Smart Story Labs

EU Legislative Interests

Smart Story Labs strategically aligns its applied research and innovation agenda with the EU’s core legislative proposals shaping the digital, AI, and creative technology landscape. We are currently applying to join the Advisory Forum under the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), recognising its pivotal role in establishing a harmonised framework for trustworthy, human-centered, and transparent AI within Europe. We see the Forum as a critical platform to contribute practitioner-led, research-backed insights on the Act’s implementation, particularly around AI’s ethical, technical, and governance challenges within creative industries and cultural ecosystems. The AI Act is central to our mission of developing future-ready, responsible AI pathways for media, storytelling, education, and cultural sectors. Through our work on blockchain-enabled film production, immersive narrative infrastructures, and AI-mediated learning ecosystems, we are positioned to inform discussions around high-risk AI system classification in creative applications, ethical oversight, and technical standards for generative and immersive AI systems. We aim to contribute to the Forum’s subgroups on standards, conformity assessments, fundamental rights impact evaluations, and sandbox experimentation, ensuring the needs of the creative industries are addressed while supporting Europe’s broader commitment to innovation and safety. In addition to the AI Act, Smart Story Labs targets the Digital Services Act (DSA), particularly its provisions on transparency, platform accountability, and researcher data access. Our work on narrative ecosystems and transmedia foresight aligns with the DSA’s objectives to create safer, more transparent online spaces while countering disinformation and preserving fundamental rights. We are interested in supporting codes of conduct, transparency reporting models, and ethical guidelines that strengthen the DSA’s objectives within creative content and cultural-tech ecosystems. Smart Story Labs monitors and prepares to engage with the AI Liability Directive, Data Governance Act, Media Freedom Act, and the EU’s quantum and digital sovereignty strategies, recognising their collective influence on shaping a resilient, fair, and ethical digital landscape. We see the AI Liability Directive as critical in aligning accountability frameworks with the AI Act, while the Data Governance Act aligns with our interests in trusted data-sharing frameworks for cross-border creative production, research, and innovation. The Media Freedom Act’s focus on transparency and pluralism aligns with our work on narrative trust ecosystems and transmedia methods to foster democratic resilience. Through participation in EURAXESS, AI & Partners, and under the DIFC-subsidised Innovation License, Smart Story Labs maintains a track record of aligning applied research with EU priorities, with ongoing projects like “Reimagining Film Production Pipelines through Blockchain,” “Yakshi – A Transmedia Narrative Exploration,” and “Echoes Through Time.” We are committed to ensuring our contributions to the AI Act Advisory Forum, and related EU legislative frameworks, bring grounded insights from experimental research to practical implementation, enabling ethical and innovative uses of AI within creative, cultural, and educational sectors. Our targeted engagement with these legislative proposals is underpinned by a commitment to fostering cross-cultural collaborations, transparent innovation, and the ethical integration of AI into society. We are particularly focused on building strategic foresight and roadmaps to guide the adoption of AI and emerging technologies within Europe’s creative industries while ensuring compliance with evolving EU policies. By joining the AI Act Advisory Forum, Smart Story Labs aims to contribute actively to Europe’s leadership in responsible AI, bringing expertise in blockchain, AI, immersive storytelling, and foresight-driven innovation.

Communication Activities

Smart Story Labs actively integrates communication and dissemination activities to align with and amplify the EU policies we target, particularly the AI Act, DSA, DMA, Data Governance Act, and Media Freedom Act. Our communication approach leverages research-driven content, industry-facing events, transmedia narrative prototypes, and strategic foresight publications to foster dialogue, build capacity, and enhance transparency within Europe’s digital and creative ecosystems. We organise research-led showcase events to communicate the implications of responsible AI within creative sectors. For example, under our “Echoes Through Time” foresight series, we hosted a virtual symposium on AI Ethics and Narrative Futures, bringing together researchers, creative technologists, and cultural policymakers to discuss how the AI Act impacts immersive media systems and narrative trust ecosystems. We are preparing a roundtable on “Blockchain, AI Act, and the Future of Media Infrastructures” aimed at SMEs, policymakers, and researchers to align blockchain-enabled traceability frameworks with the AI Act’s standards and conformity assessment discussions. Smart Story Labs regularly publishes briefs and insight reports on EU policy intersections with creative industries, including a foresight brief, “Immersive AI and the EU AI Act: Opportunities and Ethical Imperatives,” and a practice note on “Blockchain-Enabled Smart Contracts for Film Pipelines Aligned with Industry 5.0 and the DMA.” These open-access publications translate complex regulatory frameworks into actionable pathways for creative entrepreneurs, cultural institutions, and digital startups across Europe, ensuring stakeholder preparedness for compliance while encouraging ethical and innovative use of emerging technologies. We utilise transmedia communication strategies to engage a diverse range of stakeholders. For instance, our “Yakshi – A Transmedia Narrative Exploration” project functions as both an artistic research output and a narrative tool to illustrate the ethical and societal challenges of AI and data governance, aligning with EU policy objectives around public awareness, inclusion, and responsible digital transformation. We also leverage digital platforms, including GitHub repositories, for open publication of project documentation, code, and use cases that illustrate responsible AI development aligned with EU policy frameworks. Our lab actively engages in community building through EU-aligned campaigns, participating in initiatives like the European AI Week, EURAXESS Researcher Days, and European Digital Innovation Hubs events. These forums provide opportunities to share our research outputs, gather feedback, and facilitate dialogue on how the AI Act and related EU policies impact creative technology development and cultural sectors. We also collaborate with universities and policy labs to run policy literacy workshops for artists and creative entrepreneurs to understand the DSA, DMA, and AI Act requirements, fostering ecosystem readiness. Smart Story Labs is committed to maintaining transparent and inclusive communication on its policy engagement. We routinely post updates on LinkedIn, ResearchGate, and relevant Slack and Discord communities to inform stakeholders of our findings, event participation, and upcoming opportunities for collaboration related to EU policies. We are planning a targeted podcast series, “Future Story Lab: AI, Policy, and Creativity in Europe,” to translate EU digital policies into accessible narratives for creative sector professionals and researchers. Additionally, our lab will use our application for the AI Act Advisory Forum as a cornerstone for stakeholder-facing communication campaigns, sharing insights from our participation to demystify regulatory processes for creative entrepreneurs and SMEs while building bridges between EU policymakers and cultural technology practitioners.

Interests Represented

Promotes their own interests or the collective interests of their members

Member Of

Smart Story Labs maintains active memberships, affiliations, and contributions to organisations aligned with its mission to advance responsible AI, emerging technologies, and creative industries within Europe and globally. These include: EURAXESS (European Commission) – Registered as a Scientific Researcher, contributing to Europe-wide researcher mobility and collaboration frameworks. AI & Partners (European Commission Partnership) – Engaged as a partner in advancing applied AI policy dialogue and interdisciplinary research within EU priorities. Participant Identification Code (PIC: 871008494) under the European Commission, aligning our research and innovation activities with Horizon Europe and related EU programmes. DIFC Innovation License (Dubai International Financial Centre) – Operating under a subsidised Innovation License to support international creative technology research collaborations, aligned with EU and global innovation standards. Creative Commons Global Network (CCGN) – Affiliated for open knowledge sharing and licensing alignment within transmedia and creative outputs. ResearchGate and GitHub – Actively contributing open-access research outputs, prototypes, and policy-technology integration frameworks, enhancing transparency and accessibility for EU stakeholders. Transmedia Earth Network – Member, sharing applied research on transmedia storytelling as a tool for creative industry innovation and ethical narrative systems aligned with EU cultural-tech strategies. Blockchain for Creative Industries Working Groups (informal networks and policy forums) – Participating in discussions on traceability, smart contracts, and transparency frameworks in alignment with EU digital and blockchain strategies. OpenAI Community Forums and Research Groups – Engaged for discussions on responsible AI, creative AI applications, and regulatory implications, including alignment with the EU AI Act. LinkedIn and Slack Communities related to AI, blockchain, and creative industries, including active participation in European AI Week, AI Policy Labs, and Digital Europe discussions. Dubai Future Foundation Ecosystem (including Dubai Future Accelerators alumni network), for fostering global policy-technology dialogues complementary to EU strategic goals. A regularly updated list of our active projects and affiliations can be found on our GitHub repositories (https://github.com/Dr-Amritha) and LinkedIn page (https://www.linkedin.com/company/smart-story-labs/?viewAsMember=true). These memberships and affiliations enable Smart Story Labs to align with EU policy objectives, contribute to ethical and transparent innovation ecosystems, and foster cross-cultural collaboration within the creative and technology sectors while supporting stakeholder engagement across policy, research, and practice.

Organisation Members

Smart Story Labs operates as a focused applied research and innovation lab with a lean structure, designed to support interdisciplinary research, prototyping, and policy-technology integration within creative industries and emerging technology ecosystems. Currently, Smart Story Labs does not have individual or corporate members in the conventional sense. Instead, it functions as a research-driven initiative under the directorship of its founder, with project-based collaborations and research partnerships forming its operational structure. However, Smart Story Labs maintains affiliated entities and active project-based partnerships, including: AI & Partners (European Commission Partnership) – Affiliated for joint research initiatives on responsible AI under EU frameworks. Participant Identification Code (PIC: 871008494, European Commission) – Aligned with Horizon Europe and EU research collaboration programmes. EURAXESS (European Commission) – Registered as a Scientific Researcher for EU-wide collaborations. DIFC Innovation License (Dubai International Financial Centre) – Operating under a subsidised Innovation License to support global collaborations. Dubai Future Foundation Ecosystem (affiliate) – Aligned for policy-technology dialogue and global positioning complementing EU strategic objectives. A full and regularly updated list of affiliated projects, repositories, and active collaborations is maintained on our GitHub page:https://github.com/Dr-Amritha and our LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/smart-story-labs/?viewAsMember=true. Smart Story Labs will continue to maintain transparency regarding any future memberships, partnerships, or affiliate structures developed to support its mission of advancing responsible AI, blockchain, immersive technologies, and creative industries research within the European Union and globally.