI-generated images and video become more convincing. Gerde points to ongoing efforts such as watermarking and metadata tracking but suggests that public awareness will be just as important.
“Right now, most AI content is still identifiable if you know what to look for,” he says. “Over time, people will get better at recognising what’s real and what isn’t.”
It is a perspective shaped by both optimism and pragmatism, one that sees AI not as a replacement for creative practice, but as an extension of it.
“It’s not about replacing anything,” he says. “It’s about bringing everything together. Technology, art, history, culture. That’s where it gets interesting.”
