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Creativity Squared: On A.I. and the Productivity Paradox

Dear Creativity Squared Collective —

We’re in a heat wave in Cincinnati, so I hope this finds you cool and well wherever you’re joining in from today!

First, many thanks to the Cincinnati Business Courier for their Fire Awards “Disruptor” Finalist recognition for CincyAI for Humans — we’re the largest A.I. meetup in the state of Ohio. Last week, I was proud to accept the plaque alongside my amazing Co-Founder and Co-Host, Kendra Ramirez, and on behalf of the more than 1,500 CincyAI members who are the heartbeat of our community, which champions a human-centered A.I. future.

Today’s subject line asks with the rise of A.I. — are you bored yet?

I’d say it feels more like whiplash with how quickly the space is evolving!

That said, the question was inspired by an Instagram Reel recently published by historian and author Rutger Bregman that highlights the transformational nature of A.I. on society and our economy — what happens when we don’t work anymore because the robots and A.I. are doing most of it?

Back in 1930, John Maynard Keynes in his essay “Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren“ predicted that the biggest problem of the future would be boredom!

This was based on the idea that technological progress would lead to a much shorter workweek — just 15 hours. What would society do with all that extra leisure time?

That hasn’t exactly come to pass despite all of modern life’s “progress.”

While I’d like for my biggest problem right now to be how I’ll spend all my time on leisure (I do have early retirement aspirations! 😉), productivity gains haven’t shortened the workweek — they’ve just transformed expectations around what can be done during it.

One of the promises often touted about A.I. is that it will automate the grunt work and free up our time for higher-order, more creative thinking. And yes, for the people and companies already using A.I., I know they’re seeing time savings…but is the quality of their workday actually better?

Or are they just being asked to do more and more in the same amount of time with A.I.? Take a wild guess at the answer! (Typed sarcastically)

Gary Vaynerchuk said this in one of his recent DailyVee YouTube videos on A.I.:

Instead of a lot of free time for higher-order thinking and creativity, this vision that Gary Vee outlines sounds like more pressure to perform (an image of an orange being squeezed for every last drop of juice is in my mind’s eye as I type this!). It also makes me think that the Amazon warehouse performance tracking is coming for white collar and creative jobs.

While I’d love to be preparing for job loss under an ideal and abundant leisure-filled approach, the reality is that the U.S. doesn’t have a strong social safety net, and we’re likely to see more job loss than we’re truly prepared for. A 15-hour workweek is fantastic if you can comfortably live your life; however, it can also be daunting, especially without a strong social safety net.

Rutger Bregman posits that we will need an entirely new social contract to meet this moment where our identities and worth aren’t tied to a job. He asks: What if a person’s existence did not need to be justified by work? Often we hear about universal basic income as the solution, and Bill Gates has suggested a robot tax. We’ll have to figure out the economics and the answer to the broader question it raises on how we spend our time and the meaning-making as it passes.

Finding meaning is part of what makes us most human, but a reframe I’ve come to embrace is: instead of human beings being meaning-making machines — we’re not machines at all! — everything already has meaning.

And through this lens, the content of our lives, with or without work, is meaningful — we just have to discover the meaningfulness in it.

I also wouldn’t mind being bored a little more often either. 😉

Next month, 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! Join to see many Creativity Squared guests speak, including Joanna Peña-Bickley and Cindy Gallop!

Two shameless plugs: book me as a speaker for your next event and pre-order my forthcoming book on the Imagination Age today!

Stay tuned for more content from SXSW (yes — I’m still waiting on a few videos!) and my interview with Afro House DJ Bluey.

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 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. 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 

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🐝 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! 

🤝 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 ArtsWave 2025 Black and Brown Artists Grant Program Showcase, Cincinnati

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

📺 BBC News (June 5, 2025) — What is the future of digital clones? 

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

🎙 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! 💝🪄✨

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