Dani Sáenz is a Cannes Lion–winning Creative Technologist, psychologist turned innovation leader, and one of the sharpest voices at the intersection of AI, creativity, and human experience. Currently serving as Creative Tech Director for Coca-Cola Europe, Dani has pioneered projects that merge empathy with technology—from filters helping colorblind soccer fans to large-scale personalized AI video campaigns. As a jury member for the AI Design Awards, he brings both industry expertise and a deep passion for how generative AI is transforming the creative process. In this interview, Dani shares insights from Barcelona to Tomorrowland, his vision for AI-powered design, and why he believes the real magic lies in keeping humans at the center of every innovation.

1. Let’s rewind to Barcelona, some of our favourite moments — you handed out the trophies at our exhibition opening with a huge grin and a mic. What was going through your head seeing that mix of creators, art, and AI in one room?

Well, first of all, handing out the trophies was a lot of fun—though it’s always a bit of a dangerous affair to give me a mic, I might get too attached to the stage! But as delightful as that was, the real prize was meeting the artists. Many of them have since become references in my own AI classes, which is my way of saying I went there thinking I’d hand out awards… and ended up taking home a lot of inspiration (and a few nerdy notes).

But what struck me most that night in Barcelona was the feeling that AI isn’t here to replace human artistic expression, but to empower us to find entirely new ones. In art, it’s giving birth to new aesthetics, new “plasticities,” and in the audiovisual world, it’s reshaping how we produce and tell stories.

I truly believe we’re witnessing history. Events like this allow us to be active participants in a revolution—one that’s transforming how we create and consume images. Above all, I feel blessed and genuinely honoured to have been part of it.

2. From filters that help colorblind soccer fans to AI-generated personalized videos — your work always feels like a blend of clever tech and real empathy. How do you decide which “wild idea” is worth chasing?

For me, it all comes down to two things. First, an idea has to have the potential to create a meaningful impact—whether that’s solving a real problem or offering someone a completely new way to experience the world. And second, it has to give me that strange mix of nervousness and excitement. If an idea feels a little scary, like “can we really pull this off?” but also thrilling, that’s usually a sign it’s worth exploring.

The first part is very much a user-experience mindset. I believe technology for the sake of technology is never enough. The cleverest piece of tech means nothing if it doesn’t connect to a human need, a story, or an emotion. So I always start by asking, who does this matter to, and why? If I can answer that clearly, then it’s worth the late nights and the messy prototyping sessions. To me, that’s what true innovation is all about.

And the second part? That’s about having fun. We’re not here to copy what already exists—we’re here to push boundaries, to use emerging or even existing technologies in unexpected ways. That’s the “creative” part of my job title talking. Of course, it’s not always easy to convince a client to take those risks. That’s where knowledge, planning, and, let’s be honest, a very charismatic presentation come into play. But every now and then, the idea is so good and the tech stack so solid that we manage to bring the craziest concepts to life. And those are the projects people remember.

3. You’re rolling out an AI plan for Coca-Cola’s creative teams across Europe. No pressure. What’s the most exciting (or chaotic) thing you’ve learned leading that charge?

It’s been a wild ride! We’ve been on this journey for about two years now, and in the beginning, it was… let’s say interesting. Some creatives were genuinely worried that AI would replace them, while others were secretly using it—almost ashamed, as if it were “cheating” back then.

So the first step was to normalize it. We gave everyone access to the right tools—yes, the ones approved by our very thorough legal department—and we had open conversations, backed by usage data, about which processes were undeniably improved by AI. That transparency helped shift the mindset from fear, to curiosity, to ultimately seeing AI as an invaluable creative partner.

I was lucky to have the support of WPP and their amazing engineering team, plus partnerships with some of the biggest players in the AI space. Together, we built tools around existing creative workflows rather than forcing new ones—and that made all the difference.

What I’ve learned? A couple of things stand out.

The best creative minds benefit the most from AI. It’s not about letting the machine “do your homework,” it’s about having it sit with you while you work—automating the repetitive stuff so you can focus on the truly creative parts. It’s all about keeping humans in the driver’s seat: we make the plan, we conceptualize, we guide the vision—AI is there to assist, to amplify, but never to replace that spark of human intention.

AI is incredible at turning data into stories. Now our creatives can interact with an AI agent built from real audience insights—what we call a “synthetic audience”—as if they were having a direct conversation with the final customer. This opens the door to unexpected insights, helps validate ideas, test creative concepts, and much more. It finally feels like we’re delivering on that long-standing promise of truly data-driven creativity. We can even refine briefs using learnings from past campaigns, which means every day we’re getting better at connecting with our audiences—regardless of market, language, or cultural differences.

And finally, efficiency doesn’t kill creativity—it fuels it. For example, we can now shoot in any “location” using a mix of virtual production and AI-generated backgrounds—real actors, real products, but endless possibilities. Or we can hyper-adapt campaigns to each market based entirely on audience data. Imagine thousands of versions of the same ad: in Gdańsk it’s Coca-Cola and pierogi, in Valencia it’s Coca-Cola and paella. To me, these efficiencies aren’t really about saving money—they’re about allowing us to be bolder with our ideas, to dream bigger.

So yes, it’s been chaotic at times, but the payoff is huge. We’ve moved from skepticism to experimentation to truly transforming how we create.

4. You started as a psychologist, became a Cannes Lion-winning creative technologist, and now teach GenAI. If Past Dani could see Present Dani, what would he say… and would he believe you?

Oh, this is a good one. I come from a small town in Colombia, so I sometimes joke that I really had two paths in life: work on a coffee farm… or become Creative Tech Director at Coca-Cola Europe. Luckily, I picked the second one.

But seriously, I feel my career is a testament to the insane pace of technology and the industry around it. I always say tech moves faster than people, so we need to be ready for change. I’m living proof of that. As you pointed out, I’ve had to reinvent myself many times—but it never felt forced. Once I chose to work in tech, I made peace with the fact that the only constant would be change. My approach has always been to keep an eye on the future, learn as fast as I can, and implement as fast as I can—because honestly, the best way to learn is by doing.

That ability to adapt is a must these days if you work with technology in any capacity… which, let’s face it, is most of us now. It’s also a value I constantly try to encourage in my students, teams and the unlucky friends that got stuck with me.And to actually answer the question… even though I’ve always dreamed big, young Dani could never have imagined the life I have now. This career has allowed me to create things I’m proud of, build tech that genuinely impacts people’s lives, travel the world, work with incredible clients, and meet amazing people—like all of you. I don’t think little Dani would believe me if I told him all this, but he’d definitely be proud that, even today, I’m still making a living doing the things I’m passionate about.

5. Okay, real talk: what’s the nerdiest thing you’ve done with AI lately that made you feel like a wizard?

Oh, I have a few! The first that comes to mind is the Citrus Kick Effect campaign we created for Cappy across nine countries in Eastern Europe. The idea was simple but powerful: when you change small things in your day, big things can happen. So we asked people two quick questions about what small changes they were willing to make, and from their answers, we generated a completely personalized 20-second video in real time—custom images, custom story, everything.

Before this, hyper-personalized video campaigns took ages—especially because you need filters to prevent unsafe or off-brand content. But here, the whole process—from the user’s answer to receiving their unique video—happened in seconds. People ended up generating hundreds of thousands of unique videos, each one different. It honestly felt like magic.

Another fun one was in Spain for the launch of Aquarius Red Peach. The idea was that you could “pay with your effort,” so we trained a custom AI model to analyze your selfie and score your level of effort. If it was high enough, you’d win a free bottle. It was such a playful way of using tech to deliver on a creative concept.

And one of my personal favorites was the collaboration we did with Tomorrowland and Coke Studio. It wasn’t an AI-driven activation per se, but Generative AI was the only reason we could pull it off. Both brands are very protective of their image, and we had less than a month for the entire production. Without AI speeding up the design and approval process, it would’ve been impossible. The client was so happy they even took us to the festival—definitely a nice perk!

And yes… I’m such a nerd about this stuff that even my personal website has a few subtle AI-powered surprises. I’ll let you explore those yourself.