Creativity Squared: On Becoming A.I. Ready

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Dear Creativity Squared Member,

Hope everyone who celebrated had a great 4th of July! We’re back with a new Creativity Squared episode this week…and it’s all about leveraging A.I. to give power back to the people!

Episode 55’s guest is Steve Dong, the Founder and CEO of CybrCastle, where he's at the forefront of helping mid-market organizations become A.I.-ready safely, securely, and responsibly.

Many business leaders have reached out to me about how to confidently navigate A.I. and stay ahead of the curve in this fast-paced landscape. 

That's why in addition to this podcast, I'm building a trusted partner network dedicated to responsible, secure, and human-centered A.I. consulting and development that delivers meaningful results.

CybrCastle is part of my trusted partner network and I’m excited to have Steve on the show to discuss how we help clients accelerate with A.I. and mitigate the risks to achieve their business goals. Want to learn more? Reach out today!

Today in Episode 55, you'll hear about Responsible A.I. development with a focus on community and people-centered approaches. Steve shares insights on how small and midsized businesses can leverage A.I. to compete with larger tech companies. He also shares strategies for A.I. adoption, risk mitigation, and change management for business leaders.

The conversation covers A.I. readiness assessments, use cases across various industries, and the development of secure A.I. solutions for middle-market businesses. Steve discusses ROI considerations, emphasizing the importance of thoughtful implementation and cultural alignment.

Throughout the discussion, Steve emphasizes that A.I. should enhance human capabilities rather than replace them, and highlights the need for values alignment in A.I. projects. We also explore Cincinnati's growing role as a Responsible A.I. hub and the importance of community building in shaping the future of A.I. to amplify the best of human potential.

How can A.I. give power back to the people? Listen in to find out — enjoy!

Check out Episode 55 today!

This past Tuesday I co-hosted the 10th CincyAI for Humans meetup. We’re the largest A.I. meetup in the Southwest Ohio region and see over 150 people a month gather at UC’s Digital Futures building. This past Tuesday, we incorporated demos and I’m constantly blown away by the talent and community here in Cincinnati. If you’re interested in joining our August meetup, sign up for our newsletter for more info: https://cincyai.beehiiv.com/.

Scroll on to discover:

• 🎨 Featured Blog Post: ArtsWave Black and Brown Artist Showcase 2024: Truth & Innovation

• 📆 Calendar of Events: A.I. Conferences & Events Radar

• 🤯 A.I. + Creativity News Roundup

• 🎧 More on Episode 55

• 👯‍♀️ Apply to Join the Clone Club

• 💎 Creativity Squared Premium Member Benefits

• 💝 Milestone Rewards

• ❤️‍🔥 Premium Members: Episode NFT

We’re just getting started, and if you enjoy our content, I’d really appreciate it if you could share, review, like, subscribe, leave a comment, and help spread the word about Creativity Squared in whatever way you’re willing to. Your support is greatly appreciated, and the whole team looks forward to growing with your help. Thank you!

Here's to exponential possibilities!

Helen

Helen Todd (she/her)
Human behind Creativity Squared
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How creatives are collaborating with A.I.

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🎨 I want to live in a world where artists not only coexist with A.I., but thrive. And because it’s important to support artists, 10% of all revenue Creativity Squared generates goes to ArtsWave, a nationally recognized non-profit that supports over 150 arts organizations, projects, and independent artists. Consider becoming a Premium Member today! 

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📆 A.I. CONFERENCE & EVENTS RADAR

JULY 16-18 Black Tech Week, Cincinnati (Speaker)

JULY 18-19 Data 4 Public Good, Minneapolis (Speaker)

AUGUST 6 CincyAI Meetup, Cincinnati (Co-Host)

SEPTEMBER 4-6: MidwestCon, Cincinnati (Speaker)

SEPTEMBER 10-12: Marketing AI Conference (MAICON), Cleveland (Speaker)

NOVEMBER 20: Columbus AI Summit by OhioX, Columbus

Interested in having me speak at your event? Reach out!

Your A.I. + Creativity News Roundup

With all of the A.I. news flooding our feeds and screens, we’ve got you covered. News to check out includes:

A Hacker Stole OpenAI Secrets, Raising Fears That China Could, Too The New York Times — More than a year after the incident occurred, the public is just learning about a security breach OpenAI caught last year. Employees were informed at the time but OpenAI didn’t report the breach to authorities nor the public. The company said that it stayed mum on the breach because it believed the attacker acted alone and was not working for foreign governments or a criminal organization. The hacked materials reportedly included chats between OpenAI employees but not the code that runs OpenAI’s models. 

‘The disruption is already happening!’ Is AI about to ruin your favourite TV show? The Guardian — TV industry insiders say A.I. will disrupt low-budget reality TV, as it has already, but will never be able to write a great show. A.I. is already being used to replace actors, create marketing materials, and generate scenes for reality shows. A.I. could disrupt an estimated 203,800 American entertainment jobs by 2026. Despite concerns, some see A.I. as a tool to create new and innovative content, while others are working to protect the rights and interests of voice actors in the face of A.I.-generated replicas. 

Data workers detail exploitation by tech industry in DAIR report TechCrunch — A new report by DAIR and TU Berlin sheds light on the exploitation of data workers in the tech industry. Many tedious and psychologically damaging tasks are outsourced to poorer countries, where workers are paid significantly less. The report highlights the lack of support and the mental health challenges faced by data workers, emphasizing the need for better working conditions and ethical practices in the industry.

If We’re Living in a Simulation, Can AI Help Set Us Free? Decrypt — According to A.I. safety researcher Roman Yampolskiy, we’re almost definitely living in a simulation. He suggests that superintelligent A.I. could help us confirm this and potentially find a way to escape. But others, like philosopher Joshua Rasmussen, question the possibility of A.I. breaking free from a simulation if it was not designed to allow it. Yampolskiy proposes that exploiting glitches in the simulation could provide information about the external world and potentially allow interaction with the simulators. While breaking free from the simulation may not be possible, interacting through representations of ourselves could be a potential outcome.

Microsoft drops observer seat on OpenAI board amid regulator scrutiny The Guardian — Microsoft has withdrawn its observer seat on the OpenAI board, citing significant progress by OpenAI's new board. Some suspect that Microsoft is also responding to concerns from competition regulators. Apple will also no longer be able to appoint an executive to a similar role. U.S. and foreign trade regulators are scrutinizing big tech's cozy relationships with A.I. startups. Meanwhile, OpenAI is establishing a new approach to engaging strategic partners and hosting regular stakeholder meetings to ensure collaboration. Regulators in the UK and US are reviewing the Microsoft-OpenAI partnership, while the European Commission is scrutinizing exclusivity clauses. Investments in A.I. startups by tech giants are also under scrutiny.

Meta will soon let kids aged 10 to 12 interact with others in VR with their parents' approval TechCrunch — Meta announced that children aged 10 to 12 will soon be able to interact with others in VR with their parents' approval. Parents can add approved contacts for their child to chat with, call, and join parent-approved VR experiences. This move by Meta aims to familiarize younger users with VR technology and compete with companies like Roblox and Minecraft. Congress is also pressuring social media companies to protect children on their platforms.

Court ordered penalties for 15 teens who created naked AI images of classmates Ars Technica — In Spain, a group of teens will serve a year of probation after pleading guilty to a combined 40 charges for creating and sharing nonconsensual deepfake nude images of classmates. The convicted teens will also have to attend classes on gender equality and safe usage of online information systems. Governments are still struggling to deter or prosecute these cases. Some experts suggest shutting down deepfake generation sites, while others prioritize educating youth about the harms of sharing abusive imagery. 

CNN Firing 100 Employees Amid “Strategic Push Into AI” Futurism — CNN is laying off 100 employees as part of a modernization effort and a strategic push into artificial intelligence. CEO Mark Thompson said in a memo that the network aims to regain a leadership position in news experiences by harnessing A.I. to serve audiences and deliver journalistic goals more effectively. While the memo didn’t mention any specific plans, the news could be the first raindrop in an oncoming torrent of journalist layoffs. Previous A.I. efforts in media have been underwhelming or disastrous, so the success of CNN's A.I. push will be telling for the fate of the battered journalism labor market.

Listen: Ep55. Ready for A.I.?
Futureproof Your Business for the New Economy with Secure AI by CybrCastle’s Founder & CEO Steve Dong

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“If we’re going to use A.I. to build our future, A.I. needs to help us build community.”

-Steve Dong

Episode 55’s guest is Steve Dong, Co-Founder, President, and CEO of CybrCastle, where he's at the forefront of helping mid-market organizations become A.I.-ready safely, securely, and responsibly.

With an impressive track record of leading nine for-profit and two non-profit organizations, Steve’s superpowers include change management, executive governance, strategic development, and championing game-changing and world-changing innovations.

Listen to today’s episode to hear about Responsible A.I. development with a focus on community and people-centered approaches. Steve shares insights on how small and midsized businesses can leverage A.I. to compete with larger tech companies. He also shares strategies for A.I. adoption, risk mitigation, and change management for business leaders.

Check out the full conversation with Steve in Episode 55 today!

Digitally Clone Yourself!
The Avatar Experience Cincinnati

👯‍♀️ Ready to be digitally cloned? Get your own custom synthetic avatar! Creativity Squared is collaborating with our partner and sponsor, Render, to bring The Avatar Experience to Cincinnati, OH, on October 25 and 26 at ADC Fine Art Gallery (1013 York St. Cincinnati, OH 45214). Digitally clone yourself to unlock streamlined and dynamic video content — Book your cloning appointment today!

There are less than a thousand known hyper-realistic custom synthetic avatars in existence, so participants will be at the forefront of this groundbreaking A.I. technology. Custom synthetic avatars are part of a massive and growing digital avatar market and is projected to be $270B by 2030.

Custom synthetic avatars can be used for creating:

• Dynamic online course instruction

• Streamlined SEO video production of blog or audio-only content

• Turnkey social media and email marketing video content

• Engaging customer service messaging

• And more!

👯‍♀️ In case you missed the announcement, I’ve digitally cloned myself! Learn all about mine in episode E14. Not Deepfaked! I Cloned Myself. You’ll meet Helen 2.ODD, my digital double, and discover why and how I made my A.I.-created custom synthetic avatar.

Thank You to Render

Creativity Squared is supported by Render which provides Digital Likeness solutions for personal brand businesses, thought leaders, influencers, and business leaders who want to leverage their synthetic, A.I.-powered Likeness to communicate more effectively online and create audio and video content from anywhere without going on camera. Learn more by visiting: https://rendermedia.ai.

Interested in partnering with Creativity Squared? Reach out!

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