Most industry discussions about AI have focused considerable energy on whether AI is a threat or an opportunity, a tool or a menace—or headed straight into boosterism. Meanwhile, the actual terms of its integration into documentary workflow are being set without us: in editing suites, in platform algorithms, and in the compute infrastructure being built on extracted data and contested labor. For the past year, Kat Cizek (MIT Co-Creation Studio) and shirin anlen (WITNESS) have been tracking these developments through a monthly column in Documentary magazine and as part of the steering committee of the AI + Documentary Working Group. In this session, Cizek and anlen will present two case studies of AI in recent documentary practice, map the emerging field of movement-building in response to the AI industrial complex (from open-source alternatives to grassroots resistance against the environmental costs of data centers), and open the conversation to panelists working at the intersection of AI, documentary, and advocacy beyond North America. This panel conversation is paired with a workshop ("AI Tools for Documentary Production") facilitated by Jorge Caballero and Anna Giralt Gris, which will demonstrate how documentarians can use AI to create research, investigative, and workflow tools that work for us, by us. Conferencegoers are encouraged to attend both if they're interested in the practical and ethical applications of AI. Moderator: Kat Cizek (MIT Co-Creation Studio)Panelists: shirin anlen (WITNESS), Anna Giralt Gris (Artefacto), and more TBA

Past the Panic: What Really Matters in AI and Documentary

Virtual Admission

Donation to {{name}}

Donate

Gift Cards

None available

Memberships

These are all the memberships tied to your account. Now, use our online schedule to reserve tickets. You can access your tickets via {{my_tickets_link|"My Tickets"}} or via the PDFs attached to each ticket order confirmation email. {{buy_membership_link|Looking to buy more memberships?}}

These are all the passes tied to your account. Now, use our online schedule to reserve tickets. You can access your tickets via {{my_tickets_link|"My Tickets"}} or via the PDFs attached to each ticket order confirmation email. {{buy_pass_link|Looking to buy more passes?}}

These are all your purchased tickets. Open this page on your phone, and at the door tap the "Show Barcode" button and show your screen to the attendant. Prefer paper? Print the PDF attached to the order confirmation email, or click one of the gears below and select "Download tickets PDF". If purchasing multiple tickets, be sure to print or show each unique ticket barcode.

All Access Pass

Passes

Explore our on-demand catalog here, and head over to the {{livestreams|Live Streams}} tab to see what's coming up.

Getting Real is a biennial conference designed for and by documentary practitioners and focused on the business and art of nonfiction storytelling. The sixth edition of Getting Real will celebrate a decade of what is now the largest peer-to-peer gathering of its kind in North America.

Here's what's coming up soon. Can't make it? No sweat. Many live streams will be available for on-demand viewing as well.