As the fall term comes to a close, we’re reflecting on all the incredible research that’s come out around creative labour and generative AI this year. Instead of our monthly researcher profile, we’re doing something a little different this month with a research profile. With so much scholarly attention, sometimes it’s difficult to cut through the noise. So, to round out the year, we’re highlighting 10 unmissable texts about AI and creative labour from 2025:

  1. Are, C., Briggs, P., & Brown, R. (2025). Content creators’ hopes and fears about artificial intelligence. Convergence, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565251372830
  2. Chateau, L., Arora, P., & Herman, L. (2025). Cross-cultural approaches to creative media content in the age of AI. Media, Culture & Society, 47(5), 1012–1027. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437251328188
  3. Chow, P.-S., & Celis Bueno, C. (2025). The cloak of creativity: AI imaginaries and creative labour in media production. European Journal of Cultural Studies. https://doi.org/10.1177/13675494251322991
  4. Goldenfein, J. (2025). Data or content? The conceptual battles defining dataset markets. Platforms & Society, 2. https://doi.org/10.1177/29768624251365617
  5. Grohmann, R., Rocha, A. C., & Guilherme, G. (2025). Worker-led AI governance: Hollywood writers’ strikes and the worker power. Information, Communication & Society, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2025.2521375
  6. Korbak, T., Balesni, M., Barnes, E., Bengio, Y., Benton, J., Bloom, J., Chen, M., Cooney, A., Dafoe, A., Dragan, A., Emmons, S., Evans, O., Farhi, D., Greenblatt, R., Hendrycks, D., Hobbhahn, M., Hubinger, E., Irving, G., Jenner, E., … Mikulik, V. (2025). Chain of Thought Monitorability: A New and Fragile Opportunity for AI Safety. https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2507.11473
  7. Lee, H.-K. (2024). Reflecting on cultural labour in the time of AI. Media, Culture & Society, 46(6), 1312–1323. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437241254320
  8. Öztaş, Y. E., & Arda, B. (2025). Re-evaluating creative labor in the age of artificial intelligence: a qualitative case study of creative workers’ perspectives on technological transformation in creative industries. AI & Society, 40(5), 4119–4130. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-025-02180-6
  9. Stilinovic, M., Bailo, F., & Hutchinson, J. (2025). Creative Underspheres and democratic challenges: Exploring the implications of generative AI misuse. New Media & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251338511
  10. Vainikka, E., Soronen, A., & Kallio, S.-M. (2025). Is prompt engineering the future of screenwriting? Views of professional screenwriters and commissioners about the impact of AI technologies on their profession. Critical Studies in Television, 20(1), 54–72. https://doi.org/10.1177/17496020241269277
CLCF

Admin

Creative Labour and Critical Futures (CLCF) project studies the potential for creative workers to generate transformative technological and social futures.