Creative Technologist & PhD ResearcherChris Chowen

I'm a creative technologist and PhD researcher exploring how non-technical creatives can use AI to build real software. My research at the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in AI for Digital Media Inclusion focuses on vibe-coding — building applications through conversational AI development rather than traditional programming.

A key concept from my research is the compression gap: AI tools compress the journey from nothing to working prototype dramatically, but the final distance to production-ready software still demands knowledge that prompting alone cannot replace. Understanding that gap is the difference between building something useful and building something that merely looks useful.

Before the PhD, I spent seven years at Wired Sussex managing The FuseBox innovation hub, running VR, AR, and AI projects across Sussex. I regularly speak at conferences and meetups on creative AI and emerging technology, and consult with creative organisations on AI strategy and prototyping.