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Entertainment
Jun 08, 2026
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AI Won’t Decimate the Arts – Collaboration Over Catastrophe at the Royal Opera’s RBO/SHIFT Festival

AI Summary
The Guardian argues that AI will not destroy the arts but can enrich them, using the Royal Opera’s RBO/SHIFT festival as a testing ground. It highlights practical AI uses in opera production and stresses ethical, creative, and future‑focused collaboration.

Opening: AI’s Role in the Arts Reexamined

Amid widespread alarm that artificial intelligence might decimate creative fields, the Royal Opera’s associate director Netia Jones argues for a more nuanced view: AI should be interrogated, regulated, and ultimately partnered with, rather than feared.

RBO/SHIFT Festival Puts AI at the Heart of Opera

The upcoming RBO/SHIFT festival (4‑7 June, Linbury Theatre, London) is designed to explore every facet of AI in the performing arts. By bringing together composers, coders, scholars and performers, the festival asks two core questions: what can AI do for creatives, and what can creatives do for the world in the age of AI.

Quantifying AI’s Operational Benefits in Opera Production

  • AI‑driven scheduling and workforce planning streamline rehearsal timetables.
  • Machine‑learning analysis of scenery loads improves safety on stage.
  • AI‑enhanced pre‑visualisation reduces waste in set‑building and costume design, allowing 3‑D fitting of costume sketches.
  • Voice‑synthesis tools, such as those used in the piece “Transference,” expand vocal possibilities without replacing singers.

How AI Could Reshape Creative Practice and Ethical Standards

Beyond efficiency, AI raises profound questions about ownership, consent, and the use of performers’ likenesses. While the technology can generate works “in the style of” historic playwrights like Molière, the article stresses that true artistic disruption comes from new forms of collaboration, not mere imitation. Ethical safeguards, legislation, and transparent attribution are deemed essential to protect creators.

Future Outlook: Collaboration as the New Norm for AI in the Arts

As AI becomes embedded in every stage of opera production, the expectation is not a replacement of human talent but an augmentation that deepens artistic inquiry. The article concludes that, rather than eroding cultural value, AI may compel audiences and institutions to cherish, protect, and innovate within the arts more vigorously than ever before.