Creativity Squared: On A.I. and Data Justice

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Dear Creativity Squared Member,

What if the key to our future lies not in what we know, but in what we dare to imagine together?

For the 60^th episode, Creativity Squared has partnered with the Twin Cities Innovation Alliance (TCIA) for a special three-part data justice series. The intention of these conversations is to invite the audience to reimagine our relationship with the future.

TCIA is a coalition of cross sector stakeholders building and developing problem-solving ecosystems in collaboration with communities.

These interviews feature the distinguished speakers from TCIA’s 2024 conference, Data 4 Public Good (D4PG), which I am very grateful to have been a part of this year.

D4PG taps into the collective power of community-based changemaking through technology, democracy, and justice.

The timely and important themes from these interviews include co-powering, digital justice, data privacy, A.I. in education, Afrofuturism, and the power of narrative for social change.

Today’s episode guests in part one include…

• Aasim Shabazz – Changemaker, Innovator, and Co-Founder of TCIA

• Marika Pfeffercorn – Disruptor, Builder, and Co-Founder of TCIA

• Dr. Cierra Kaler-Jones – Narrative Power-Builder & Executive Director, Rethinking Schools

• Dr. Chelsea Barabas – PhD Researcher, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

• Alicia Ranney – Vice President of Data & Evaluation, Metropolitan Alliance of Connected Communities

• Cassandra Hendricks – Data Consultant, Metropolitan Alliance of Connected Communities

A theme that has emerged through conversations on the show is re-imagining the future and what it can look like. These incredible experts opened my eyes to a lot of important topics on data justice and the power of storytelling that I’m excited to share with you.

Check out Episode 60 today!

Scroll on to discover:

• 🔮 Featured Blog Post [from our Archives]: Celebrating Surrealist Icon Salvador Dalí’s 120th Birthday with the Immortal A.I. Dalí

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

• 🤯 A.I. + Creativity News Roundup

• 🎧 More on Episode 60

• 👯‍♀️ 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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📆 A.I. CONFERENCE & EVENTS RADAR

SEPTEMBER 4-6: MidwestCon, Cincinnati (Speaker)

SEPTEMBER 10-12: Marketing AI Conference (MAICON), Cleveland (Speaker) - Use Code “Todd100” for $100 Off!

SEPTEMBER 17: CincyAI Meetup, Cincinnati (Co-Host)

SEPTEMBER 17-19: Columbus AI Week, Columbus (Speaker)

OCTOBER 7-10: StartupCincy Week 2024, Cincinnati (Speaker)

OCTOBER 8: CincyAI Meetup, Cincinnati (Co-Host)

OCTOBER 17: Illuminate: Together Digital National Conference (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:

Forget Midjourney — Flux is the new king of AI image generation and here’s how to get access Tom’s Guide — The latest product to take the GenAI industry by storm is a lightweight, open-source A.I. image generator that outputs images rivaling the quality of Midjourney’s. Flux, from startup Black Forest Labs, can produce convincingly realistic images of humans, even down to the hands, a detail that image generators have struggled with. Flux is also lean enough to run on a decent laptop, lowering the barrier for creatives who don’t want to work in a private source model and don’t have the computing resources to run their own models. 

X’s AI image generator debuts with few guardrails on political content NBC News — Grok 2.0, the latest iteration of X’s native A.I. model, will create any image you ask. Presidents snorting cocaine? No problem. The no-holds-barred moderation policy for Grok’s image generator aligns with X CEO Elon Musk’s (selective) vision of making his platform the home of free speech online. The lack of guardrails in Grok 2.0 is adding to concerns from digital watchdogs who say that X has become a hotbed for distributing nonconsensual deepfake porn and misinformation. 

AI’s legal reckoning is one step closer The Washington Post — A federal judge ruled recently that an art copyright lawsuit against Midjourney and Stability AI can proceed to the discovery phase. Even though parts of their case were dismissed, the artists behind the suit are celebrating the decision as a win. The discovery phase of this lawsuit, which is the furthest along among several A.I. copyright lawsuits, could offer insights on A.I. developers’ thinking and internal discussions.  

Ex-Google CEO says successful AI startups can steal IP and hire lawyers to ‘clean up the mess’ The Verge — Eric Schmidt found himself in hot water after suggesting on camera that remote work was to blame for Google’s lackluster standing in the A.I. race. He walked those comments back shortly after, but in the same speech to Stanford students, he also said the quiet part out loud regarding the attitude in Silicon Valley toward the intellectual property rights of creators. “What you would do if you’re a Silicon Valley entrepreneur … if [your A.I. app] took off, then you’d hire a whole bunch of lawyers to go clean the mess up, right? But if nobody uses your product, it doesn’t matter that you stole all the content.” 😬

Biden hosts first Creator Economy Conference for influencers to talk AI, privacy and more CNBC — Over 100 digital content creators met at The White House yesterday to discuss the future of the creator economy with President Biden and Cabinet officials. At the first event hosted by the White House’s Office of Digital Strategy, influencers shared their concerns regarding A.I., fair pay, data privacy, and social media’s mental health impact. Biden, who is not seeking reelection in November, joked with attendees about lining up a new job as an influencer when he leaves office. 

Hollywood union strikes deal for advertisers to replicate actors' voices with AI Reuters — SAG-AFTRA announced a new agreement yesterday with an online talent marketplace that lets actors license their voices for commercial use. Actors who sign up on Narrativ can set their own rates, and brands are required to obtain consent from actors for each ad that uses the actor’s voice. The deal is a step toward protecting actors’ likenesses from being deepfaked and used commercially without compensation or the actor’s permission.

Listen: Ep60. Data Justice, A.I. & Reimagining our Future Part 1
with Data 4 Public Good Speakers #D4PG 

Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Pandora | Amazon | Google | SoundCloud | iHeart Radio

“How do we shift and shape some of the harmful narratives around A.I. and technology? And how do we build something more beautiful, more loving, more liberatory? A lot of that is really centered in community.“

– Dr. Cierra Kaler-Jones

Today, we are launching another three-part series! Episode 60 of Creativity Squared is part one of our dive into the Data 4 Public Good conference, where you’re invited to reimagine the future through the lens of A.I. and data justice.

Today’s featured speakers include:

• Aasim Shabazz – Changemaker, Innovator, and Co-Founder of TCIA

• Marika Pfeffercorn – Disruptor, Builder, and Co-Founder of TCIA

• Dr. Cierra Kaler-Jones – Narrative Power-Builder & Executive Director, Rethinking Schools

• Dr. Chelsea Barabas – PhD Researcher, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

• Alicia Ranney – Vice President of Data & Evaluation, Metropolitan Alliance of Connected Communities

• Cassandra Hendricks – Data Consultant, Metropolitan Alliance of Connected Communities

Mark Your Calendars

To participate in the “Data Justice Week of Action” taking place September 16-20, 2024 visit: https://www.tciamn.org/data-justice-futures

Also, mark your calendars for July 15-20, 2025 when the D4PG conference will return to Macalester College in the Twin Cities. Sign up for TCIA’s newsletter so you don’t miss the opportunity to join next year: https://www.tciamn.org/d4pg

Check out Episode 60 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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