Book Jocelyn Burnham to speak

Jocelyn Burnham is a sought-after speaker on artificial intelligence in creative and cultural life. Her keynotes and talks explore how AI is reshaping the way we work, create, and imagine, with a particular focus on the cultural, heritage, and not-for-profit sectors.

She has delivered AI sessions for a wide range of organisations, including The Open University, British Council, The British Library, The Church of England, The London School of Economics, The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and the Northern Ireland Science Festival, along with many private and commercial clients.

Jocelyn’s presentations are designed to be clear, energising, and thought-provoking. She encourages audiences to approach AI with curiosity rather than fear, blending emerging insights with playfulness to spark meaningful conversations and practical next steps.

Drawing on her background as an unschooled learner in rural Pennsylvania, her career across major UK cultural institutions, and her work today as an independent facilitator of AI learning and innovation, Jocelyn brings a distinctive voice to some of the most urgent questions facing creative work and cultural organisations today.

A high energy photograph of Jocelyn Burnham presenting at a conference for Tixly in Oslo, Norway. She is wearing a white dress, a black shirt and has long hair. Her arms are out to the side in an expressive and emotive pose.
Tixly conference, Oslo

Talk themes

Talks are built for the audience in question rather than delivered off the shelf. Recurring themes:

  • Emotion as the entry point

    Why the sector's fluency in feeling is an asset in a conversation dominated by efficiency metrics, and what gets lost when people translate a genuine reaction into something measurable.

  • Playfulness before application

    Why organisations that sprint from demonstration to deployment cause harm they could have avoided.

  • Culture needs its own language for AI

    What the sector absorbs when it borrows the vocabulary of productivity, scale and output wholesale from technology companies and consultancies.

  • Ethics, rights and red lines

    Copyright, consent, watermarking, and where practitioners draw their own boundaries.

  • AI literacy beyond the tools

    Recognising synthetic content, handling bots and manipulation, and working in a world where audiences and artists are already affected, whether or not you adopt anything.

  • What the sector is actually doing

    Evidence from real experiments inside real organisations, in place of predictions.

  • Leading through disagreement

    For boards and leadership teams holding enthusiasts, sceptics and refusers in the same room.

Jocelyn Burnham on a large stage presenting to a seated audience, with a slide titled AI as Playfulness and Provocation on the screen behind her.
AI as Playfulness and Provocation. Photo by Emily Whitty
A photograph of Jocelyn Burnham presenting at the Arts Marketing Association conference. She's discussing 5 Ideas About AI.
Arts Marketing Association conference. Photo by David Harvey
A selfie of Jocelyn Burnham during a panel session with Dr. Oonagh Murphy and Hannah Andrews
Panel with Dr Oonagh Murphy and Hannah Andrews
A photograph of the title screen for one of Jocelyn Burnham's talks named 'AI IN CINEMA' which was presented at the BFI FAN conference in Belfast in 2024
AI in Cinema, BFI FAN conference, Belfast, 2024

Recent talks and appearances

  • Royal Ballet and Opera, RBO/SHIFT 2026Talk: My Most Emotional Moments in AI (And What They Taught Me). Jocelyn also sat on the festival steering committee.
  • Church of EnglandKeynote speaker at two Church of England conferences, in 2024 and 2026.
  • Barbican CentreAI ethics in arts and culture, for the European Concert Hall Organisation conference.
  • Arts Council England, Digital CatapultTalk on her practice, and chair of the closing panel at Creative Futures: AI, Opportunity or Threat?
  • Historic Royal Palaces, Tower of LondonAI and ethics panel, SMAsH conference.
  • BEYOND ConferenceRight to Remix panel.

International

Jocelyn joined the British Council's UK delegation to Istanbul for the Marmara Urban Forum, and travelled to Fortaleza for the Brazilian Creative Industries Market at the invitation of Brazil's Ministry of Culture and OEI Brasil. She has taught at the National Film School of Denmark, spoken online at the Australasian Orchestra Management and People & Culture Conference, and delivered work in Finland, Norway, Prague and across all four UK nations.

Lectures and talks

For the University of Oxford, the Royal Academy of Arts, the Open University, the British Library, the London School of Economics, the Goethe-Institut, the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, the National Galleries of Scotland, the University of Exeter, the University of Leeds and the Northern Ireland Science Festival.

On camera

Presenter of 36 video titles on AI for Bookboon's professional development library, recorded across multiple professional filming shoots, including AI, Language and Power and Experimenting with AI.

The Right to Remix panel at BEYOND Conference: five panellists seated on stage under a lighting rig, with the panel title on a screen behind them and an audience in the foreground.
Right to Remix panel, BEYOND Conference
Jocelyn Burnham speaking on stage at the Marmara Urban Forum in Istanbul, October 2025, with her speaker card on the screen behind her.
Marmara Urban Forum, Istanbul, 2025
Behind the scenes at a Bookboon filming shoot: crew operating cameras and lighting in a brick-walled room with large windows while Jocelyn Burnham speaks to camera.
Filming with Bookboon

Formats and practicalities

Formats
Keynotes, talks, panels, chairing, lectures and board sessions.
Length
Sessions run from 30 to 120 minutes.
Audiences
Creative practitioners, cultural leaders, boards, academics, policymakers and international conference audiences.
In person or online
In person across the UK and internationally, or virtually.
Fees
A subsidised rate is available for non-commercial organisations, including charities and Arts Council England funded projects.
Podcasts and editorials
Please enquire.
Jocelyn Burnham outside the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, University of Oxford.
Reuters Institute, University of Oxford
Two speakers seated in front of the ornate altar at St James's Church Piccadilly during Fact, fiction, faith: AI in an uncertain world, a conversation with Jocelyn Burnham and Dr Shauna Concannon, October 2024.
Fact, fiction, faith: AI in an uncertain world, St James's Church Piccadilly, 2024

What audiences say

I saw Jocelyn at the Brighton Summit, presenting a keynote. Their passion and excitement (not fear) of AI was refreshing from all the other AI talks I had seen. Therefore it was an obvious choice of who we should engage to introduce and train our agency on the various applications as well as ethics, limitations of AI. The team now have a more confident and playful approach to trialling new tools, whilst we as an agency roll out the ones with immediate effect and success.
Alex Watson, Managing Director, Arke Agency
I hear and feel how suspicious and cautious artists are about AI. Jocelyn completely understood the angle we were exploring, an AI workshop that wasn't going to alienate our audiences. And boy did Jocelyn deliver. We've since had feedback from attendees stating it has transformed the way they work creatively, without compromising the integrity of their work.
Frances Murphy, Marketing & Communications Manager, Bradford Producing Hub
Jocelyn, that was a superb presentation. The best on AI I have ever heard, and one of the best on any topic I have heard for years! Thank you. I will recommend your consultancy very highly to my charity, professional and commercial contacts alike.
William Cook, Chair of Development Board of Cure Parkinson's
It was fascinating, balanced, informative and engaging, and I've had nothing but positive feedback.
Luke Burton, Director (Libraries), Arts Council England
Jocelyn did an amazing job and I had lots of people telling me it was their highlight of the conference!
Katy David, Head of Marketing & Supporter Development, Forestry England
Jocelyn was both approachable and formidable. Her unique presentation style was energetic and warm, which helped to make AI feel less threatening. She kept the pace of the workshop moving and introduced a number of interactive sessions which made sitting in a seat for three hours less daunting. I have rarely - if ever - attended a session so skilfully put together. I was even inspired to watch the documentary AlphaGo after an almost throwaway comment from Jocelyn. There was nothing I didn't enjoy, which is an accolade indeed considering how alienating I found the prospect of attending the session!
Participant, AI For Creativity workshop session
Jocelyn was an entertaining, generous and informative speaker. Her enthusiasm for her subject was irresistibly infectious and she got even the most unwilling in the room interacting with AI, expanding our minds as to the multiple ways we could use it in our thinking and creative practice and organisation.
Rosemary Lawrey, Artist
The session with Jocelyn was straight off the bat engaging and perspective changing. I felt challenged, in a playful way, to look at my perceptions of AI which I was very appreciative of. The talks and tasks were entertaining and professional, delivered in digestible time segments that gave space to interact with Jocelyn and other participants of the session.
Nathan Holt, Artist
Fantastic introduction to AI, pitched perfectly for someone who has only heard the headlines. I felt inspired to give it a try. Very balanced arguments, enjoyed the honest straightforward style and the lack of jargon.
Heritage Pulse Member

Crafts Council member session

  • Great session Jocelyn! You were really able to speak to the group in a way we could access. Cross the divide between the humans and the digital.
  • Marvellous. I was worried that it would be too easy but the level was just spot on.

AI For Creativity workshop session

  • Jocelyn was both approachable and formidable. Her unique presentation style was energetic and warm, which helped to make AI feel less threatening. I have rarely - if ever - attended a session so skilfully put together.
More attendee feedback: BFI FAN Conference, Belfast (2024)

Attendees when asked ‘What session did you find the most useful, and why?’ and ‘What was your lightbulb moment from the conference?’

  • AI. It was mind blowing and she was a fantastic presenter. Loved the energy.
  • the AI session - it was engaging, dynamic and informative
  • I found the AI session most stimulating as there was a lot of new information. Didn't have time to get into the ethics but appreciate that wasn't the purpose.
  • AI because it educated me and made me question and think more about AI
  • I really loved the AI session
  • AI Session (enjoyed positive spin, lots of ideas of how to workshop w/AI tools)
  • The AI session and how I can use it in my practice
  • The AI talk was very interesting and more content like this would be useful for future events.
  • I became more literate in AI use and terminology, and I gained more knowledge about the work that other exhibitors are doing.
  • The AI presentation was particularly interesting, and I've already started to experiment more with it, thanks to the tools that were shared.
  • AI in Cinema session made me realise how dangerous AI is for our industry but I appreciate feeling more literate and informed about how AI is used in the arts

Book a talk

To discuss bookings or availability, get in touch at jocelyn@aiforculture.com.

It helps to include the date, the audience, the length and the format you have in mind.

Jocelyn Burnham at Bristol Dockyards, in front of a pink banner and wearing a Bristol Dockyards lanyard.