HKUST Division of Arts and Machine Creativity

The Division of Arts and Machine Creativity (AMC) at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is proud to announce that Prof. Harry Yang, Assistant Professor of AMC, and his research team have received the prestigious CVPR 2026 Compute Transparency Champion Award for their paper, “DenDiff: Density-Guided Diffusion for Quantity-Aware Image Synthesis.”🏆

The award-winning paper introduces DenDiff, a new approach for improving quantity control in text-to-image generation. While diffusion models can generate highly realistic images, they often struggle to produce the exact number of objects specified in text prompts. DenDiff addresses this challenge by introducing density-guided generation, using fine-grained visual features to create density maps that guide the image synthesis process toward the desired object count.

Experiments on the FSC-147 and ShanghaiTech benchmarks show that DenDiff achieves state-of-the-art counting accuracy while maintaining strong visual quality. By combining semantic image generation with explicit numerical and spatial control, the method enables more reliable and controllable image synthesis for real-world applications.

🎉 Big congratulations to Prof. Fangneng Zhan, Assistant Professor in the Division of Arts and Machine Creativity (AMC), on being selected for the 2026 CCF-Tencent Rhino-Bird Fund Scholar Program! 🏆

His awarded project,“3D Geometry-Prior-Driven Spatiotemporally Consistent Video Generation for Free-Viewpoint Complex Scenes,” aims to advance next-generation AI video generation by creating realistic free-viewpoint videos from just one or a few reference images while maintaining stable 3D structure and long-term temporal consistency.

The research explores new ways of integrating geometric priors into video generation models and could support a wide range of applications, including XR content creation, 3D/4D visualization, film and game pre-visualization, and embodied AI world simulation.

👏 Congratulations to Prof. Zhan and his team on this exciting achievement!

The Division of Arts and Machine Creativity (AMC) at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) proudly announces our first-ever overseas artwork showcase at the upcoming Ars Electronica campus exhibition, one of the world's leading exhibition exploring the intersection of art, technology, science, and society, to be held on September 9 – 13, 2026 at the city of Linz, Austria.

✨Our delegation of student artists led by AMC faculty member and Director of SIG Programme Dr. Vennes CHENG will be presenting a total of four selected student artworks, at the prominent exhibition venue located in the University of Arts Linz.

🔹The Generative Omnipresent 《生成之在》🔹
The 2026 Ars Electronica campus exhibition in Linz, presented by HKUST’s Division of Arts and Machine Creativity (AMC), reclaims “generative” from its narrow association with machine intelligence, situating it within a broader lineage spanning biological reproduction and mathematical logic. Tracing developments from cellular automata and morphogenesis to Chomskyan linguistics and early computational aesthetics, the exhibition examines how generativity has shifted from a rule-based engine of human thought to an omnipresent, data-driven force.

Showcasing collaborative works by students from HKUST’s MA in Arts and Machine Creativity program, the exhibition employs AI, technological mapping, and HCI to explore the blurring boundaries between human intent and algorithmic probability.

Read more on our website:
https://amc.hkust.edu.hk/news/generative-omnipresent-amcs-first-ever-overseas-showcase-2026-ars-electronica-campus

#生成之在

The Division of Arts and Machine Creativity (AMC) recently concluded its 2026 retreat in Shenzhen, marking an important milestone in the Division’s development and long-term planning.

Held from July 13 – 14, 2026, the two-day retreat brought together AMC faculty members and office colleagues for a combination of industry visits, strategic planning and focused discussions on the Division’s academic and community priorities.

The first day of the retreat focused on engagement with Shenzhen’s technology and innovation ecosystem. The AMC delegation visited Astribot（星塵智能） and Tencent, gaining first-hand exposure to developments and working environments in the technology sector.

The second day of the retreat was devoted to internal planning and discussion. Following an update from AMC Acting Head Prof. Hongbo FU, participants examined the Division’s existing vision and mission statements. After rounds of painstaking scrutiny and feedback, a revised version ensuring accurate expression of the Division’s purpose, distinctive strengths and aspirations was unanimously agreed upon.

Participants also agreed on a new slogan for the Division:

💫 Artful Machines, Critical Minds 💫
✨ 機創藝境，思辨本心 ✨

The slogan deftly captures the essence of AMC in the ever-changing world today and its core momentum moving forward, and will help communicate AMC’s identity to students, collaborators and the wider community.

The retreat concluded with a stronger shared understanding of AMC’s identity and priorities. Its central outcomes, including the renewed vision and mission statements and the new slogan, will serve as a solid foundation for the Division’s next stage of development.

Read more on our website:
https://amc.hkust.edu.hk/news/amc-unveils-new-slogan-and-renewed-vision-and-missions-ai-transformed-era-2026-shenzhen

The Division of Arts and Machine Creativity (AMC) at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is delighted to announce its strong presence at ICML 2026, one of the world’s leading conferences in machine learning and artificial intelligence, held in Seoul, South Korea from July 6–11, 2026.

This year, AMC faculty members continue to deliver top-caliber research in AI Alignment and Generative AI, with four papers accepted to ICML 2026. These achievements further reinforce the Division's leadership in generative AI and intelligent systems research.

The Division warmly congratulates Prof. Hongbo FU, Wenhan LUO, Prof. Wei XUE, Prof. Harry YANG, Prof. Yonggang ZHANG, and their collaborators on these outstanding achievements. Their work reflects AMC’s continued commitment to advancing machine creativity and developing transformative generative AI technologies with global impact.

Read more on our website:
https://amc.hkust.edu.hk/news/amc-shines-icml-2026-breakthroughs-ai-alignment-and-generative-ai

The Division of Arts and Machine Creativity (AMC) at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is proud to be one of the institutional partners for the 2026 Inter-Asia Cultural Studies (IACS) Summer School, taking place from 25 July to 2 August 2026. Titled 'Livable Futures', the summer school is hosted by the Digital Narratives Studio in the School of Journalism and Communication at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).

Refusing a fatalistic worldview that reduces the future to mere survival amid climate, technological, and social crises, 'Livable Futures' treats "livability" as an active, ongoing practice of world-making (worlding) that demands immediate imagination, repair, and relationality. Evolving from the foundational Inter-Asia Cultural Studies framework of "Asia as Method", Asia as Worlding leverages Inter-Asia connections to construct new modes of cohabitation—positioning theory, art, activism, and pedagogy as deeply entangled, collaborative labours capable of actively shaping inhabitable and equitable futures.

The summer school cohort is organised into three streams: Narratives, Technology, and Care. As part of the programme, AMC faculty member Dr Vennes Cheng will deliver a lecture and workshop offering a critique of emerging technologies. Her session will focus on the historical and technological reenactment of memory and history through material archives and generative technologies.

Following the success of HKUST’s 2nd AI Film Festival (AIFF), 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳. 𝗙𝗨 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗯𝗼, Acting Head of the Division of Arts and Machine Creativity (AMC), dived into the rapid evolution of AI content creation and the pioneering research behind it during a recent interview on RTHK’s “Vibrant Hong Kong”. 🎥✨

The program also featured AMC student DU Haoyu, the winner of the Best Student Film Award x Minimax in the 2nd AIFF, who discussed the inspiration behind his award-winning film “Where the Ink Stays” and his journey as an AI creator.

🔗 Watch the program (23m18s – 39m32s): https://www.rthk.hk/tv/dtt32/programme/vibranthongkong/episode/1108126

HKUST Division of Arts and Machine Creativity

The Division of Arts and Machine Creativity (AMC) at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is thrilled to announce the versatile contribution of our faculty members at the SIGGRAPH 2026, one of the world's premier conference and exhibition on computer graphics and interactive techniques, scheduled to be held in Los Angeles, United States from 19–23 July, 2026.

Building on AMC's established strength in AI and generative model researches, as well as Acting Head Prof. Hongbo FU's recent induction as the first Hong Kong scholar to the ACM SIGGRAPH Academy, AMC faculty members shine further at this year's SIGGRAPH conference in the area of agentic AI and video diffusion models (VDM), with three Technical Paper accepted, a major course on multi-agent-driven video synthesis and three technical workshop offered together with distinguished academic collaborators.

The Division warmly congratulates Prof. Hongbo FU, Prof. Anyi RAO and their collaborators on these remarkable achievements. We look forward to their continued contributions to shaping the future of generative AI, visual computing, and creative technologies on the global stage.

Read more on our website: https://amc.hkust.edu.hk/news/amc-faculty-advances-agentic-ai-and-video-generation-research-siggraph-2026

🎞️✨ The Division of Arts and Machine Creativity (AMC) joined hands with the Alliance Française de Hong Kong Jordan Centre on the evening of July 15, 2026, to present 10 splendid AI film works exploring the intersection of cinema and artificial intelligence.

From a hallucinating retelling of a child's epileptic episodes through the mother's perspective, to the themes of awakened AI and their liberation, and experimental storytelling styles through uncanny remixes of virtual and real-world footage, the audience enjoyed something of a small visual feast from a curated list of seven French AI Film submissions and three award-winning selections from the 2nd HKUST AI Film Festival, accompanied by an assortment of canapés and refreshments.

💬🌐 Following the screening, a live Zoom discussion was held with two of the AI filmmakers, Jules Blachier ("The Mechanical Selection") and Alphonse Marcel ("Georges"), both of whom offered great insights into their creative and technical processes. The conversation examined how AI was employed to recreate a variety of artistic styles, including the aesthetics of early cinema, while also addressing broader questions on whether AI filmmaking would eventually lean towards realism, or unlock new forms of imaginative expression for the world, bringing the evening to a thoughtful and inspiring close 🌙

#法國文化協會

The Division of Arts and Machine Creativity (AMC) at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) announces with excitement that our faculty members, Prof. Hongbo FU and Prof. Wenhan LUO, have successfully secured over 1.4 million HKD funding in the 2026/27 round of General Research Fund (GRF) application.

Prof. Fu's project, titled "Empowering Artistic Creativity: AI-Assisted Creativity Support for Art-Tech Ideation", aims to build as one of the project core deliverables an AI-assisted platform that supports artists in the ideation stage of art-tech projects, backed by a formative study with practicing artists and a curated art-tech work dataset. Through user studies, participatory workshops, and a public exhibition, the project seeks to enhance art and design education, empower creative practitioners, and nurture AI literacy in the cultural sector, positioning Hong Kong as a key player in interdisciplinary art-tech research and education.

Prof. Luo's project, titled "Towards Efficient, Adaptive, and Scalable Visual Generative Models for Edge Devices", focuses on the development of visual generative models (VGM) for edge devices including phone and IoT devices. The project introduces an advanced comprehensive framework for addressing the existing scalability gaps in terms of model size, inference steps and conceptual evolution, establish a new foundation for high-quality, fast, and intelligent visual generation directly on edge devices, unlocking new possibilities for consumer applications, creative tools, and personalized media experiences.

A warm congratulations to Prof. Hongbo Fu and Prof. Wenhan Luo, whose visionary insights and groundbreaking contributions in Art-Tech and VGM have set a remarkable standard for interdisciplinary research excellence. Their achievement serves to strongly underpin the Division's dedication to advancing innovative research and creative technological integration.