Manon Dave a pioneering creative technologist isn’t just talking about the future of creativity—he’s building it. From producing with Idris Elba to launching AI-powered music tools and shaping the rights-tech revolution at TrueRights, his work fuses culture and code. Ahead of his SXSW London talk, we caught up with the award-winning innovator to discuss AI ethics, creative sovereignty, and why imagination—not automation—is what really powers progress.
You’re speaking at SXSW London this June. What message are you hoping to leave with the creative and tech communities in East London?
As concerns around AI and copyright law continue to grow, I stand with fellow leaders across the creative industries in calling for stronger protections for artists, musicians, and creators.
At the same time, it’s important not to view technology, especially AI-powered tools, solely as a threat. For creators, tech like AI holds the promise of greater access to tools, platforms and audiences. It can lower barriers, unlock new paths to monetisation, and enable more people to express themselves creatively. For technologists, it’s a call to develop tools that respect and empower the creative community.
We must also embrace the opportunity AI presents: to elevate new voices. People who might not otherwise have had the platform or resources to share their talent. By embedding respect, consent, and fair compensation into the design of AI -powered technologies, we can create an ecosystem where creativity thrives.
Ultimately, the most powerful outcomes come when we blend imaginative thinking with intelligent tools. Technology can level the playing field, but imagination is what makes the game worth playing. That’s the message I want to send.
As the new Chief Product Officer at TrueRights, how are you planning to reshape how creators protect and monetise their work in the age of AI?
I’m joining TrueRights at a pivotal moment for digital IP and the future of creativity. As a first step, we’re launching the Creative Council, an advisory group that will shape TrueRights’s approach to creativity and AI. The Council will offer strategic guidance to creators to ensure we stay closely aligned with their needs in an era of rapid technological change. Together with TrueRights’ founders Ben Woollams and Nick Jenkins, we’ll design tools that give talent full control over how their content, IP, and rights are used. Our goal is to build a truly secure ecosystem for managing content and licensing digital assets – one that puts creators first.
You’ve worked with global icons like will.i.am, Idris Elba, and Che Lingo—what have these collaborations taught you about AI’s role in the creative process?
In every collaboration, I aim to push beyond conventional thinking – blending culture, storytelling, and emotional depth with the functionality and speed that AI can offer. The goal is always the same: to make technology feel more human, and creativity more accessible.
Working with artists like will.i.am, Idris Elba, and Che Lingo has reinforced how powerful AI can be when used to enhance, not replace the creative process. It is not about automating ideas but about expanding what’s possible.
By embracing constraints and using AI as a tool for experimentation, we unlocked new ways to tell stories, connect with audiences, and bring bold ideas to life. So, these collaborations have taught me that the real innovation happens when technology serves creativity, not the other way around.
You’ve said AI should be a ‘collaborator, not a tool.’ How does that mindset shift the way we build and use creative technologies?
We are moving away from using AI simply to automate tasks for efficiency. Instead, we’re entering an era of co-creation – where AI is now part of the creative dialogue.
This mindset demands more than just smart algorithms; it requires empathetic design. It’s about building systems that understand context, nuance, and cultural relevance – tools that elevate rather than dilute the creative voice.
In all of my recent collaborations, the focus was on using AI to enhance human emotion, not replace it. When we treat AI as a partner, we design more intuitively, making creativity more accessible, and open the door to new kinds of storytelling and innovation.
You’ve introduced CEI—Create Equality Instead—as a counter to fading DEI efforts. How do you see AI unlocking access for underrepresented creators?
The future of the creative economy depends on investing in people, not just technology. AI alone won’t deliver diversity – education, funding, and access to opportunity is what truly drives inclusion.
With many businesses scaling back DE&I initiatives, my concept of Create Equality Instead (CEI) pushes for deeper structural change. For me, equality shouldn’t be an afterthought or a box-ticking exercise. It’s about ensuring talent thrives based on ability, not privilege, and that creativity isn’t limited to those with elite credentials or networks.
AI has the potential to be a powerful equaliser. By lowering the cost of creation and distribution, it can open the door for underrepresented voices to participate, innovate, and build audiences on their own terms. But for this to happen, we need intentional design – AI tools built with inclusion in mind, and ecosystems that support creators with the knowledge, resources, and platforms to grow.
Real progress comes not from bureaucracy, but from breaking down barriers to access. CEI isn’t just a critique of current DEI models – it’s a call to action to build a creative future that is truly open to all.
From ethical ownership to personal AI sovereignty, what legal frameworks or cultural shifts need to happen to protect both creators and audiences?
I believe it’s time for governments and public institutions to shift their focus toward responsible AI governance – one that protects artists and creators while also using AI to amplify diverse voices and broaden cultural participation.
AI shouldn’t serve only the interests of tech giants. It should be a force for inclusion, enabling more people to create, be heard, and contribute to culture in ways that were previously out of reach.
How can emerging creatives harness AI to break through traditional gatekeeping in industries like music, fashion, and design?
We’re in a cultural shift where creators no longer need to wait for validation from traditional gatekeepers like record labels, fashion houses, or publishers. Tools like Spotify allow musicians to distribute their work directly to global audiences, while Instagram, TikTok, and other social platforms have become launchpads for fashion designers, visual artists, and performers to build followings and shape their own brands.
In this landscape, creators are becoming their own managers, marketers, and producers – using digital tools to take full control of their careers. AI is the next evolution of this empowerment: helping to compose music, generate visuals, refine designs, and reach new audiences faster and more affordably than ever before.
As AI becomes more accessible, the creative economy can open up to more diverse voices and perspectives – especially those who have historically been shut out of mainstream systems. The key is building AI responsibly – so creators can use it confidently, sustainably, and with full agency over their work.
You’ve built products at the edge of music, film, and Web3. What excites you most about the convergence of these spaces in the next few years?
What excites me is the potential for truly adaptive, participatory experiences. We’re entering a new era where music doesn’t just play – it responds. Where film doesn’t just tell a story – it reshapes itself depending on who’s watching. And where ownership of these experiences doesn’t sit locked in a corporate vault, but is shared, provable, and permissionless.
When music, film, and Web3 converge through spatial tech, AI, blockchain, or other emerging technologies, we’re not just remixing formats, we’re inventing entirely new ones.
And more importantly, we’re democratising the power to shape them, making it possible for more people to create, contribute, and own a piece of culture.
You’re known for rejecting big-tech dominance in favour of decentralisation. What role do you think platforms like DAOs or decentralised tools will play in shaping the future of creativity?
Big tech solved for scale. But creativity thrives on connection, not scale.
DAOs and decentralised tools shift the power dynamic back to creators and their communities. It’s not just about removing the middleman, it’s about building new models of trust, ownership, and co-creation. These platforms allow collectives, not corporations, to decide what gets made, how it’s distributed, and who benefits.
This is more than a technical shift, it’s a cultural one. We’re moving from gatekeepers to community stewards, and that rewiring of the creative economy is long overdue.
That’s exactly the kind of thinking we’re embedding into the Creative Council at TrueRights: putting creators at the centre, co-designing systems that protect their rights, and ensuring new technologies serve creative communities – not exploit them. If we’re going to build a better future for creativity, it has to be inclusive, and co-owned from the ground up.
What advice would you give to young innovators in East London who want to build something that blends culture, technology, and social impact?
Follow the idea that won’t let you go, the one that keeps you up at night. Don’t wait until everything is perfectly planned. Start building now.
Let culture lead and use tech as a way to amplify your message, not define it. Stay curious. Stay connected to your community. And remember that the most impactful things usually start with a gut feeling, not a polished roadmap.
