While AI-generated art has been around for some time, the scale and technology behind Qatar ArtBeat truly set it apart. With a reach of over 5.4 million people, it achieved a Guinness World Record for the ‘Most People Contributing to an AI-Generated Image.’

“From a marketing standpoint, Qatar ArtBeat transformed the narrative from formal, top-down storytelling to a more participatory, people-driven approach. This inclusive strategy showcased the power of co-creation in fostering emotional connections,” remarks Nadim El Khoury, Director of Marketing & Public Relations at Media City Qatar.

Led by the creative agency ID8 Media for Media City Qatar (MCQ), this groundbreaking activation set a new standard for merging art, technology, and community engagement. It illustrated how AI can unite individuals and amplify their voices in unprecedented ways. Qatar ArtBeat harnessed advanced Google Cloud AI capabilities to gather participants’ sentiments and translate them into a compelling visual representation.

The initial phase of the Qatar ArtBeat initiative focused on sparking meaningful conversations around National Day. MCQ invited citizens and residents to share their memories and feelings on its social media platforms from December 9 to 17. Participants were encouraged to respond to questions like “What does Qatar mean to you?” and “What is your favorite childhood memory of Qatar National Day?” The initiative also integrated sentiments from broader public discussions about Qatar National Day 2024, ensuring representation in both English and Arabic.

As responses began to flow in, ID8’s AI platform kicked off the process of extracting insights and analyzing sentiments. Ali Husseini, Partner at ID8, explains that at the core of the project is their proprietary Sentiment Analysis Tool (SAT), which leveraged Google Cloud technologies such as Vertex AI, Gemini, and BigQuery.

“We utilized this tool to analyze participants’ text responses and monitored public social media conversations about Qatar National Day through APIs (application programming interfaces) like X.Com, Hootsuite, and Instagram. The latter was instrumental in integrating SAT with social media platforms, while X.com enabled the continuous capture of real-time tweets and posts. Additionally, the asynchronous messaging service Pub/Sub was employed for streaming analytics and data integration.”

The subsequent step involved structuring and storing the data, which was crucial for seamless downstream analysis and visualization. Cloud functions were employed to parse tweets and posts into predefined structures, extracting relevant information such as the tweet text, timestamp, username, hashtags, and mentions. This processed data was then stored in Firestore, a real-time NoSQL database chosen for its efficiency in data retrieval.

Once the raw data was organized, SAT sprang into action. AI and machine learning (ML) were activated to convert the structured data into meaningful insights. This included utilizing Vertex AI-powered natural language processing (NLP) models to evaluate the sentiment of each post. Posts were categorized into three groups: positive, negative, and neutral (informational or unbiased). AI models then summarized similar posts and hashtags to craft contextually relevant narratives.

“These narratives illuminated trends, recurring themes, and emotional undertones, forming the foundation for the visual artwork,” states Omar Abdelqader, CEO of ID8.

Similar stories were grouped and transformed into text prompts to describe the desired visual concept. Vertex AI’s image generation module, Gemini, then converted these prompts into high-quality images. Google Cloud’s Cloud Run was utilized to create mosaics that represented overarching themes with the images. Concurrently, SAT employed BigQuery and BigQuery ML to generate engagement metrics, sentiment trends, and demographic insights.

This data not only served to analyze trends but also to enhance SAT, Abdelqader adds. “In fact, it was used to train new AI models for improved sentiment analysis and narrative generation.”

Beyond its advanced AI capabilities, ID8’s Sentiment Analysis Tool provided users with an intuitive and user-friendly interface, ensuring smooth navigation and accessibility. The project dashboard offered a comprehensive view of the processed data, with dedicated sections for managing tweets, reviewing generated stories and images, and analyzing sentiments. It also delivered real-time insights into participant engagement, sentiment trends, keywords, and thematic highlights.

“These analytics provided a deeper understanding of community dynamics throughout the initiative. The real-time analysis ensured that operations remained smooth and continuous,” explains Husseini.

For a project of this scale, advanced security was paramount. SAT incorporates robust security features such as credential management and data encryption. Sensitive user data, including API keys, is securely stored using a secret manager. Furthermore, all stored data, including structured tweets, stories, images, and mosaics, is encrypted using Cloud Key Management Services (KMS). Its cloud logging capabilities allow for tracking all system events, including API interactions and errors, facilitating debugging.

“By automating the entire workflow, SAT provided a seamless and efficient method to transform raw social media data into actionable insights and visually engaging content,” Husseini explains.

In addition to the technology, the scale of Qatar ArtBeat is another factor that distinguishes the initiative. The final artwork—an amalgamation of 23,738 user contributions and 70,904 social media engagements—was unveiled on December 18, Qatar’s National Day. It was displayed across prominent locations throughout the country, including the Corniche, Lusail City, and Katara Cultural Village, and showcased on MCQ’s social media platforms.

“Through Qatar ArtBeat, MCQ has demonstrated Qatar’s capacity to cultivate digital spaces centered on inclusivity, accessibility, and empowerment. This activation transformed individual reflections into observations of community trends, shared values, and unity,” explains El Khoury from MCQ.

Qatar ArtBeat broke new ground in community engagement, uniting the nation around a creative and innovative initiative. It set a benchmark for the integration of art, technology, and community involvement, showcasing the symbiotic relationship between culture and technology.

“We were honored to contribute to Qatar ArtBeat, a celebration of creativity and innovation,” Husseini states. “Our mission has always been to bridge the gap between art and technology, and being part of this vibrant platform aligns perfectly with our values. By leveraging our expertise, including the sentiment analysis tool, we aim to amplify the voices of artists and foster meaningful connections within the creative community. Qatar ArtBeat is a testament to the power of collaboration, and we are proud to play a role in its success.”