V4 Symposium on the Cultural Impact of AI
Date
September 12, 2025
Venue
Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME), Budapest
The V4 Symposium on the Cultural Impact of AI brings together researchers and practitioners from Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic to explore how artificial intelligence is transforming cultural content production, representation of cultural heritage, and policy regarding technology.

Funded by the International Visegrad Fund and hosted by Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME), the symposium features eight regional expert presentations and a concluding panel on the politics of AI.

This interdisciplinary academic event fosters dialogue across borders to shape culturally informed AI platforms in the Visegrad region. 

Symposium Overview

 

This interdisciplinary symposium convenes scholars and practitioners from Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic to examine how artificial intelligence is reshaping cultural content production, heritage representation, and policy-making in Central Europe. Featuring keynote lectures, regional case studies, and a concluding panel, the program promotes cross-border dialogue aimed at fostering culturally informed and ethically grounded AI frameworks in the Visegrad region. 

 

Speakers

Speakers

Welcome Remarks by Professor Balázs Püspök, Vice-Rector of Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, and Dr. Brigitta Iványi-Bitter, Initiator of the Symposium and Lead Researcher of the AI & Cultural Heritage Project.

Presentation Title

Abstract

Chair: Dr. Brigitta Ivanyi-Bitter (MOME, HU) 
Co-Chair during keynote: Dr. Anna Keszeg (MOME, HU) 

09:15–09:55 | Prof. Dr. habil. Arkadiusz Marcinkowski (Academy of Fine Arts, Banská Bystrica, SL) 

Presentation Title

AI Beyond Image: How Generative Cinema Sees – and Misses – the Culture of the V4 

Abstract

The presentation introduces AI Beyond Image – an international, traveling festival of films created with artificial intelligence. Drawing on examples from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary,  Marcinkowski explores how generative tools reflect or distort our region’s visual and narrative heritage, and highlights the absence of V4 languages and cultural codes in AI datasets. The talk concludes with reflections on how to strengthen the V4’s presence in global AI systems. 

09:55–10:35 | Dr. Brigitta Ivanyi-Bitter PhD (MOME, HU) — Keynote 

Presentation Title

Distorted by Design: A Critical Inquiry into AI’s Cultural Hallucinations of Central Europe 

Abstract

This keynote critically examines how AI systems hallucinate cultural images of Central Europe, often distorting historical references and visual heritage. Iványi-Bitter draws from empirical experiments and regional datasets to show how algorithmic creativity rooted in non-representative data erases local narratives. The presentation calls for culturally grounded AI development that interrogates not only what AI shows, but why and for whom. 

10:35-10:50 Coffee Break

10:50–11:30 | Dr. Alžbeta Kuchtová (Slovak Academy of Sciences, SL) 

Presentation Title

Digital Art Space as a Tool of Poietic Resistance or a Censorship Device?

Abstract

This presentation examines how AI and digital media influence art creation in the Roma and queer art scenes in Slovakia. Kuchtová interrogates whether AI tools counteract or replicate cultural censorship and exclusion, exploring both their emancipatory and repressive potential. 

11:30–12:10 | Dr. habil Ania Malinowska (University of Silesia, PL)

Presentation Title

AI Assimilationism: The Cultural Flattening of Localities in Generative Models 

Abstract

Malinowska explores AI assimilationism—how generative models absorb local cultural content into dominant, often Western-centric, aesthetics. Using examples from marginalized identities and regions, she warns of the 'ghetto effect' and proposes multilingual, grassroots alternatives for epistemic sovereignty. 

Buffet Lunch free of charge for all participants

Presentation Title

Abstract

Part 1 Chair: Dr. Brigitta Iványi-Bitter (MOME, HU)

Part 2 Chair: Dr. Ania Malinowska (University of Silesia, PL)

13:15–14:00 | Dr. habil. Anna Keszeg PhD (MOME, HU) 

Presentation Title

Slavic Beauty and the AI Gaze: A New Iron Curtain of Aesthetics? 

Abstract

This presentation investigates how AI-generated imagery constructs 'Slavic beauty' through racialized, gendered, and Western-centric aesthetics. Drawing on visual references from Romania and Hungary, Keszeg critiques how machine vision mirrors and reconstitutes global hierarchies. 

14:00–14:40 | Lukáš Zahor (Fameplay, Czech Video Center, CZ)
Invited (online) guest speaker: Zhuoer Chen, Enterprise Account Manager (HeyGen, LA, USA)

Presentation Title

From Local to Global: How AI Audio-Visual Technologies Scale Central European Content Worldwide

Abstract

Zahor presents Fameplay’s use of synthetic voices and digital avatars to scale Czech and regional content globally. Rather than homogenization, he argues AI can empower smaller producers to access international markets through automated translation and edutainment tools. 

14:40–15:00 Coffee break

15:00–15:40 | Katerina Markova, PhD Candidate, ( Univerzita Pardubice, Centre for Ethics as a Study in Human Value. CZ) 

Presentation Title

Work-in-progress: Are personalized AI tools making Central Europe vulnerable? 

Abstract

Large language models deliver efficiency and personalization, yet they also carry Global North values that may conflict with regional principles and distort human mental models. When profit-driven technological development meets personalization, collective vulnerabilities grow, and cultural diversity risks flattening into an average world. Through Czech-language experiments, I attempt to show how these systems can heighten the vulnerability of communities outside English-native cultures. I examine the role of the humanities in shaping culturally aware AI tools and outline how everyday people can contribute to this work.. 

15:40–16:20 | Dr. habil Michał Krzykawski (University of Silesia, PL) — Keynote address 

Presentation Title

AI Image Generation and the Cultural Logic of Computational Capitalism: East-Central European Perspectives 

Abstract

Krzykawski explores how AI disrupts artistic production and concentrates creative power, arguing that East-Central Europe’s semi-peripheral status limits representation. He advocates for dissident practices that resist assimilation by promoting regionally sustainable digital cultures. 

Moderator

Panelists

Themes to be discussed

Moderator

Dr. Brigitta Ivanyi-Bitter (MOME)

Panelists

All invited speakers

Themes to be discussed

- Towards Equitable Data Futures: Regional Strategies for Cultural AI Governance 
- Cross-border Cultural Strategies for Archiving and Representation 
- AI Policy for Small and Semi-Peripheral Countries 

Registration

Participation as a visitor is free of charge; however, prior
registration is required to attend.

Speakers

Lukas Zahor

Chief producer and Co-Founder @ Fameplay (Prague, CZ)

His work includes: video, film and series production, VOD platform building,  implementation of generative AI into traditional film and video making, online distribution on global and local platforms, talent scouting.

Zhuoer Chen

Enterprise Account Manager @ HeyGen (Los Angeles)

Lukas Zahor’s  guest speaker during his presentation
Mission-driven EdTech and AI innovator with 3+ years of experience helping customers harness generative AI to create engaging video content and elevate their storytelling. Passionate about transforming learning design, enhancing productivity, and inspiring creativity through the power of AI. 

Kateřina Marková

Kateřina Marková is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Ethics as Study in Human Value (CE) at the University of Pardubice. She is a PhD-level researcher at the Centre for Environmental and Technology Ethics – Prague (CETE–P), where, as part of the project “Human-centered AI for a Sustainable and Adaptive Society,” she researches the impact of digital content—curated through algorithms guided by the principle of profitability—on the autonomy of vulnerable individuals and their communities. Kateřina holds an MA in multimedia from the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto. She has over 15 years of experience as a designer in the tech industry. Her prior research focused on the management of personal data in connection with death, from ethical, environmental, and economic perspectives. 

Michał Krzykawski

Michał Krzykawski, PhD,  university professor in philosophy at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Silesia, Poland, where he heads the Centre for Critical Technology Studies. His research revolves around philosophy of technology, social ecology and political economy. Coordinator of the research field Social Framework for AI-Based Systems at Open Eyes Economy Hub, vice-president of the foundation Pracownia Współtwórcza (Contributory Lab), member of the Council of the National Programme for the Development of Humanities. Recently published works:  Bifurcate. “There is no Alternative”  (edited by Bernard Stiegler with the Internation Collective, Paris 2020, London 2021) and (in Polish)  The Economy and Entropy.  Overcoming the Polycrisis (co- edited with Jerzy Hausner, Warszawa 2023). 

Ania Malinowska

Ania Malinowska is a cultural theorist, writer, and Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland, where she co-directs the Centre for Critical Technology Studies. Her work focuses on technoculture, emotional semiotics, and the evolving entanglements between humans and machines. She probes speculative methods which interrogate the cultural imaginaries and ontological shifts introduced by intelligent machines. She is also co-developer of the artistic research project Hypnotic AI, which investigates machine sentience through hypnotic induction. Malinowska’s interdisciplinary practice spans critical writing, curatorial work, and experimental methodology, rethinking digital subjectivity, posthuman hermeneutics, and the interpretive challenge posed by nonhuman intelligence. 

Arkadiusz Marcinkowski

Professor Arkadiusz Marcinkowski is a renowned artist and educator. He specializes in digital graphics using artificial intelligence, video art, graphic design, painting, and spatial activities. His works are a testament to his constant exploration of new forms of expression. His artistic portfolio includes dozens of exhibitions in graphics and easel painting. He has participated in numerous exhibitions, particularly in Japan, where he travels annually to present his works in prestigious galleries.
In 2023 he completed a research internship at the University of Cambridge in the UK. He is a member and advisor of the China-Korea Idea Design Association and C-IDEA China International Design Educator Association.  

Alžbeta Kuchtová

Alžbeta Kuchtová is a researcher at the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Institute of Philosophy in Bratislava, Slovakia. She focuses on French Philosophy and Phenomenology, Environmental Philosophy, Posthumanism, Philosophy of Technology and Post-Soviet Feminism. She works on translations (E. Levinas, J. Derrida) from French to Slovak. She is the author of The Ungraspable as a Philosophical Problem (Brill, 2024) and the co-editor of  Repenser la logique du vivant après Jacques Derrida  (Paris, Hermann 2024), her latest publications include:  La radicalité du manger (2024) inJournal of French and Francophone Philosophy, The Incalculability of Generated Text (2024),  in Philosophy&Technology, Humanity as a New Image of the Divine Absoluteness (2023) in Brill. 

Dr. Brigitta Iványi-Bitter

Dr. Brigitta Iványi-Bitter is an art historian, cultural studies scholar, and legal expert whose interdisciplinary career bridges academic research, digital innovation, and heritage practice. As Principal Investigator of the project “Impact of AI on preserving the cultural heritage of low-resource languages”, she leads a pioneering research project advancing cultural and linguistic equity in image-generating AI systems. Holding a PhD in Film, Media, and Cultural Studies and MAs in Law and Political Science as well as in Art History, she is uniquely positioned to address the ethical, representational, and legal dimensions of cultural data and artificial intelligence.  

Anna Keszeg

Anna Keszegna Keszeg is an Associate Professor at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, where she also leads the Heritage in Motion Lab. With a background in the humanities (literature, philosophy, history), her research focuses on visual culture and fashion studies, particularly through the lens of popular geopolitics. Her most recent book, published in Hungarian, explores the transmedia strategies of the fashion industry. She has contributed to a range of international journals, such as European Review, Journal of European Popular Culture, Fashion Highlights Journal, etc.

The project is co-financed by the governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from the International Visegrad Fund. The mission of the fund is to advance ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe.