Used at
The Bentway
The organization
Brainstorming & ideas
for Arts & CultureThrowing prompts at a chatbot to get unstuck: themes for a grant, angles for a program, material ideas for an installation. Staff are clear it never produces the final product.
The tools
ChatGPT · Claude
The tools staff named
The system
The system drafts, and a person decides what to do next.
A person decidesData flow
a prompt and a half-formed idea
Generated content
early thinking, before it is shared with anyone
↓
variations, angles, themes
Language Models
↓
raw options to react to
Generated content
a seed staff and artists reshape
Risks staff flagged
Ideas that all sound alike
A model trained on everyone’s ideas pulls toward the average — a real tension for an organization whose value is human connection and original public art.
How it's managedIdeas are seeds, not selections: staff and artists make the creative calls.
AI in creative work — where do we stand?
Artists already send AI renderings, and AI imagery has already drawn public comment on a Bentway exhibition — the Bentway hasn’t yet said where it stands.
!No safeguard in place yet
Who it touches
Staff & artists shaping programs
Wider community
ideas that end up in public space
You can
Opting out is fine — no one is required to brainstorm with AI
Ask where an idea came from — AI-seeded concepts can always be identified as such
Questions or concerns — bring them to the Sept 2 workshop
What staff told us
4 staffHow oftenIn a typical month, how often do you use AI tools for work?
31
NeverRarelyA few times a monthA few times a weekDaily
Trust in own useWhen you use AI at work, how confident are you that you’re using it appropriately?
22
Not confidentRarely sureSometimes sureMostly sureAlways sure
Time saved / weekRoughly how much time do you estimate AI saves you in a typical week?2 answered
11
NoneUnder 1 h1–3 h4–7 h7 h +
Comfort disclosingWould you feel comfortable telling a colleague or your manager that you used AI on a piece of work?
211
Would hide itProbably notIt dependsProbablyOpenly yes
Each cell is one answer choice — the deeper the colour, the more responses gave it · the pointer under the bar marks the median
What staff described Prompts thrown in to get unstuck on ideas or initial research, to see what comes back.