In 2025, Jessie Hughes took the stage at Meta Festival for a headline keynote session — a high-visibility moment that placed her at the centre of one of the country’s most forward-facing conversations on AI and creativity. In a 20-minute fireside discussion with Meta’s Director of Technology Strategy, Jason Juma-Ross, Hughes framed generative AI not as a passing trend, but as a once-in-a-generation shift in how creative work is conceived, produced, and scaled.

In 2025, Jessie Hughes took the stage at Meta Festival for a headline keynote session — a high-visibility moment that placed her at the centre of one of the country’s most forward-facing conversations on AI and creativity. In a 20-minute fireside discussion with Meta’s Director of Technology Strategy, Jason Juma-Ross, Hughes framed generative AI not as a passing trend, but as a once-in-a-generation shift in how creative work is conceived, produced, and scaled.

The keynote marked a full-circle moment in Hughes’ career — returning to Meta a decade after working for Facebook on early VR initiatives, when artists were first invited to explore what immersive technology could become. Drawing on that long-view perspective, Hughes traced the evolution from early creative tooling through to today’s generative systems, connecting the emotional impact of “seeing words become images” with the very real, industrial shifts now reshaping creative workflows.

The keynote marked a full-circle moment in Hughes’ career — returning to Meta a decade after working for Facebook on early VR initiatives, when artists were first invited to explore what immersive technology could become. Drawing on that long-view perspective, Hughes traced the evolution from early creative tooling through to today’s generative systems, connecting the emotional impact of “seeing words become images” with the very real, industrial shifts now reshaping creative workflows.

Meta Festival positioned the talk as an optimistic, industry-ready blueprint — a way to move into practical capability. Hughes’ keynote reinforced a clear message for creators and businesses alike: while the tools are becoming exponentially more powerful, it is the human behind them that matters most. In an era where anyone can generate content, vision, craft, and authorship remain the true differentiators.

Meta Festival positioned the talk as an optimistic, industry-ready blueprint — a way to move into practical capability. Hughes’ keynote reinforced a clear message for creators and businesses alike: while the tools are becoming exponentially more powerful, it is the human behind them that matters most. In an era where anyone can generate content, vision, craft, and authorship remain the true differentiators.

In 2025, Jessie Hughes took the stage at Meta Festival for a headline keynote session — a high-visibility moment that placed her at the centre of one of the country’s most forward-facing conversations on AI and creativity. In a 20-minute fireside discussion with Meta’s Director of Technology Strategy, Jason Juma-Ross, Hughes framed generative AI not as a passing trend, but as a once-in-a-generation shift in how creative work is conceived, produced, and scaled.

The keynote marked a full-circle moment in Hughes’ career — returning to Meta a decade after working for Facebook on early VR initiatives, when artists were first invited to explore what immersive technology could become. Drawing on that long-view perspective, Hughes traced the evolution from early creative tooling through to today’s generative systems, connecting the emotional impact of “seeing words become images” with the very real, industrial shifts now reshaping creative workflows.

Meta Festival positioned the talk as an optimistic, industry-ready blueprint — a way to move into practical capability. Hughes’ keynote reinforced a clear message for creators and businesses alike: while the tools are becoming exponentially more powerful, it is the human behind them that matters most. In an era where anyone can generate content, vision, craft, and authorship remain the true differentiators.

Project team:

Meta Australia, Leonardo.Ai

Collaborators:

Jason Juma-Ross, Meta Head of Innovation

Website:

Meta for Business

(Other works)

AWS — Software Builders Day

AWS

Sydney, Australia

AWS — Software Builders Day

AWS

Sydney, Australia

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