Creativity Squared: On Truth, A.I. & Reality 

Dear Creativity Squared Member,

Who owns the truth? Navigate A.I. and the endless worlds of manufactured realities and their impact on our understanding of truth in today’s fascinating conversation with Gerfried Stocker.

Gerfried is a media artist and an engineer for communication technology and has been Artistic Director and co-CEO of Ars Electronica since 1995.

Ars Electronica was established in 1979 and for over 40 years has been Europe’s largest festival and platform for art, technology, and society. Ars Electronica never asks what technology can or will be able to do, but always what it should do for us, which we applaud their human-centered approach.

The 2023 Ars Electronica Festival will take place September 6-10 in Linz, Austria. In today’s episode, listen as Gerfried explores its theme “Who owns the truth?” and discusses truth and reality, how we’re building multiple and manufactured realities, and the importance of art to explore ambiguity to meet this moment in time.

🗓 Also, mark your calendars for July 14-15: ArtsWave Truth and Healing Artist Showcase will be at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati. The Truth & Healing Film Festival is part of the Artist Showcase, featuring thought-provoking visual art, performances, and films by 18 of the Cincinnati region's leading Black and Brown artists.

As a proud partner, we'll be there interviewing the artists and look forward to sharing their stories with you. Learn more about ArtsWave and why we proudly support the organization with 10% of all revenue in Ep9. Art Bridges Cultural Divides: Discover the Power of Art as a Great Unifier with Janice Liebenberg, VP of Equitable Arts Advancement at ArtsWave.

Check out the film festival teaser video:

Scroll on to discover:

• 🎧 More on Episode 11

• 🤯 A.I. + Creativity News Roundup

• 🧐 What Do A.I. Hallucinations Mean for Truth, Trust, and the Future?

• 💎 Creativity Squared Premium Member Benefits

• 💝 Milestone Rewards

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

Also Noteworthy:

🎤 Speaking proposals for the 2024 SXSW Conference are now being accepted via PanelPicker®. I’m an advisor, speaker, and unofficial ambassador for SXSW and always encourage everyone with forward-thinking ideas to apply! The deadline is July 23.

🧵 Joined Theads? Follow me at @helenstravels — looking forward to connecting with you there too!

🤖 Stay tuned! In a few weeks you’ll get to meet my custom synth Helen 2.ODD! Listen to episode 5 featuring Render CEO Jon Tota to learn all about custom synths and their business and creative use cases. Render is a Creativity Squared sponsor and partner, and is currently rendering Helen 2.ODD!

🐝 We use Beehiiv for this newsletter, and recommend it!

🎨 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! 

🎵 Anyone who’s a fan of music will want to hear next week’s interview we have teed up with Zach Evans. He helped found and is the head of Harmonai, a Stability AI research lab and online community dedicated to creating open-source generative audio models and pushing forward creative uses of generative A.I. in music production. His story is interwoven into the history of generative A.I. music and you’ll get a full download of everything to know in the space.

🚀 Interested in becoming a sponsor of Creativity Squared? Reach out!

Helen Todd (she/her)
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How creatives are collaborating with A.I.

Listen: Ep11. Gerfried Stocker:
Truth, A.I. & Reality
Investigate Truth & Ambiguity through Art with Gerfried Stocker, Artistic Director of Ars Electronica

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“Fake always needs some real element that you can fake. So it always has to be related to some reality. But A.I. is now enabling an endless number of manufactured realities. So in the blink of an eye, you can create hundreds of thousands of different realities that you don't even have to make it up. So without even that fantasy of people to make up new fictions and realities, it's just the machines. And this is probably something that really will have a huge impact on so many areas.”

In an era where technology infiltrates every aspect of our lives, the role of art becomes increasingly crucial in understanding and shaping the complex relationship between technology and society. At the forefront of this exploration stands Ars Electronica, an organization that transcends traditional boundaries to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and examine the profound impact of technology on our lives.

Founded in 1979, Ars Electronica has been Europe’s largest festival and platform for art, technology, and society for over 40 years.

Join us as Gerfried Stocker, Artistic Director and co-CEO of Ars Electronica since 1995, discusses the upcoming 2023 Ars Electronica Festival and its intriguing theme: Who owns the truth?

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:

• Virtual Reality, Simulation Theory, Consciousness, and Identity (with David Chalmers) Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg — This thought-provoking podcast conversation asks: What does philosophy have to say about virtual reality (VR)? Under what conditions is "normal" reality preferable to VR? To what extent are VR experiences "real"? How likely is it that we're living in a simulation?

• What to Know About ChatGPT’s New Code Interpreter Feature The New York Times — The latest development in language model technology is the introduction of a code interpreter for ChatGPT. This new feature enables ChatGPT to execute basic programming tasks, analyze data, create charts, solve math problems, and more. To access it, it will cost you a subscription fee of $20 per month.

• Elon Musk’s new xAI company launches to ‘understand the true nature of the universe’ The Verge — Announced yesterday on Twitter, Elon Musk Tweeted “Announcing formation of @xAI to understand reality“. Just what we need, another Musk company…

• Sarah Silverman Sues OpenAI and Meta Over Copyright Infringement Engadget — Comedian Sarah Silverman filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Meta for copyright infringement. The lawsuit alleges that the companies trained their large language models on copyrighted materials without obtaining consent. We’re sure to see more of this in the future!

• 27% of Jobs at High Risk from AI Revolution Reuters — The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reported that 27% of jobs are in danger of being eliminated due to artificial intelligence. Jobs at highest risk were defined as those having more than 25 of the 100 skills and abilities that could be easily automated. OECD states that minimum wage, collective bargaining, policy, and government action are necessary to ensure workers rights.

• ChatGPT Users Fall for First Time, Shaking Faith in AI Revolution The Washington Post — The number of people visiting ChatGPT’s website and downloading its app fell nearly 10%, the first drop since its launch in November. It’s a small sign that consumer interest may be beginning to wane after the initial excitement. The decline also highlights the challenges in developing A.I. systems that can consistently deliver high-quality interactions for those seeking reliable and comprehensive responses.

• Hollywood Shutdown Looms as Actors Say Contract Talks Have Collapsed New York Times — SAG-AFTRA, representing 160,000 television and movie actors, could strike as soon as Thursday (today!), joining screenwriters who have been picketing for over 70 days with no end in sight. Writers are still highlighting their concerns over fair compensation, creative control, and the increasing reliance on A.I. to generate scripts and content. Even if writers can manage some wins, the root cause of the rapid ascent of technology in the industry will continue.

• Zombie Twitter has Arrived The Atlantic — On the social media front, Instagram’s Threads proves that social media is fated to repeat a cycle of life and death. “It’s not exactly like rebuilding your home on the coastline after it was destroyed by a hurricane, but the vibe is similar: rebirth and hope, but also regret and dread. If only it had all just fallen into the sea.”

• The Creator Economy’s AI TakeoverThe Information — A.I. has piqued the interest of investors when it comes to funding creator economy startups. Runway, developer of an A.I. model that generates images from text prompts or an existing image, has raised over 230 million dollars and is backed by names like Google and Salesforce.

Read: What Do A.I. Hallucinations Mean for Truth, Trust, and the Future?

Dive into the intriguing — and concerning — world of A.I. hallucinations. Not the psychedelic kind, but fabricated, often nonsensical, yet thoroughly convincing outputs from A.I. systems. These "hallucinations" range from amusing absurdities to potential dangers, like citing entirely fictitious court decisions or disseminating mass misinformation.

What's causing these digital delusions, and what are the implications? From personal decisions to societal impacts, we're exploring the unnerving reality of this A.I. phenomenon. It's a critical look at truth, trust, and the future in an A.I.-driven world.

If you remember one thing, it’s: Be skeptical, and never assume that any information generated by A.I. is the truth!

Read this insightful deep dive written by Edward Gibbons-Brown exploring what A.I. hallucinations mean for truth, trust, and the future.

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.

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