The second ITL Fonts & AI Conference is happening online in October at a moment when AI’s existential flame is at a high. Nadine Chahine, one of six curators, explains, “We do see within our community some strong anti-AI sentiment, and we certainly get why that is. We share most of that concern ourselves. Our approach is that we need to understand it in order to survive what comes next.”

I asked Chahine to tell us more about whether the type field is burning, simmering or simply transforming.

Should type-makers-creators be nervous, scared or excited? And what must they do to prepare for the inevitable?
We want to spread knowledge and critical analysis of the risks and challenges around AI adoption. People can then decide how they want to handle this from a position of knowledge and not ignorance. There’s so much development it’s hard to keep track, so hopefully this conference will help people stay on top of what is happening even if they do not wish to touch AI at all terms of impact.

How will type and aesthetics change, if at all?
There is a tendency to reduce AI to AI-generated fonts, but this is only one way AI is impacting the industry. On that front, current technology is still sloppy, and we will be test-driving the various platforms in order to best understand where things lie. However, AI is already in the tools designers are using, and it’s likely that its role as a design or production assistant will grow even more in time.

What do you want to achieve?
My own feeling is maybe 10% excitement, 20% nervousness and 70% existential dread. People will react differently, and it all depends on where and how they use AI. However, we as a community need to adopt red lines around how we use AI and be transparent in how we use it. I have drawn these lines for myself, and on the final panel of the conference we’ll be discussing how others draw them, too.

For information about themes, speakers and schedule, click here. The conference will launch at 3 p.m. U.K. time on Oct. 8, and 1 p.m. U.K. time on Oct. 9 and 10.