“Curiosity rather than fear”: key takeaways from Mixmag Asia & EMC at SuperAI Singapore

Last week at the SuperAI conference in Singapore, Mixmag Asia, EMC Australia, Pulse Design, and Blu Moon joined forces to explore the potential of AI in reshaping the future of nightlife.

At a designated booth in the Community Hub, the collaboration brought to life a futuristic reinterpretation of Singapore’s historic Long Bar—transforming it into a visionary club concept, offering a glimpse into how AI can be applied to venue and club design.

On day two (June 19) of the conference, Mixmag Asia and EMC hosted What Happens When AI Meets Asian Club Culture?, a discussion focused on AI through a music culture lens which also included Jason Swamy (Co Founder, CEO and Creative Director of Do What You Love), and Kavan Spruyt (Co-Founder of RASA & Midnight Shift).

Over two days—with 7,000 people in attendance—SuperAI offered an array of insights across different sectors. Here, we share five key takeaways that stood out from the conversations.

1. The "Black Sheep Advantage"

EMC and Pulse Design embraced our black sheep mentality—owning our difference amongst a sea of optimisation for the same AI-suggested trends and metrics.

When the entire industry follows the same playbook, differentiation in energy or positioning can become your competitive moat. Edward Snowden's keynote ‘Freedom in the Age of Intelligent Machines’ reinforced this thinking, highlighting AI's "averaging trap" where systems push everything towards the generic and the standardised.

As Snowden stated: “We have to guard ourselves right now from the beginning, from the idea that the average is desired, the fact that the average is the ideal. Collectively or individually, the average is not the ideal. The average is the enemy. The average is slop. The average is not original. The average is not inspired. It is the bad habit. It is the skip workout. Is the worthless television filler episode that is us at our lowest and most common.”


2. Keeping pace with change through curiosity

Coming from the music perspective with curiosity rather than fear reveals how AI can benefit creatives. The speed of development means those who approach this space with open minds have opportunities to authentically engage and collaboratively explore possibilities that didn't exist months ago.

As Manus Co Founder Tao Zhang shared in his keynote, "Some of us aren’t using browser extensions any more. While we are working, the world is changing."


3. Human collaboration becomes more valuable, not less

Genuine human collaboration creates something AI cannot replicate: shared vision, trust, and care. Our collaborative synergy becomes a superpower when authentic relationships matter more than individual brand (or bot) strength. When everyone has access to the same AI tools and outputs, the differentiator becomes how well teams work together to create something genuinely distinctive.


4. AI will push creatives towards greater uniqueness

Rather than replacing human expression, AI challenges artists to drive uniqueness and originality further. When AI replaces human creativity, the result is "slop"—the uninspired, the average. This reality makes authentic human vision and differentiation increasingly valuable in countering the "mass average" effect.


5. AI's good-use potential

SuperAI's program revealed significant potential in unexpected areas such as accessibility, education and nightlife. AI for Disability Inclusion: Breaking Barriers highlighted how AI-powered assistive software can enhance quality of life for people living with disability, empowering their workforce participation.

In education, AI can democratise music learning by removing financial barriers for children and communities. Our collaboration with Pulse Design demonstrated using AI in design processes for club spaces and sound planning to mitigate tensions between residents and nightlife communities. SuperAI reinforced that whilst AI can optimise and automate, it's human vision, collaboration, and creative courage that will shape what’s to come.

View more images from the panel session in the gallery above.

Arun Ramanathan is Mixmag Asia’s Director. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

Jane Slingo is the Director of EMC Australia. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

Cut through the noise—sign up for our weekly Scene Report or follow us on Instagram to get the latest from Asia and the Asian diaspora!