AI Rights Shield for Independent Artists and Cultural Scene (AIRS)
KreativaLab
Serbia
AIRS is a capacity-building initiative protecting independent creators in Serbia and abroad from AI-driven threats. Through a bilingual web application, AI literacy workshop, and the @AI-RS public awareness campaign, AIRS equips artists with tools to identify AI misconduct, assert their rights, and engage in policy advocacy. At a time when generative AI threatens creative livelihoods and national copyright laws lag behind, AIRS bridges the digital rights knowledge gap and amplifies participation of marginalized voices in conversations about AI governance and cultural integrity.
AIRS is a digital rights advocacy participatory project led by KreativaLab CSO and its existing ethical AI governance activities, targeting Serbia's financially precarious independent cultural scene. Freelance artists (musicians, visual creators, writers, designers) face systematic exploitation by AI systems trained on copyrighted works without consent or compensation. Yet most lack the legal literacy, digital skills, or tools to respond.
AIRS addresses this through three interconnected actions. First, it delivers digital rights literacy through a risk assessment survey of 150+ artists and a hands-on workshop for 50 stakeholders in Belgrade, building collective advocacy capacity. Second, it develops the AIRS web application, a free English/Serbian tool featuring an AI legal guide, a self-assessment toolkit with risk-mitigation scenarios, and an adaptable policy brief template for CSOs. Third, it launches the @AI-RS awareness campaign ("Your work, your right!"), targeting policymakers, cultural institutions, and media to push for regulative reform. AIRS establishes KreativaLab as a socio-cultural capacity hub (CapHub), creating a replicable model for the broader region and beyond.