Creativity Squared: On the #ImaginationAge

Dear Creativity Squared Member —

Hope this finds you well wherever you’re reading this in the world!

On the many stages I’ve been on the past few months, I’ve stated many times:

Sam Altman is wrong.

Despite his unlimited resources, top PR talent, and bleeding-edge A.I., we're not entering the Intelligence Age — this sounds like a bad rebranded Information Age, and lacking a lot of imagination to me!

You may not know who I am, but you do know who would agree with me: Einstein. 

Who famously said: "Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there will ever be to know and understand."    

All invention starts in the imagination. We're sitting on so much data from the Information Age, but what wisdom?

We're promised trickle-down abundance and to "trust" the tech executives on this “unimaginable” flourishing, but Universal Basic Income and job loss dominate the conversations.

How are we preparing for all of the abundance A.I. is supposedly ushering in?  

The Imagination Age offers a new, positive framework for reimagining our shared future.

It can be added to the canon of utopian-leaning sci-fi, AfroFuturism, Indigenous Futurism, and Solar Punk.  

Or, instead of a framework, it may just end up being the new era we're entering that future historians will study.  

Following the Scientific Revolution was the Industrial Revolution, then the Information Age. In this great transition, what era is next?  

It’s not the Intelligence Age. It’s the Imagination Age.  

Where we come together and collectively reimagine our shared future — one where we all flourish, not just a few who promise it. Where the seeds of AfroFuturism, Indigenous Futurism, and Solar Punk take root — and bloom.  

It's not A.I. ushering in an Intelligence Age. That's how we lose agency.

It’s not just OpenAI’s PR team who gets to decide. That’s how we become complacent.

It's people. It's you and me — in community — deciding what we want our shared future to be.

And there’s so much opportunity to tap into when we all play in the playground of possibility, together!

Next week, I’ll share a great podcast interview where I dive into this more as a guest with Fulcra Dynamics CEO Michael Tiffany on his “The Augmented Life” podcast — stay tuned for this and more on the #ImaginationAge from SXSW, Miami Music Week, and all that we’re waiting on and polishing up to release!

💖 Become an #ImaginationAge supporter, and pre-order your copy today as a crowd-funded advance, enabling this independent female voice the financial support to write my book on the Imagination Age. Your financial support is greatly appreciated — thank you to everyone who has already ordered one!

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 in May, 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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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:

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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 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!

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📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE! 

🤝 MAY 6 CincyAI for Humans (CincyAI, #CincyAI), May meetup, Cincinnati (Co-Host)
📍 MAY 8 OhioX 2025 Ohio Tech Summit (OhioX, #OhioX), Columbus (On radar)
🎤 MAY 16 Power to Pursue, Cincinnati (Speaker)

🪑 JUNE 4 Content Authenticity Summit, NYC
🎤 JUNE 5 SUMMIT DETROIT (Speaker)
🪑 JUNE 10-12 Cincy AI Week (#CincyAIWeek), Cincinnati (CincyAI Community Partner)
🎤 JUNE 13 AFTACon (#AFTACON #AFTACON2025), Cincinnati (Speaker)
🤝 JUNE 17 CincyAI for Humans (CincyAI, #CincyAI), June meetup, Cincinnati (Co-Host)

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

🎙 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 

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

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

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! 💝🪄✨

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