Central OC Times

Beall Applied Innovation at the University of California, Irvine has announced the launch of NarrA.I.tive, a new initiative that merges the university’s academic strengths with the global entertainment industry and the innovative spirit of Orange County. The program aims to harness artificial intelligence for positive impact across creative industries.

“As AI’s influence expands, the opportunity and responsibility to steer it in positive directions is crucial,” said Errol Arkilic, UC Irvine’s chief innovation officer. “Through NarrA.I.tive, we redirect doom-and-gloom scripts to scripts of inspiration, education and enthusiastic support for creators as artificial intelligence increasingly influences the industry.”

NarrA.I.tive plans to establish UC Irvine and Orange County as leaders in reshaping the artistic and technological ecosystem surrounding storytelling. The initiative will attract partners and collaborators to support its state-of-the-art objectives, create revenue-generating content and tools, unify academic excellence with emerging content production methods, and develop a structure for efficient project execution and student involvement.

Supporting NarrA.I.tive’s mission, Beall Applied Innovation has formed a strategic collaboration with Apples and Oranges Arts. This Orange County-based nonprofit entertainment and education studio was co-founded by UC Irvine alumnus Tim Kashani ’86, MBA ’88, along with his wife Pamela Winslow Kashani. Since 2008, Apples and Oranges Arts has empowered storytellers to become creative entrepreneurs by combining educational platforms, technological integration, and fostering a community of new and existing voices.

“Through NarrA.I.tive, we blend the magic of storytelling with the power of technologies such as artificial intelligence and extended reality,” Tim Kashani said. “This collaboration marks a new era of creativity and technology alignment that requires ethical stewardship placing the human front and center.”

In July 2024, Apples and Oranges Arts finalized plans with Beall Applied Innovation for the NarrA.I.tive Story Studio at Cove@UCI in UC Irvine's Research Park. Apples and Oranges Arts will lead this studio through training in new technologies driving future entertainment industry trends while collaborating with UC Irvine schools involving students and faculty in tool development and content production.

“We invite storytellers, technologists, philanthropists, investors and the global community to join us in reshaping the future of storytelling,” said Stuart Mathews, director of industry alliances at Beall Applied Innovation. “Together we will explore expanding possibilities that AI brings to narrative arts redefining how stories inspire entertain elevate human experience.”

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