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Creativity Squared: On A.I. and Community in the Loop

Dear Creativity Squared Collective —

Hello from Detroit!

I’m here championing the Imagination Age, but before diving into my upcoming talks, I wanted to share an African philosophy I recently came across and have come to love: Ubuntu.

Ubuntu emphasizes human interconnectedness, placing community over individualism, and mutual respect, compassion, and shared responsibility at its core. It’s more than just a word — it’s a way of living that recognizes our shared humanity. At its heart, Ubuntu suggests that a person becomes a person only through other people — that our humanity is inextricably bound up in one another.

While much of the current conversation around A.I. focuses on solving loneliness or advancing individual self-actualization, Ubuntu reminds us that the true answer lies in community.

A Cincinnati A.I. leader and friend, Jon Salisbury, shared with me his concept of “community in the loop” instead of just “human in the loop” — a framing I’ve also come to love. It encourages the design of A.I. systems that are optimized not merely for individual benefit and engagement, but for fostering human-to-human and community connection. As we reimagine our shared future alongside A.I., it’s important to center not just humans, but community and our interdependence. Ubuntu invites us to remember: we do not thrive alone, but together.

I’m here in the Motor City to speak about the Imagination Age at Summit Detroit and couldn’t be more excited! Summit brings together 2,000+ of the planet's most impactful entrepreneurs, business leaders, artists, and change-makers, including Shepard Fairey, Scott Galloway, and Refik Anadol — a dream podcast guest!

For those in Cincinnati, I’ll also be speaking next week on the Imagination Age at Cincy AI Week, the largest A.I. conference in the Midwest (use code CincyAI50 for 50% off your ticket!). Following that, I’ll be on stage at AFTACON 2025, the annual convention presented by Americans for the Arts in partnership with ArtsWave, where I'll speak about A.I. and the civic impact of the arts. I’ll be joining another ArtsWave ambassador on stage, Flavia Bastos, Ph.D, who is a Distinguished Research Professor in Visual Arts Education at the University of Cincinnati, and really looking forward to our conversation.

Another event I’ll be returning to this July 17-18 is The JoySpan Salon in the Hudson Valley, NY (Use code HELEN-JOY2025 for 35% off!). Grab your ticket while it’s still available at early bird pricing! The Vibes AI's JoySpan Salon unveils a revolutionary fusion — where ancestral wisdom and A.I. innovation converge to unlock your mind's abundant imagination. Join to see many Creativity Squared guests speak, including Joanna Peña-Bickley, Cindy Gallop, and Eric Solomon!

Check out the recent BBC Tech Now episode that features me and my clone Helen 2.ODD and explores A.I. avatars — if you’re in the UK (or have a UK VPN 😉), here’s the full episode. 

As I mentioned last week, if you’d like to book me as a speaker for your next event, reach out today!

In parallel with working on my speeches, I’m also working on my book, “Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age.” Pre-order my forthcoming book today as a crowd-sourced advance to support an independent female voice and to be part of the movement championing a human-centered and community-centered future. Thank you to everyone who’s already ordered a copy — it means the world to me!

Stay tuned for more content from SXSW and my interview with Afro House DJ Bluey.

As always, thank you for being here and spending some time with me today.

Until next week, here’s to playing in the playground of possibility and manifesting more magic in 2025! 🪄✨

-Helen

p.s. Our 2025 podcast season will kick off again this summer, but we’ll keep the newsletter going between now and then, aside from the holidays and major conferences.

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

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💝 PRE-ORDER YOUR BOOK

Become a Creativity Squared and #ImaginationAge supporter today! Pre-order my forthcoming book as a crowd-funded advance, enabling me to bring it to life. The book is based on my SXSW presentation of the same name, “Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age.” Your financial support enables the movement and this independent female voice to champion it — thank you to everyone’s who’s already ordered a copy!

💝 SUPPORT CREATIVITY SQUARED & ARTSWAVE

How can you support this show? I’m so glad you asked! ☺️

Here are a few ways you can contribute to this independent female voice’s platform who’s championing Responsible A.I. and a human-centered future where it’s Dolly Parton and Holly Herndon — protectors of dreams and generative in their generosity and work — ushering in the #ImaginationAge (not AI ushering in the Intelligence Age, where humans are erased, starting with the framing…but I digress!).

Please consider supporting Creativity Squared in whatever way you can and would like to:

✅ Subscribe to the Creativity Squared YouTube channel (one day in the near future, I’ll be making money from this channel!)

🎨 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 or making a one-time tip!

🦋 I'm SUPER excited to share that my upcoming SXSW presentation, Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age, is becoming a book! 📗 The conversations on my podcast Creativity Squared have informed many of the concepts, and I couldn’t be more excited to present them on stage in Austin in March and in print this year. Pre-order your copy today as a crowd-funded advance to support an independent female voice. Your support will enable me to bring this idea to life — and is greatly appreciated! 🥰💛

🎉 And as a reminder, when you support this show, you’re also supporting ArtsWave!

🥳 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. For the third year in a row, we’re proud to partner with ArtsWave to also amplify the phenomenal artists selected for their 2025 Black and Brown Artist Program, elevating underrepresented voices and bridging cultural divides through art. You can get caught up on previous years’ ArtsWave interview series here!

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

👍 AFFILIATE RECOMMENDATIONS 

💝 Using these links also supports Creativity Squared, and we only recommend what we actually back!

🐝 We use Beehiiv for this newsletter and are big fans! (If you’re not aware of Substack’s racist issues, this NYT article is for you.)

🎙 Riverside is the platform we use for recording podcast episodes, and recommend the web-based software!

🎶 Play Audio Agency, headquartered in Cincinnati, is home to the team that helps produce the show and are audio rock stars!

🖥 Need a new website or the slightest of help on your current site? Check out e9 Digital — they created, and help us host and manage Creativity Squared’s website! They know how to make accessible websites which I love. Mention Creativity Squared for 20% off too!

📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE! 

🎤 JUNE 5-8 SUMMIT DETROIT (Speaker)
🎤 JUNE 10-12 Cincy AI Week (#CincyAIWeek), Cincinnati (CincyAI Community Partner & Speaker)
🏆 JUNE 11 The Fire Awards powered by the 1819 Innovation Hub (CincyAI is a finalist!)
🎤 JUNE 13 AFTACon (#AFTACON #AFTACON2025), Cincinnati (Speaker)
🤝 JUNE 17 CincyAI for Humans (CincyAI, #CincyAI), June meetup, Cincinnati (Co-Host)

🤝 JULY 1 CincyAI for Humans (CincyAI, #CincyAI), July meetup, Cincinnati (Co-Host)
📍 JULY 14-16 Black Tech Week, Cincinnati
📍 JULY 16-18 Data 4 Public Good (D4PG, #D4PG), Minneapolis
📍 July 17-18 The JoySpan Salon, Hudson Valley, NY (Use code HELEN-JOY2025 for 35% off!)
🎥 JULY 17-20 (Tentative dates) ArtsWave 2025 Black and Brown Artists Grant Program Showcase, Cincinnati (Media Partner)

For the full calendar, check it out here!

Interested in having me speak at your event or host a workshop for your organization? Reach out!

🗞 PRESS & PODCAST INTERVIEWS

🎤 SXSW 2025 “Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age” (March 11, 2025)

🎙 Fulcra Dynamics podcast, “The Augmented Life,” with CEO Michael Tiffany (April 29, 2025) — The Imagination Age Is Here: Reclaiming Attention, Creativity, and the Future of AI with Helen Todd

🎙 AI Explored with Michael Stelzner of Social Media Examiner (November 5, 2024) — Using AI to Expand Your Ideas and Creativity 

🎙 Reflections with an Accent with Kike Calvo (October 18, 2024) — Unveiling AI's Creative Power with Helen Todd | Reflections with an Accent 

🏆 Cincinnati Business Courier’s Fire Awards (May 2025) — Finalist in “Disruptor” category for CincyAI for Humans

🏆 Aviatra Accelerators (September 5, 2024) — Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award 

📖 Movers & Makers Magazine (October 1, 2024) — Notables in AI + Print

📖 Cincinnati Magazine + Print (December 19, 2023) — Clone Wars + Print

🖥 SXSW Conference Community Newsletter (December 5, 2024) — SXSW 2025 Speaker Helen Todd talks Digital Twins

🖥 UC News (July 5, 2024) — Mayor Pureval, Rob Richardson lead ethical AI symposium

🖥 UC News (June 4, 2024) — Community of AI enthusiasts expands in Cincinnati

🖥 AdAge (April 15, 2024) — The Dalí Museum used AI to recreate Salvador Dalí’s voice—so you can ask him anything

🖥 UC Office of Research (February 28, 2024) — CincyAI and Digital Futures Partnership: Growing AI Talent in our Region & Beyond 

Listen: Ep.75 BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting A.I.: Discover How Will Hatcher Manifested His Way to a Time100 A.I. 2024 Honoree

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“If you're trying to play life safe, then I don't think you can fully experience life, you know. So you gotta go to places that you never been before, be in uncomfortable situations, because that's where the real growth is.” -King Willonius

Discover the magic of manifesting in a Creativity Squared exclusive interview from the ONLY comedian (and one of two artists!) who’s a Time100 AI 2024 honoree in the Innovators category: King Willonius. 👑 

His real name is Willonius Hatcher (his first name is pronounced “Will-OWN-ee-us,” and he also goes by Will). 2024 has been a breakout year for Will after his “BBL Drizzy” comedy song went viral — the first song made in collaboration with A.I. that became a cultural phenomenon, transcending genres and mediums!  

What do Burning Man, Dune 2, and the Frost Planetarium have to do with his story? Listen in to our 75th episode — and the last one for 2024! — to find out.

Creativity Squared interviewed Will live at the FilmGate Miami Interactive Festival XI, one of the top ten immersive festivals in the world! You’ll hear why it’s so special from the festival’s Head Curator, Co-Founder, and Executive Producer, Diliana Alexander. 

On opening night, the FilmGate Miami audience got a preview of the “BBL Drizzy Musical Dome Experience”. Next year, Creativity Squared will be back to see the full production and host another time capsule conversation with Will. 

Once you check out the interview, you’ll know that Will is just scratching the surface of what’s possible — he’s ahead of the entertainment industries, and is definitely one to follow!

Why did he make the Time100 AI 2024 Innovators list? 

For Creativity Squared Founder and Podcast Host, Helen Todd’s take, check out the dedicated blog post accompanying this episode (we recommend starting with this first 😉):

Our 2025 podcast season will kick off again in April, but we’ll keep the newsletter going between now and then, aside from the holidays.

Here’s to manifesting more magic in the new year — enjoy! 💝🪄✨

Become a Premium Member to Unlock Exclusive Content and Claim Your NFT

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