Creativity Squared: On A.I., Freedom, and Creativity

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Dear Creativity Squared Member,

Hope you had a wonderful Fall Equinox this past weekend! I can’t believe October is right around the corner! It’s been another big week in the world of A.I. with Meta’s announcements yesterday and OpenAI becoming a for-profit, so you won’t want to miss our news roundup section.

Last week I got to meet Chris Wanstrath, Co-Founder of GitHub and Founder of indie game studio Null Games, at the University of Cincinnati’s Founders + Funders event.

Back in 2017, Chris predicted that the future of coding would be no code at all. With the power of A.I., this prediction is coming to fruition today. While he said it’s still very hard to make games, he agreed with me that A.I. is going to make it much easier to create games…and enable a whole new crop of voices to bring their games to life. This is on the heels of Electronic Arts (EA) announcing “Imagination to Creation,” a ‘text-to-game’ system that can create playable game content in real-time!

Similarly to how the iPhone turned us all into photographers, A.I. is going to turn us all into creators, videographers, game makers, developers, and world-builders. If you’re not paying attention to gaming, start — especially since the global gaming industry generates more revenue than the music and movie industries combined!!

Our featured blog post goes more into EA’s ‘text-to-game’ announcement — check it out here.

For today’s Creativity Squared podcast episode, we’re mixing things up a bit. Instead of our regularly scheduled interviews, I answered a listener question on creativity, freedom, and constraints against the backdrop of the GenAI landscape. Listen to Episode 66 now!

What are your reactions, thoughts, comments and/or questions on this topic or any other at the intersection of A.I. and creativity? Reply to this email or share through our Contact Us page — your feedback may be featured in a similar episode in the future!

Next week, we have a special interview for ya with two A.I. luminaries, Dinesh Maheshwari and guest co-host Joanna Peña-Bickley, who explore what it means to be human in the age of artificial intelligence. Dinesh is a humanist entrepreneur, advisor to several startups, and Chief Technology Advisor at Groq. Joanna, who was featured on Episode 4, is the Founder & CEO of Vibes AI, an A.I.-first wearable company prioritizing brain vitality.

Check out Episode 66 today!

Scroll on to discover:

• 🎮 Featured Blog Post: EA's A.I.-Powered Game Creation: Democratizing Digital Worlds

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

• 🤯 A.I. + Creativity News Roundup

• 🎧 More on Episode 66

• 👯‍♀️ 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

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

OCTOBER 8: CincyAI Meetup, Cincinnati (Co-Host) - Our ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY 🥳

OCTOBER 11: Kent State University Creative Sectors Lecture + Workshop Series (Speaker)

OCTOBER 17: Illuminate: Together Digital National Conference (Speaker)

NOVEMBER 5: CincyAI Meetup, Cincinnati (Co-Host)

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:

The Intelligence Age Sam Altman’s Personal Blog — The CEO of OpenAI highlights how A.I., particularly through deep learning, has made significant progress and will continue to improve with increased resources. He says that the future promises personal A.I. assistants, virtual tutors, and enhanced healthcare, and will lead to unprecedented prosperity. However, he also emphasizes the need to manage the risks associated with A.I., such as changes in labor markets, to ensure its benefits are widely accessible and not just limited to the wealthy. Overall, Sam Altman envisions a future where A.I. significantly enhances human capabilities and quality of life.

Meta Connect 2024: the biggest announcements The Verge — Meta Connect 2024 introduced several exciting updates, including the new Quest 3S VR headset, which is priced at $299.99 and offers many features of the Quest 3 but at a lower cost. Meta also unveiled the Orion AR glasses, which use Micro LED projectors and waveguides to display images and include generative A.I. capabilities. The Ray-Ban smart glasses received software updates for reminders and real-time speech translation, along with new styles. Additionally, Meta announced A.I.-generated content for Facebook and Instagram, celebrity A.I. voices, and a new Llama model with image processing capabilities.

FTC Targets AI Companies for Exaggerating Their Tech in Latest Consumer Protection Sweep Decrypt — The FTC has targeted five companies for allegedly exaggerating their A.I. capabilities in a recent consumer protection sweep. These companies, including DoNotPay, Ascend Ecom, Ecommerce Empire Builders, Rytr, and FBA Machine, were accused of using deceptive marketing practices to mislead consumers about their A.I. products. The FTC’s actions are part of a crackdown on “A.I. washing,” where companies falsely claim advanced A.I. features to attract customers. The companies received temporary cease-and-desist orders and significant financial penalties in some cases. 

OpenAI planning to become for-profit company, say reports The Guardian — OpenAI is planning to transition into a for-profit benefit corporation while seeking $6.5 billion in new funding. This move follows the departure of several senior figures, including CTO Mira Murati. Despite the restructuring, OpenAI’s nonprofit entity will continue to exist. The company, which has Microsoft as its biggest investor, aims for a new valuation of $150 billion. However, concerns have been raised by former employees about the company’s commitment to safety and responsible decision-making regarding artificial general intelligence. CEO Sam Altman acknowledged these concerns and emphasized the company’s ongoing commitment to its mission.

New Cloudflare Tools Let Sites Detect and Block AI Bots for Free WIRED — New tools introduced by the website hosting and cybersecurity platform Cloudflare allow websites to detect and block A.I. bots for free. Cloudflare’s CEO, Matthew Prince, emphasized the unsustainable nature of rampant A.I. scraping and outlined the company’s plan to address it. They help websites protect their content from being scraped by A.I. bots, which can lead to unauthorized data usage and potential security risks. This initiative is part of Cloudflare’s broader effort to enhance internet security and maintain the integrity of online content.

Introducing the OpenAI Academy OpenAI — The OpenAI Academy is a new initiative aimed at investing in developers and organizations that use A.I. to address significant challenges and drive economic growth, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The Academy will provide advanced training and technical resources to enhance local A.I. talent in sectors like healthcare, agriculture, education, and finance. 

Why creatives are rooting for this Adidas 'Floral' spec ad crafted entirely by AI Marketing Interactive — Blair Vermette’s speculative ad for Adidas, created entirely using A.I. tools like RunwayML, Midjourney, Adobe Creative Suite, and Upscaled by Topaz, has garnered significant attention. The ad features vibrant floral-printed clothing and shoes, set to Megan Thee Stallion’s song “Mamushi,” and showcases various Japanese locations. While some creative professionals praised its visual appeal and innovative use of A.I., others felt it lacked emotional depth and the human touch. The ad highlights the evolving role of A.I. in advertising, with experts agreeing that while A.I. can enhance creativity, the human element remains crucial for storytelling and emotional connection.

'Emotion AI' may be the next trend for business software, and that could be problematic TechCrunch — “Emotion A.I.,” a technology that helps A.I. bots understand human emotions, is becoming more relevant as businesses increasingly use A.I. assistants for tasks like customer service and sales. Emotion A.I. goes beyond traditional sentiment analysis by using visual, audio, and other inputs to detect emotions. Major A.I. cloud providers like Microsoft and Amazon offer emotion A.I. services. Despite its potential, there are challenges, including doubts about its effectiveness and regulatory concerns. Startups are actively developing emotion AI, but its future success remains uncertain.

Listen: Ep.66 A.I., Creativity & Freedom: Are Creativity and Freedom Inextricably Linked? Creativity Squared Host Helen Todd Answers Listener Question

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"Right now, we need human creativity and imagination to really explore what does this Age of Imagination look like, and how can we use A.I. to empower individuals and really live up to the promise of A.I. helping to amplify the best of human potential."

- Helen Todd

Are creativity and freedom inextricably linked?

In today’s episode, Creativity Squared host Helen Todd answers a listener’s question on the relationship between freedom and constraints in the creative process.

As we enter the Imagination Age, please accept this as your invitation to play in the playground of possibility. Exploring this brave new world requires nuanced conversations around what it means to be human and what this collective future we’re co-authoring together looks and feels like. We need human creativity and imagination now more than ever to break free from the patterns of the past that no longer serve us. And that’s why we’re diving into this listener question.    

In this episode, we'll explore:

• Does creativity flourish more with scarcity or with freedom?

• Can A.I. or GenAI match human creativity?

• How are artists collaborating with personal language models?

• What does Burning Man have to do with this?

Tune in now to gain valuable insights as Helen reflects on thought-provoking conversations with previous Creativity Squared guests Harry Yeff (Episode 1), Jason Schneider (Episode 23), Martin Groedl and Moritz Resl (Episode 32), Claire Silver (Episode 34), Yemi A.D. (Episode 49), and Lori Mazor (Episode 52).

What are your reactions, thoughts, comments and/or questions on this topic or any other at the intersection of A.I. and creativity? Share through our Contact Us page — your feedback may be featured in a similar episode in the future! 

Check out Episode 66 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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