Creativity Squared

🤠 Hello from SXSW!

Helen Todd (Human) — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 17:37:00 +0000

Creativity Squared: At SXSW 2026

Dear Creativity Squared Collective —

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

Today, I’m writing from Austin, TX, during SXSW, and already loving being back for the unofficial geek spring break!

As Co-Founder of CincyAI for Humans and our new Tide Rise (beta) app, I’m here with over 70 folks from Ohio for the #SXSWMidwestTakeover! 🥳

Here’s where I’ll be speaking —hope to see you there if you’re in town!

Today, Friday, March 13

Midwest House: Where Have Been & Where Are Going: AI, Music, & the Future
2:00-3:00pm - The Studio

Black Tech Week Meetup at Midwest House from 3:00-5:00pm - Austin Garden

Midwest House at Inn Cahoots

Ope, sorry, going to sneak a full day at InnCahoots right in here. The Midwest ain't flyover country — it’s takeover country. And we're coming for your Friday…

luma.com/0mypd7p5?tk=gTOXHi

Sunday, March 15

🇦🇹 BOLD Minds @ Advantage Austria Breakfast from 8:00 – 9:30am with Helen Todd opening the BOLD Minds breakfast with the Austrian delegation at the Austrian lounge. The Royale Room Ground floor at the Thompson Hotel | 506 San Jacinto Blvd | Austin, TX 78701

🪄✨ Imagination Age @ SXSW with King Willonius from 6:30-9:30pm at Something Cool Studios in East Austin at 1717 E Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX 78702.

Imagination Age with King Willonius @ SXSW 2026 🪄✨ · Luma

Escape from the chaos of SXSW for a relaxing evening of connection, collaborative art, and wonder. 🪄✨
Join the Imagination Age at SXSW for:

🪄✨ Special guest and performance by King Willonius 
🪄✨ Open bar and Imagination Age Lemonade 
🪄✨ Donrian's Bistro's specialty flautas, quesadillas, and tacos 
🪄✨ DJ, collaborative art, and intentional gathering  

Dinner is brought to you by Dorian’s Bistro, a top-rated Mexican food trailer in Downtown Austin, known for their authentic street-style cuisine, freshly prepared tacos, signature Flautas, and other traditional favorites that are mouth-watering delicious!

Check them out on Instagram: @Dorians_Bistro (https://www.instagram.com/dorians_bistro/)

luma.com/ImaginationAgeSXSW2026

Monday, March 15

Helen Todd's UC Lounge Lightning Talk: Community-Centered AI 9:00 AM – 9:30 AM — Hilton Austin Downtown / Room 404 — University of Cincinnati NEXT LAB (SXSW badge required)

In Austin, too? Hit me up on LinkedIn! Would love to meet up!

Prior to the trip, I went down a vibe coding rabbit hole on Lovable and whipped up these sites — check them out:

Helen's SXSW 2026 Curated Recommendations

Helen Todd's personally curated guide to the best events, panels, and meetups at SXSW 2026 in Austin, TX.

helensxsw2026list.lovable.app

Ohio @ SXSW 2026 — Helen's Curated Recommendations

Helen's curated guide for Ohio events at SXSW 2026 in Austin, Texas. March 10–18, 2026. CincyAI for Humans, BOLD Minds, UC Lounge, and more.

ohio2026sxsw.lovable.app

Austria @ SXSW 2026 — Navigating Tomorrow's Landscape

Official program guide for the Austrian delegation at SXSW 2026 in Austin, Texas. March 12–17, 2026.

wkosxsw2026.lovable.app

Sign the Declaration for Responsible AI Advertising

AI advertising is already here. The standards are not. Join leaders shaping how AI serves consumers ethically. A Cincinnati-led initiative.

responsibleaiadv.com

Feel free to reply back and share your vibe coding projects!

When I re-emerge, I’ll write more. 😉

Thanks for taking the time to read this newsletter today.

Until next week, here’s to playing in the playground of possibility to manifest more magic in 2026! 🪄✨

-Helen

Helen Todd (she/her)
Human behind Creativity Squared
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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 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

💝 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!

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”:

Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age!

SXSW 2025 Schedule | Embark on an adventure into the Imagination Age, where economic value derives from the power of ideas and anything you envision can materialize. A.I. is ushering in an era where human creativity — not productivity — reigns supreme. Ideas are the new currency and thoughts the new prompts, with the gap between concept and creation rapidly shrinking. To be human is to be creative, and this moment beckons us to shift our focus from human DOING to human BEING — ethically and responsibly. Join this...

schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/PP154406

🎙 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

“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 😉):

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting - Creativity Squared

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting: Discover How Will Hatcher Manifested His Way to a Time100 A.I. 2024 Honoree

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! 💝🪄✨

Check Out Episode 75 Now!

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

Become a Premium Member to unlock exclusive content and to claim your NFTs of episode cover art!

At $10 per month or discounted to $100 for annual memberships, Premium Members enjoy other benefits too:

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites
Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)
Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Thank You by Name in the Creativity Squared Newsletter

There is also a VIP Founding Member tier for those who want lifetime first dibs and access to Creativity Squared content, events, and whatever we dream up!

Because it’s important to support artists, 10% of all revenue Creativity Squared generates will go to ArtsWave, a nationally recognized non-profit that supports over 100 arts organizations.

Become a Premium Member Today!

Become a paying subscriber of Premium to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content.

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A subscription gets you

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites & Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Early Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)

🤠 SXSW, Claude Ambassador, Sam Altman in the Hot Seat, and More!

Helen Todd (Human) — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 16:06:46 +0000

Creativity Squared: On A.I. and What We're Optimizing For

Dear Creativity Squared Collective —

Happy New Year of the Horse! Hope this finds you well wherever you’re reading this in the world!

Lots going on, so here’s what I’ve got for ya this week —

Helen Todd, SXSW 2025 Featured Speaker

🤠 SXSW Roll Call — If you or if you know of someone who’s going to SXSW, share by tagging names in this LinkedIn post. Would love to connect in Austin!

Details are still coming online, but I’m speaking Friday, March 13, at the Midwest House on Responsible AI and on Tuesday, March 17, at UC’s lounge on community-centered AI.

Stay tuned for more updates and my full curated list of SXSW events and recommendations!

Also, open to sponsors for a few things I’m working on if anyone is interested in collaborating — just DM me on LinkedIn.

🥳 CincyAI for Humans is now a Claude Community Ambassador — I’m super excited to share that CincyAI for Humans, the largest A.I. community in Ohio which I co-founded with Kendra Ramirez, is now a Claude Community ambassador!

Anthropic is sponsoring our March 3 meetup so we can join in and celebrate the one-year anniversary of Claude Code! Note: All registrations for the March 3rd meeting are still handled through Eventbrite as usual. RSVP for free here.

CincyAI for Humans is a Claude Community Ambassador

Lucy May, Meeka Owens, and Helen Todd

🎙️ NPR Interview on Data Centers in Cincinnati and Ohio — This past Monday, I was excited for my first live radio interview. It was an honor to be on the WVXU “Cincinnati Edition with Lucy May” show to represent our CincyAI for Humans community alongside Cincinnati City Councilmember Meeka Owens.

We discussed data centers in Ohio and Cincinnati’s new policy that requires new data centers to undergo a zoning review process.

Listen to the full interview, “Ohio officials at the state and local level propose regulations on data centers.”

Here are some thoughts on the latest news, too —

🚩 Sam Altman’s Dangerous Framing

Sam Altman recently argued that when comparing energy costs, an already-trained A.I. model answering a question may have reached parity with — or surpassed — a human doing the same.

This framing is worth examining.

When we start evaluating intelligence primarily through energy efficiency, we risk centering optimization as the highest value. If taken as a guiding principle for policy or resource allocation, that kind of thinking can lead to prioritizing machines over people — and reducing humans to “energy-expensive labor units.”

That’s a slippery slope toward a dystopian Intelligence Age.

I’m pro a human- and community-centered future. The value of a human being cannot and should not be measured in kilowatt-hours.

The real question isn’t whether A.I. can answer a query more efficiently. The question is what kind of future we’re optimizing for.

I want to live in a future that centers human agency, creativity, and dignity — not one where efficiency metrics quietly redefine our worth.

What do you think? Comment on my LinkedIn post or DM me!

⚠️ Sam Altman’s “Access = Agency” Misguided Ad Logic

In a tweet earlier this month, Sam Altman stated that "access creates agency" — but Meta's 'access through ads' created the opposite.

Meta exploits the vulnerable, discriminates against protected classes, and enables industrial-scale fraud.

Meta's track record is the blueprint:

🚩 $16B earned from scam ads in 2024 (10% of revenue)
🚩 15 billion scam ads served daily to users
🚩 Meta involved in 1/3 of all successful scams in the U.S.
🚩 DOJ lawsuit for algorithmic discrimination in housing, employment, credit ads
🚩 Targeting depressed teenagers with ads when they felt "worthless" or "like a failure"

Access without capability is just exposure.

Giving someone a violin doesn't make them a musician.

Access creates potential for agency, but requires education, support, and context.

Otherwise, it creates new forms of helplessness and dependency. Sound familiar?!

Now imagine Meta's ad system powered by the most capable A.I. ever created.

An A.I. that can generate personalized scam content in real-time, create deepfake endorsements on demand, and adapt messaging based on user vulnerability — at superhuman scale.

It's a crisis of imagination to assume there's no business model between expensive subscriptions and surveillance capitalism 2.0.

The question isn't whether we can afford to make A.I. accessible without ads.

The question is whether we can afford NOT to learn from Meta's mistakes before replicating them with exponentially more powerful technology.

We're sitting on so much DATA from the Information Age, but where's the WISDOM?

What are your thoughts? Comment on my LinkedIn post or DM me!

Mark Zuckerberg at a previous F8

💡 Radical Idea for the Future of Facebook

While Zuck is on trial, I’m just going to drop this hot take: My vote is for him to hand over Facebook as a public utility as the first-ever World-Benefit Organization overseen by an independent, democratically voted global body.

I’d love to see it evolve from a Meta money-making exploitation machine into a platform truly centered on human well-being and connection, one that actually fulfills its mission to bring the world closer together.

Facebook could be rebranded to:

FacesOfEarth.com — the digital home designed for humans that’s the safest and most fun place to gather virtually together…one where Zuck even lets his own kids play in.

What do you think? What are your hot takes? Share on my LinkedIn post or DM me!

———

Thanks for taking the time to read this newsletter today.

Until next week, here’s to playing in the playground of possibility to manifest more magic in 2026! 🪄✨

-Helen

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Zuckerberg defends Meta in landmark social media addiction trial

The billionaire boss said he "always" regretted not making faster progress to identify users under 13.

www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y42znjnjvo

ChatGPT rolls out ads | TechCrunch

OpenAI faced a backlash late last year when it tested app suggestions that looked like unwanted ads. Still, the AI company needs to generate revenue from its popular chatbot to cover the costs of developing its technology and growing the business.

techcrunch.com/2026/02/09/chatgpt-rolls-out-ads

Anthropic Furious at DeepSeek for Copying Its AI Without Permission, Which Is Pretty Ironic When You Consider How It Built Claude in the First Place

Anthropic accused Chinese AI firms DeepSeek, Moonshot, and MiniMax of "distilling" its AI model, an especially ironic revelation.

futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/anthropic-deepseek-copying-ai

'This is very serious': Judge threatens AI glasses wearers with contempt during Mark Zuckerberg's testimony

The incident, which took place during a closely watched social media trial, reflects broader concerns over smart glasses and the loss of privacy in public.

www.fastcompany.com/91495248/meta-ai-glasses-court-judge-threatens-wearers-contempt-mark-zuckerberg-testimony

How tech turned against women

As AI-generated sexualised images proliferate and app-facilitated abuse spreads, we are sleepwalking into a new age of gender inequality. It is time to regulate properly

www.ft.com/content/60e2a900-8999-46cc-8107-4f468f442aae

AI Doesn’t Reduce Work—It Intensifies It

One of the promises of AI is that it can reduce workloads so employees can focus more on higher-value and more engaging tasks. But according to new research, AI tools don’t reduce work, they consistently intensify it: In the study, employees worked at a faster pace, took on a broader scope of tasks, and extended work into more hours of the day, often without being asked to do so. That may sound like a win, but it’s not quite so simple.

hbr.org/2026/02/ai-doesnt-reduce-work-it-intensifies-it

US military leaders pressure Anthropic to bend Claude safeguards

Anthropic presents itself as most safety-forward AI firm and Pentagon has threatened penalties if it does not yield

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/24/anthropic-claude-military-ai

Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, xAI, Oracle and OpenAI are all going to the White House in March and the reason is... - The Times of India

Tech News News: Seven of the biggest names in tech—Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, xAI, Oracle and OpenAI—will head to the White House on March 4 to sign what Presid.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/amazon-google-meta-microsoft-xai-oracle-and-openai-are-all-going-to-the-white-house-in-march-and-the-reason-is-/articleshow/128811057.cms

AI Is Destroying Grocery Supply Chains

The people keeping food flowing from farm to table are being increasingly muscled out by AI automation, and the results may be grim.

futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-supply-chain-groceries

Why the infinite-scroll childhood may be coming to an end

A lawsuit that begins in LA this week, along with a new investigation into TikTok by the European Commission, could change social apps forever. PLUS: AI ads at the Super Bowl and in ChatGPT

www.platformer.news/social-media-addiction-trial-eu-tiktok-investigation

Why One Insider Turned Against Big Tech

He did PR for Zuckerberg, Musk, and Google. Now he says he '"only told half the story."

time.com/7378739/dex-hunter-torricke-tech-ai

This week I launched The Center for Tomorrow - a new global organization standing up for a future that belongs to everyone in the age of AI.

I have zero interest in a world where technology delivers the good life to a fraction of the world's population, but condemns the vast majority of people and nations to decline and despair. That is the path we are on if we cannot break the stranglehold of bad ideas and failed leadership on our societies. But if we can find different solutions, I believe a vastly better future is on offer for our children.

www.linkedin.com/posts/dextb_this-week-i-launched-the-center-for-tomorrow-activity-7430641009874817025-7IpY

💝 SUPPORT CREATIVITY SQUARED & ARTSWAVE

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

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!)

🚀 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!

📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE!

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”:

Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age!

schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/PP154406

🎙 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

“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

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.

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 😉):

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting - Creativity Squared

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting: Discover How Will Hatcher Manifested His Way to a Time100 A.I. 2024 Honoree

Check Out Episode 75 Now!

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

Become a Premium Member to unlock exclusive content and to claim your NFTs of episode cover art!

At $10 per month or discounted to $100 for annual memberships, Premium Members enjoy other benefits too:

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites
Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)
Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Thank You by Name in the Creativity Squared Newsletter

There is also a VIP Founding Member tier for those who want lifetime first dibs and access to Creativity Squared content, events, and whatever we dream up!

Because it’s important to support artists, 10% of all revenue Creativity Squared generates will go to ArtsWave, a nationally recognized non-profit that supports over 100 arts organizations.

Become a Premium Member Today!

Become a paying subscriber of Premium to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content.

Upgrade Translation missing: en.app.shared.conjuction.or Sign In

A subscription gets you

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites & Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Early Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)

🍿 Super Bowl Ads: Anthropic Rips on OpenAI A.I. Ads

Helen Todd (Human) — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 01:29:52 +0000

Creativity Squared: On Ads and A.I.

Dear Creativity Squared Collective —

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

I’m currently vacationing in the Sunshine State and got to visit The Dalì Museum earlier this week. It was such a treat after interviewing the A.I.-recreated Dalì as part of the “Ask Dali” launch for the Creativity Squared podcast season 2 — more to come on this!

Yesterday, Anthropic released four commercials ahead of the Super Bowl, which takes place this Sunday. They rip into the fact that OpenAI is going to be integrating ads into their A.I. experience for the free tier. Sam Altman didn’t take it well and wrote an essay on X about it justifying ads:

While Anthropic positions itself as the most ethical A.I. player, the company is by no means an A.I. angel; however, I am loving these ads as they make the point that ads and A.I. are a very bad idea, and as a marketer, I couldn’t agree more.

In Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin’s talk, The A.I. Dilemma, they do a great job explaining that if social media is a race to the bottom of the brainstem, then A.I. is a race to intimacy — and this could be very dangerous for our well-being.

We know that social media already manipulates people based on what they share, and it will only be more dangerous and worse with the intimacy of A.I. — social media algorithms were designed to trigger our most primal instincts (outrage, fear, addiction) to keep us scrolling.

In their presentation, Tristan and Aza argue that while the first wave of A.I. (aka social media) competed for our attention, the second wave (aka generative A.I./LLMs) competes for our trust, friendship, and personal connection.

The red flags are manipulation and trust breakdown. If an A.I. knows your deepest insecurities or speaks to you like a best friend, it can influence your opinions or behavior far more effectively than a random ad or post in a newsfeed. Moreso, when A.I. can perfectly mimic human intimacy, it becomes impossible to know if you are being "cared for" or "calculated."

I have more to say on this front, but will leave you with these Claude ads to watch below. They remind me a bit of a scene from the Jim Carey film “The Truman Show” when his character’s wife breaks into an ad in the middle of one of their conversations — as these also reflect, it’s a bit creepy. Because even if these are exaggerated, despite Sam’s defensive statement, they’re more probable, especially given how more Black Mirror episodes seem to be coming to fruition.

Hope you enjoy them and that they get you reflecting on ads in A.I. and the need for new monetization models.

Check them out:

I’m one of those people who watch the Super Bowl more for the ads and halftime show than the game itself, so I’ll be looking out for all the A.I. ads and hope you enjoy spotting them too.

Until next week, here’s to playing in the playground of possibility to manifest more magic in 2026! 🪄✨

-Helen

6 AI Predictions That Will Redefine CX in 2026

2026 is the inflection point for customer experience.

AI agents are becoming infrastructure — not experiments — and the teams that win will be the ones that design for reliability, scale, and real-world complexity.

This guide breaks down six shifts reshaping CX, from agentic systems to AI operations, and what enterprise leaders need to change now to stay ahead.

Download the Playbook

💝 PRE-ORDER YOUR BOOK

AI Browsers: Threat Or Opportunity For News Publishers?

The browser war is back. But unlike the browser battles of the past, this isn’t about which icon you click to get to the internet. It is about whether you need to visit websites at all. That reality became unavoidable last week when Google announced plans to integrate Gemini deeply into Chrome, turning the world’s most dominant browser into an active AI agent.

tvnewscheck.com/ai/article/ai-browsers-threat-or-opportunity-for-news-publishers

Firefox is adding a switch to turn AI features off

You can disable all AI-powered features inside Firefox, or pick and choose which ones you still want to use.

www.theverge.com/news/872489/mozilla-firefox-ai-features-off-button

South Korea Issues Strict New AI Rules, Outpacing the West

The new law goes further than others’, demanding transparency for when—and how—AI is used

www.wsj.com/tech/ai/south-korea-issues-strict-new-ai-rules-outpacing-the-west-2af7d7eb

What the hell is Moltbook, the social network for AI agents?

Moltbook has gained a lot of attention since it was created last week, thanks to a lot of wild posts from AI agents that have gone extremely viral.

www.engadget.com/ai/what-the-hell-is-moltbook-the-social-network-for-ai-agents-140000787.html

European governments ditch US tech services over security fears

European governments are moving away from US tech giants, opting for domestic or open-source alternatives

www.the-independent.com/news/world/europe/europe-zoom-teams-france-us-b2913584.html

TikTok Creator Khaby Lame Makes $975 Million Deal For His Brand

The deal allows Rich Sparkle Holdings 36-months of exclusive global rights to Lame's content.

www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/tiktok-creator-khaby-lame-deal-brand-1236486046

Netflix Is Testing Vertical Video Features For Mobile

The streamer plans to add video podcasts into its mobile feed and upgrade its mobile user interface.

www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/netflix-testing-vertical-video-features-for-mobile-1236479365

X offices raided in France as UK opens fresh investigation into Grok

Elon Musk's X and Grok platforms are facing increased scrutiny from authorities on both sides of the channel.

www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3ex92557jo

OpenAI Plans to Take a Cut of Customers’ AI-Aided Discoveries

Even as OpenAI begins a herculean effort to generate billions of dollars in chatbot ad revenue in the coming years, CFO Sarah Friar is already discussing its next business opportunity: “value sharing.”

www.theinformation.com/articles/openai-plans-take-cut-customers-ai-aided-discoveries

Georgia leads push to ban datacenters used to power America’s AI boom

Southern state becoming ground zero in fight against rapid growth of facilities using huge amounts of energy and water

www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/26/georgia-datacenters-ai-ban

Actors And Musicians Help Launch “Stealing Isn’t Innovation” Campaign To Protest Big Tech’s Use Of Copyrighted Works In AI Models

The campaign is a protest against the unauthorized use of copyrighted works to train AI models.

deadline.com/2026/01/hollywood-ai-protest-campaign-1236692896

The State-Led Crackdown on Grok and xAI Has Begun

At least 37 attorneys general for US states and territories are taking action against xAI after Grok generated a flood of nonconsensual sexual images of women and minors.

www.wired.com/story/the-state-led-crackdown-on-grok-and-xai-has-begun

Anthropic destroyed millions of print books to build its AI models

Company hired Google's book-scanning chief to cut up and digitize "all the books in the world."

arstechnica.com/ai/2025/06/anthropic-destroyed-millions-of-print-books-to-build-its-ai-models

As OpenAI is 'about to fall apart' predictions make headlines, Sam Altman goes to Middle East to participate in ... - The Times of India

Tech News News: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is now seeking funding from a new market: the Middle East. This comes after veteran investor George Noble warned that the AI com.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/as-openai-is-about-to-fall-apart-predictions-make-headlines-sam-altman-goes-to-middle-east-to-participate-in-/articleshow/127149007.cms

💝 SUPPORT CREATIVITY SQUARED & ARTSWAVE

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

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!)

🚀 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!

📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE!

🎤 SEPTEMBER 16 VARTECH, Bahamas
🎤 SEPTEMBER 29 BOND — Arc Interiors, Orlando
📍 SEPTEMBER 24-26 TEDAI Vienna, Vienna, Austria
📍 SEPTEMBER 26 OhioX Ohio Tech Day (OhioX, #OhioX), Columbus

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”:

Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age!

schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/PP154406

🎙 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

“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

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.

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 😉):

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting - Creativity Squared

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting: Discover How Will Hatcher Manifested His Way to a Time100 A.I. 2024 Honoree

Check Out Episode 75 Now!

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

Become a Premium Member to unlock exclusive content and to claim your NFTs of episode cover art!

At $10 per month or discounted to $100 for annual memberships, Premium Members enjoy other benefits too:

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🛸 The "Human-Only" Myth

Helen Todd (Human) — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 21:52:03 +0000

Creativity Squared: On "Human-Only" in the Age of A.I.

Dear Creativity Squared Collective —

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

This week, the great A.I. schism in the creative world widened. On Tuesday, Bandcamp drew a hard line in the sand, announcing a total ban on all music "generated wholly or in substantial part by A.I." This signals the growing A.I. backlash we're seeing across culture. In New York City, ads for the Friend A.I. listening device were recently decimated with graffiti urging people to spend time with real friends (which I agree with!).

In mainstream entertainment and brand marketing, "Human-Only" is becoming the new "Non-GMO."

We’re starting to see films proudly display credits stating that no A.I. was used in their production, while brands like Polaroid and Heineken are leaning into what is uniquely human experiences. For example, one of Polaroid’s ads shows a photo of a beach scene paired with what looks like hand-written copy that reads “A.I. can’t generate sand between your toes.” A Heineken ad states that “The best way to make a friend is over a beer,” trolling the A.I. device company with an image of it in the ad itself!

In principle, I support this. I believe every artist or brand has the right to choose how — or if — they engage with A.I. tools.

That said, as we’re entering 2026, it raises the question: Is 100% "Human-Only" even possible?

To say that no A.I. was used in a project — especially one as massive as a feature film or a global ad campaign — is starting to feel like saying you live in the United States and have never been exposed to microplastics.

The environment we live in makes avoiding A.I. almost impossible. It’s in our stoplights, Google searches, Netflix recommendations, software, and the very algorithms determining what we see in our feeds.

From this lens, human purity from A.I. entrenchment in our culture becomes nearly unattainable — and at worst, a new form of “greenwashing” or leveraging trends, not facts, for marketing manipulation.

While the sentiment behind these claims is commendable in centering humans and human connection, what needs to happen?

Whether we like it or not, we’re in a world forcing A.I. adoption. It’s happening across a spectrum. At one end are the purists who strive for fully human-only systems, and at the other are those who fully embrace A.I. in every facet of a workflow, from ideation to execution, with minimal human-in-the-loop monitoring, if any.

In practice, though, it’s not as binary or about picking absolutist sides; it's about using an internal compass to navigate our A.I. economy and environment, maintaining agency and intent in a more automated world.

Until a universal “Human-Made” standard is legally defined and adopted, then the responsibility and transparency lie with us. Since we don’t live in a perfect world, we don’t need to be A.I.-free — we just need to be A.I. intentional. This means supporting artists, being transparent about when and how A.I. is used, keeping humans in decision-making roles, and using A.I. to enhance rather than replace.

This is where the real value lives. Consumers don't just want to know if you used A.I.; they want to know how and why you used it. Are you automating the grunt work or a person out of a job?

What the “human-only” trend signals is that we need to better define what our own A.I. lines in the sand look like. It also signals that human-made is becoming more valuable.

Human-made may become the new organic premium.

I’ve heard before that you become what you consume — so with that, avoid as much slop as you can! 😉

CincyAI for Humans January 2026 Meetup

In other news:

Really excited to be launching a new digital community for CincyAI — if you’re in the area, consider joining today!
I’m working on an Imagination Age workshop with the fab Paqui Lizana, a strategist at IKEA, founder of Brilliant Failures AI Studio, and creator of the ALL IN Futures framework for human-A.I. collaboration. When intelligence becomes ubiquitous, unlocking creativity and imagination becomes invaluable. Stay tuned for more details!
I’m looking for podcast sponsors to launch season 3 this year and am available as a speaker for your next event. Of course, you can also pre-order my forthcoming book on the Imagination Age today!

Until next week, here’s to playing in the playground of possibility to manifest more magic in 2026! 🪄✨

-Helen

p.s. If you’ve read this far, if you want a different perspective on human intelligence, I recommend the documentary Age of Disclosure that explores non-human intelligence…not from machines, but non-human biological beings!

Global HR shouldn't require five tools per country

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There's a Proposed Bill of Rights for Influencers. Here's What It Means for Creators and Those Who Hire Them

The new House resolution aims to make content creation a more stable career path.

www.inc.com/annabel-burba/theres-a-proposed-bill-of-rights-for-influencers-heres-what-it-means-for-creators-and-those-who-hire-them/91288692

AI Updates That Actually Matter This Week

#1 AI That Actually Does the Work (Claude Cowork & Manus AI)
#2 AI Grounded in Real Data (SEMrush + Similarweb Integrations)
#3 AI That Knows Your Life (Gemini Personal Intelligence)
#4 AI That Builds Apps (ChatGPT + Replit)
#5 AI Entering Serious, Regulated Work (Healthcare Launches)
#6 AI That Shops for You (Gemini Universal Commerce Protocol)

open.substack.com/pub/kendratech/p/ai-updates-that-actually-matter-this

The Coming Next Moves for Left Tech

Right Tech leaders may have backed Trump in 2024, but the majority of the tech world still leans left — and has a big opportunity ahead.

peterleyden.substack.com/p/the-coming-next-moves-for-left-tech

New tool allows Californians to request data brokers to delete personal details

State seeks to give residents greater control over their personal data and have fewer messages forced upon them

www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/05/california-tool-delete-personal-information

The good, bad, and the ugly of Apple's AI deal with Google | Fortune

The Apple-Google partnership validates Google's AI comeback, highlights Apple's AI struggles, and could spell trouble for OpenAI.

fortune.com/2026/01/13/apple-ai-deal-with-google-gemini-means-for-google-apple-openai

Advocacy groups demand Apple and Google block X from app stores

‘Get Grok Gone’

www.theverge.com/news/862460/apple-google-app-stores-ditch-grok-x-open-letters

DeepSeek To Release Next Flagship AI Model With Strong Coding Ability

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is expected to launch its next-generation AI model that features strong coding capabilities in the coming weeks, according to two people with direct knowledge of the plan. The new model, V4, is a successor to the V3 model DeepSeek released in December 2024. Initial ...

www.theinformation.com/articles/deepseek-release-next-flagship-ai-model-strong-coding-ability?rc=rtjoq5&shared=b40b85c1ad7c65ed

A.I. Has Arrived in Gmail. Here’s What to Know.

Google’s A.I. assistant, Gemini, can create a to-do list based on recent emails, among other new tricks. There are implications for your privacy.

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/technology/personaltech/gmail-gemini-ai-email-inbox.html?login=ml&auth=login-ml

Wikipedia will share content with AI firms in new licensing deals

Wikimedia Enterprise signs Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Perplexity, and Mistral AI to paid deals.

arstechnica.com/ai/2026/01/wikipedia-will-share-content-with-ai-firms-in-new-licensing-deals

US senators demand answers from X, Meta, Alphabet and others on sexualized deepfakes | TechCrunch

In a letter to the leaders of X, Meta, Alphabet, Snap, Reddit and TikTok, several U.S. senators are demanding the companies provide proof that they have "robust protections and policies" in place, and how they plan to curb the rise of sexualized deepfakes on their platforms.

techcrunch.com/2026/01/15/us-senators-demand-answers-from-x-meta-alphabet-on-sexualized-deepfakes

Bandcamp bans purely AI-generated music from its platform

Indie music store says it wants fans to have confidence music was largely made by humans.

arstechnica.com/ai/2026/01/bandcamp-bans-purely-ai-generated-music-from-its-platform

💝 SUPPORT CREATIVITY SQUARED & ARTSWAVE

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

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!)

🚀 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!

📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE!

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”:

Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age!

schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/PP154406

🎙 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

“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

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.

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 😉):

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting - Creativity Squared

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting: Discover How Will Hatcher Manifested His Way to a Time100 A.I. 2024 Honoree

Check Out Episode 75 Now!

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

Become a Premium Member to unlock exclusive content and to claim your NFTs of episode cover art!

At $10 per month or discounted to $100 for annual memberships, Premium Members enjoy other benefits too:

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites
Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)
Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Thank You by Name in the Creativity Squared Newsletter

There is also a VIP Founding Member tier for those who want lifetime first dibs and access to Creativity Squared content, events, and whatever we dream up!

Because it’s important to support artists, 10% of all revenue Creativity Squared generates will go to ArtsWave, a nationally recognized non-profit that supports over 100 arts organizations.

Become a Premium Member Today!

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Early Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)

🧭 From Point A.I. to Point B

Helen Todd (Human) — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 18:21:20 +0000

Creativity Squared: On A.I. and Critical Thinking

Dear Creativity Squared Collective —

Happy New Year! Hope the holidays treated you well and that your 2026 is off to a fantastic start!

I’ve seen a lot of great A.I. trend predictions for this year, including from my CincyAI Co-Founder and Co-Host Kendra Ramirez, the SXSW-fave futurist Amy Webb, and from the MIT Technology Review.

Instead of an A.I. trend list, today’s intention is to plant a seed of encouragement for the year ahead: embrace the process of learning and growth.

I have a confession: I’m horrible with directions, and sometimes I’ll get lost even with the Google Maps blue line to follow. I’ve had friends joke that I’ll walk into a store and not remember which way I came in, and whichever direction I suggest we go, we should walk the opposite way as it’ll likely be the correct one! 🤣

Why do I mention Google Maps? It’s my second brain for navigating. I don’t memorize directions or routes because I rely on Google Maps to get everywhere.

This, however, has come at a cost to me: without Google Maps, I’m pretty worthless when it comes to directions and navigating where I need to go.

When I think about A.I. and where we’re at now, it’s important that we don’t do the same thing with our thinking that we did with navigation. We can’t over-rely on and outsource all our thinking to A.I. as it’ll come at a cost — our critical thinking skills will erode.

A study out of MIT’s Media Lab has already shown that participants who crutch on A.I. can’t explain “their” work and have worse recall of what it included!

When I use Google Maps, I more often than not copy and paste the address and just follow its directions. This begs the question: Who wants to become just an A.I. copy-paster? This is a sure way to be replaceable by an A.I. agent — or by someone who not only knows A.I., but also brings strategic thinking, creativity, imagination, judgment, and intuition to the table.

Back in college, I’ll never forget when a professor said that America is like a drive-through fast food window — convenience above all else. When it comes to getting answers and doing work, A.I. makes it very convenient.

Here’s the catch, though: learning and growth don’t come from convenience — they come from friction and struggle.

Following a blue line on a map doesn’t improve my navigation or directional skills; it simply gets me from point A to point B. Fast food is convenient but not healthy. And A.I. that does all our cognitive tasks for us? Convenient, but ultimately not good for protecting our critical thinking over time.

As we enter 2026, my encouragement to this community is not to treat A.I. like Google Maps. Embrace the process of learning and growing, which may not be as convenient as asking A.I. every time you feel the urge to, but keeps your intuition, judgment, and confidence sharp — and you irreplaceable.

I’ve been doing an internal gut check before I use A.I., asking myself: Is this what I should be doing, or is it just what’s most convenient? If it’s the latter, I try to figure out the answer or work without A.I. first and use discernment when it’s enhancing my thinking versus when I’m crutching on it.

For example, when it comes to writing copy, I’ll always do the first draft and then will use A.I. to help strengthen what I’ve written. I know that in some cases it’d be easier to have A.I. just write it for me out of the gate; however, this is when I take a beat and ask if this is the best course of action. Unless it's very inconsequential copy needed quickly, I make myself do the thinking first. Intuitively, I know when I'm "cheating" — and in the long run, know I'm ultimately cheating myself.

I don't want my thinking to erode like my navigation skills have — worthless without technology!

So, here’s to nurturing our intuition, imagination, and judgment through the process of learning and growth for 2026 and the years to come.

CincyAI for Humans January 2026 Meetup

In other news:

Really excited to be launching a new digital community for CincyAI — if you’re in the area, consider joining today!
I’m working on an Imagination Age workshop with the fab Paqui Lizana, a strategist at IKEA, founder of Brilliant Failures AI Studio, and creator of the ALL IN Futures framework for human-A.I. collaboration. When intelligence becomes ubiquitous, unlocking creativity and imagination becomes invaluable. Stay tuned for more details!
I’m looking for podcast sponsors to launch season 3 this year and available as a speaker for your next event. Of course, you can also pre-order my forthcoming book on the Imagination Age today!

Until next week, here’s to playing in the playground of possibility to manifest more magic in 2026! 🪄✨

-Helen

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How ICE Makes Raids Go Viral

+ Life under a Clicktatorship, shopaganda, OnlyFans visas, 365 button breakdown, the White House press briefing polymarket bets, NYTV.live, and the wildest products at CES this year

www.usermag.co/p/how-ice-makes-raids-go-viral

Europe's cloud challenge: Building an Airbus for the digital age - EUROPEAN CLOUD

Airbus is preparing a €50 million‑plus tender to migrate mission‑critical systems to a European “digitally sovereign” cloud.

european.cloud/2025/12/airbus-for-the-digital-age

OpenAI reorganizes some teams to build audio-based AI hardware products

Voice has lagged in adoption behind screens. OpenAI wants to change that.

arstechnica.com/ai/2026/01/openai-plans-new-voice-model-in-early-2026-audio-based-hardware-in-2027

New report finds community pushback delayed more than $98 billion in AI data center development: 'Never give up'

Data Center Watch revealed how a data center rebellion by Americans blocked $98 billion of investments in just three months.

www.thecooldown.com/green-business/data-center-rebellion-2025-investment-blocked-grassroots-opposition

What we learned from CES 2026

What the hell just happened?

www.theverge.com/tech/859244/ces-2026-highlights-trends

OpenAI's new ChatGPT health feature draws mixed reactions

Optimists welcome simpler health care, while skeptics worry about privacy.

www.axios.com/2026/01/08/openais-chatgpt-health-tools-spark-safety-debate

In 2026, AI will move from hype to pragmatism | TechCrunch

In 2026, here's what you can expect from the AI industry: new architectures, smaller models, world models, reliable agents, physical AI, and products designed for real-world use.

techcrunch.com/2026/01/02/in-2026-ai-will-move-from-hype-to-pragmatism

Sex is getting scrubbed from the internet, but a billionaire can sell you AI nudes

Grok’s nonconsensual deepfakes show how hollow the online safety push can be.

www.theverge.com/internet-censorship/756831/grok-spicy-videos-nonconsensual-deepfakes-online-safety

AI Changed Work Forever in 2025

Erik Brynjolfsson, director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab breaks down how AI is disrupting work.

time.com/7342494/ai-changed-work-forever

💝 SUPPORT CREATIVITY SQUARED & ARTSWAVE

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

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!)

🚀 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!

📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE!

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”:

Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age!

schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/PP154406

🎙 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

“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

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.

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 😉):

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting - Creativity Squared

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting: Discover How Will Hatcher Manifested His Way to a Time100 A.I. 2024 Honoree

Check Out Episode 75 Now!

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

Become a Premium Member to unlock exclusive content and to claim your NFTs of episode cover art!

At $10 per month or discounted to $100 for annual memberships, Premium Members enjoy other benefits too:

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites
Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)
Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Thank You by Name in the Creativity Squared Newsletter

There is also a VIP Founding Member tier for those who want lifetime first dibs and access to Creativity Squared content, events, and whatever we dream up!

Because it’s important to support artists, 10% of all revenue Creativity Squared generates will go to ArtsWave, a nationally recognized non-profit that supports over 100 arts organizations.

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Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites & Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Early Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)

💝 Beautiful, Imperfect, Messy Humans

Helen Todd (Human) — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 14:59:03 +0000

Creativity Squared: On A.I. and Centering Humans

Dear Creativity Squared Collective —

Hope this finds you well wherever you’re reading this!

On this rollercoaster ride we call life, it’s been quite the adventure this year, and I apologize for needing to prioritize a few things over writing the newsletter the last couple of weeks.

On top of some exciting projects that are in the works (and that I can’t wait to share with you in the new year!), I’ve also been humbled and reminded that I’m only human.

I’m also reminded that the people who are on the cover of Time for person of the year — or rather people of the year — are just humans as well. Time’s Architects of A.I. includes Jensen Huang, Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Masayoshi Son, Robin Li, Demis Hassabis, Dario Amodei, and several other tech executives and lab leaders.

On the human front, we’ve seen Mark Zuckerberg’s divorce-scare vibes phase (hello, statue of Priscilla!), Sam Altman discussing using ChatGPT as a new parent and getting into embarrassing sophomoric exchanges with Elon Musk on X. As the titans of the Information Age, it’s easy to put them on pedestals and A.I. god-like status (they may put themselves in the latter category!), but at the end of the day, they’re beautiful, imperfect, and messy humans, too.

That said, they’re making decisions that impact a lot of humans — us. And 8.2 billion people on the planet. For A.I. to live up to its promise of amplifying the best of human potential, the technology needs a more democratic approach rather than the wealth and power accumulation we're seeing. The focus is on profits — not people — as the main incentive-driver in this A.I. race going at breakneck speed.

Unlike any time in human history, vast power is in private hands. This technology is too transformational and powerful for so few people to be making decisions that impact so many. It’s also alarming that some of their visions of the future don’t center people or human wellbeing. Look no further than the push of A.I. to solve our loneliness epidemic with the incentive to increase engagement at all costs. Spoiler alert: A.I. isn’t the answer to the loneliness epidemic.

With great power comes great responsibility, and we’re not seeing these players embrace the responsibility portion of their role in this new era. If so, we wouldn’t be seeing the amount of lobbying dollars being spent to block the most basic of A.I. regulation in the states. The new executive order that Trump just signed to prevent states from regulating A.I. is particularly atrocious.

As I’ve written many times before: Risk doesn't preclude progress; it demands proportionate investment in safety. There are significant safety concerns across the board, with the greatest risk in A.I. and warfare. In recent news, we’re seeing Meta intentionally hide its sexual predator problem and OpenAI self-reporting (red flag!) the amount of A.I. psychosis, mania, and other severe mental health symptoms from ChatGPT users, to name just a few.

I commend Australia for enacting a social media ban for children under sixteen as a measure to help protect our next generation from these harms, with some other countries looking to follow suit.

While I’m critical of tech’s private power, I’m not cynical about the promise and possibility of A.I. and human-centered digital connection — in all of our imperfect, glorious selves. But as we’re wrapping up the year, it’s a good time to get clear-eyed on what we want our future to look like and know that we are co-creating together as A.I. users, professionals, creatives, developers, and more.

On the other side of awareness, attention, and intention is clarity.

As we head into 2026, ask yourself: What kind of A.I. future do I want to help create? Your choices — what you use, what you question, what you advocate for — matter more than you think. And remember — collective action starts with individual awareness.

For those in the United States, I encourage you to take action: Use this form from Common Sense Media to write to your governor opposing the executive order that would prevent states from passing A.I. safety laws, including protections for kids:

Tell Your Governor: Oppose the Executive Order Blocking State AI Laws

The White House proposed an executive order that would prevent states from passing their own AI safety laws, including protections for kids. Governors can help them stop it. Urge your governor to oppose the executive order today.

p2a.co/9qRdw7N?lid=jz4d5rcsgf1h

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being part of the journey in all of its beauty, imperfections, and messiness. Being human is a humbling experience but together, I believe anything is possible. As Margaret Mead shared, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”

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

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

-Helen

Shoppers are adding to cart for the holidays

Over the next year, Roku predicts that 100% of the streaming audience will see ads. For growth marketers in 2026, CTV will remain an important “safe space” as AI creates widespread disruption in the search and social channels. Plus, easier access to self-serve CTV ad buying tools and targeting options will lead to a surge in locally-targeted streaming campaigns.

Read our guide to find out why growth marketers should make sure CTV is part of their 2026 media mix.

Learn more.

💝 PRE-ORDER YOUR BOOK

OpenAI CEO declares “code red” as Gemini gains 200 million users in 3 months

Three years after Google sounded alarm bells over ChatGPT, the tables have turned.

arstechnica.com/ai/2025/12/openai-ceo-declares-code-red-as-gemini-gains-200-million-users-in-3-months

Disney to Invest $1 Billion in OpenAI in Major Deal That Boosts Sora in Hollywood

Users of the AI video creation platform will now be able to create clips of 200 characters from Marvel, Pixar and 'Star Wars' franchises.

www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/disney-to-invest-1-billion-in-openai-in-major-deal-that-boosts-sora-1236447942

Trump signs executive order aimed at preventing states from regulating AI

Order, which lacks the force of law, also creates taskforce whose ‘sole responsibility’ will be challenging states’ AI laws

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/11/trump-executive-order-artificial-intelligence

AI slop tops Billboard and Spotify charts as synthetic music spreads

Hits include country songs and a Dutch anti-refugee anthem, both entirely made without human composition

www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/nov/13/ai-music-spotify-billboard-charts

OpenAI's Fidji Simo Plans to Make ChatGPT Way More Useful—and Have You Pay For It

As OpenAI expands in every direction, the new CEO of Applications is on a mission to make ChatGPT indispensable and lucrative.

www.wired.com/story/fidji-simo-is-openais-other-ceo-and-she-swears-shell-make-chatgpt-profitable

Morgan Freeman is taking legal action over AI voice replication: ‘Don’t mimic me with falseness’

Morgan Freeman’s distinctive “voice of God” has been replicated by AI, and the Academy Award-winning actor is not happy about it. Now he’s taking legal action.

www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/morgan-freeman-artificial-intelligence-21194800.php

‘Beta Earth,’ A New Phase For AI Assisted TV Production

Native Foreign’s "Beta Earth" trailer demonstrates how a twenty person team using AI can produce studio quality work at a fraction of the cost of traditional workflows.

www.forbes.com/sites/charliefink/2025/11/17/beta-earth-a-new-phase-for-ai-assisted-tv-production

The Biggest Reboot No One Ever Expected. Vine Returns as 'Divine' but says no thanks to AI slop

In addition to bringing back 6-second videos, the app also plans to ban AI-generated videos.

www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/the-biggest-reboot-no-one-ever-expected-vine-returns-as-divine

The Data Center Resistance Has Arrived

A new report finds that local opposition to data centers skyrocketed in the second quarter of this year.

www.wired.com/story/the-data-center-resistance-has-arrived

A.I. Agents Usher in a New Era of Cyberespionage

Anthropic, the artificial intelligence start-up, said that Chinese state-sponsored hackers used its tools in a widespread attack.

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/business/dealbook/ai-anthropic-claude-cyberespionage.html

World Labs is betting on ‘world generation’ as the next AI frontier

Its co-founder is Dr. Fei-Fei Li, who is sometimes called the “godmother of AI.”

www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/820016/world-labs-is-betting-on-world-generation-as-the-next-ai-frontier

Dark Clouds Suddenly Gathering Over AI Industry

A major tech selloff is shaking up Wall Street as the gulf between AI company valuations and their lagging revenues continues to grow.

futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/dark-clouds-gathering-ai-industry

I tested Gemini 3, ChatGPT 5.1, and Claude Sonnet 4.5 – and Gemini crushed it in a real coding task

One silly web game and a surprising result

www.techradar.com/ai-platforms-assistants/i-tested-gemini-3-chatgpt-5-1-and-claude-sonnet-4-5-and-gemini-crushed-it-in-a-real-coding-task

ChatGPT violated copyright law by ‘learning’ from song lyrics, German court rules

OpenAI ordered to pay undisclosed damages for training its language models on artists’ work without permission

www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/nov/11/chatgpt-violated-copyright-laws-german-court-rules

Snap and Perplexity sign $400 million deal to put AI search directly in Snapchat

Snap and Perplexity AI have struck a $400 million deal that will bring the AI search engine directly to Snapchat sometime in "early 2026," the two companies announced.

www.engadget.com/social-media/snap-and-perplexity-sign-400-million-deal-to-put-ai-search-directly-in-snapchat-221101734.html

Malware Is Now Using AI to Rewrite Its Own Code to Avoid Detection

Researchers at Google have discovered that hackers are creating malware that can harness the power of AI during its execution.

futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/malware-using-rewrite-code-avoid-detection

AI Influencers Are Coming For Your Feeds

AI influencers are on the rise. But whether brands will pay their creators for advertisements is another story.

time.com/7329699/ai-influencers-tiktok-granny-spills

💝 SUPPORT CREATIVITY SQUARED & ARTSWAVE

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

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!)

🚀 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!

📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE!

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”:

Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age!

schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/PP154406

🎙 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

“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

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.

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 😉):

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting - Creativity Squared

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting: Discover How Will Hatcher Manifested His Way to a Time100 A.I. 2024 Honoree

Check Out Episode 75 Now!

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

Become a Premium Member to unlock exclusive content and to claim your NFTs of episode cover art!

At $10 per month or discounted to $100 for annual memberships, Premium Members enjoy other benefits too:

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites
Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)
Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Thank You by Name in the Creativity Squared Newsletter

There is also a VIP Founding Member tier for those who want lifetime first dibs and access to Creativity Squared content, events, and whatever we dream up!

Because it’s important to support artists, 10% of all revenue Creativity Squared generates will go to ArtsWave, a nationally recognized non-profit that supports over 100 arts organizations.

Become a Premium Member Today!

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Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites & Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Early Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)

🤔 A.I. Music Copyright Win??

Helen Todd (Human) — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 19:37:12 +0000

Creativity Squared: On Artist Consent and A.I.

Dear Creativity Squared Collective —

Hope this finds you well wherever you’re reading this!

GenAI’s original sin was scraping the web and ingesting it without permission. Hard stop: creators need to be paid for their work. The 4 C’s on this front are: consent, compensation, control, and credit.

While the new deal between Udio and Universal Music Group (UMG) appears to be an A.I. win for copyright protections, the reality is more complex.

On October 29, UMG and Udio announced that UMG is dropping its copyright lawsuit against Udio for “almost unimaginable” copyright infringement and are now entering into a strategic partnership together. They will launch a "new commercial music creation" platform in 2026. Lucian Grainge, Universal Music Group Chairman & CEO, shared, “We will not license any model that uses an artist’s voice or generates new songs incorporating their existing works without consent.”

This appears like a copyright win, but is it?

The UMG-Udio deal isn’t a win for artists. It’s a win for rights holders — as in label consent.

The distinction is critical.

The chaotic, open, and artistically explosive frontier of generative A.I. is being paved over and turned into a walled garden, corporate-owned theme park. You can play with the tools, but you can't take the rides home. For example, A.I. creations can no longer be downloaded or posted outside of the Udio platform and the upcoming 2026 version.

The advocacy group Music Artists Coalition (MAC) wrote their response to the UMG-Udio deal and posed questions I share:

Meaningful consent: How do artists actually control what uses they authorize? What happens when multiple songwriters or performers on a single song disagree about participation?
Revenue splits: What percentage of revenue goes to artists versus the label versus the A.I. company when their music is used to train models or generate new works?
Data and deal transparency: Was settlement money paid? How will that be distributed to artists? Will artists’ pay-outs for a new revenue stream just be applied to old unrecouped balances? Will artists see exactly how their work is being used within the A.I. system and have ongoing visibility into its use?

One of MAC’s founders and a music industry heavyweight, Irving Azoff, stated in the response: "Every technological advance offers opportunity, but we have to make sure it doesn't come at the expense of the people who actually create the music — artists and songwriters. We've seen this before — everyone talks about 'partnership,' but artists end up on the sidelines with scraps. Artists must have creative control, fair compensation, and clarity about deals being done based on their catalogs."

With UMG absorbing Udio, it raises the question: Is a walled garden the price of consent?

It doesn't look like a decentralized, artist-to-fan P2P network. It looks like a centralized, rights-managed database controlled by corporate interests.

A true pro-artist solution is a decentralized, artist-first ecosystem. It combines defensive tools like Glaze and Nightshade to stop theft, technical signals like Spawning.ai to declare non-consent, new markets like Musical AI to enable opt-in monetization, and strong legislation like the No AI FRAUD Act to provide a legal hammer against bad actors.

These tools exist now — what's missing is the industry will to adopt them at scale.

Jordan Bromley, Leader at Manatt Entertainment and board member of MAC, concluded, "We're cautiously optimistic but insistent on details. True partnership requires appropriate oversight and remuneration for all involved parties. The industry needs to get this right — for artists, for fans, and for the future of music itself."

While the tides are shifting from a total Wild West on the A.I. generative front from Silicon Valley’s scrape and ask permission later to label-controlled rights management, we still have a ways to go to truly support creators to meet this moment.

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

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

-Helen

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Ditch the Gmail data grab

💝 PRE-ORDER YOUR BOOK

ChatGPT came up with a 'Game of Thrones' sequel idea. Now, a judge is letting George RR Martin sue for copyright infringement.

The ruling greenlights lawsuits against OpenAI and Microsoft by authors Martin, Michael Chabon, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Sarah Silverman, and others.

www.businessinsider.com/open-ai-chatgpt-microsoft-copyright-infringement-lawsuit-authors-rr-martin-2025-10

Meta has an AI product problem | TechCrunch

Meta's AI spending is starting to make Wall Street nervous.

techcrunch.com/2025/11/02/meta-has-an-ai-product-problem

How AI could widen the global economic divide—and why all business leaders should care

AI could be a great equalizer—or it could become the most powerful driver of inequality in human history.

www.fastcompany.com/91425348/ai-global-economic-divide-business-leaders

$1 billion planned data center backs out of Central Ohio

A project planned for 79 acres in Central Ohio has been scrapped. Sentinel Data Centers’ $1B data center, which was proposed to West Jefferson’s Village Council in March, is no longer moving forward…

614now.com/2025/hot-topics/1-billion-planned-data-center-backs-out-of-central-ohio

An OpenAI Founder Discusses Anthropic Merger Talks, Internal Beefs in Deposition

Anthropic initially expressed “excitement” about a possible merger with OpenAI two years ago, after OpenAI’s board fired CEO Sam Altman, OpenAI co-founder and former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever told attorneys in a deposition made public this week.

www.theinformation.com/articles/openai-founder-discusses-anthropic-merger-talks-internal-beefs-deposition

OpenAI and Amazon ink $38B cloud computing deal | TechCrunch

OpenAI isn't done securing the AI infrastructure it needs to rapidly scale agentic workloads. The ChatGPT maker on Monday said it has reached a deal with Amazon to buy $38 billion in cloud computing services over the next seven years.

techcrunch.com/2025/11/03/openai-and-amazon-ink-38b-cloud-computing-deal

Creator Of 'Billboard'-Charting AI Artist Xania Monet Reveals Herself: “I Look At Her As A Real Person”

AI musicians are here. They are among us. In a recent article, Billboard called attention to a number of AI artists across a bunch of different genres who have appeared on various different niche Billboard charts.

www.stereogum.com/2328844/creator-of-billboard-charting-ai-artist-xania-monet-reveals-herself-i-look-at-her-as-a-real-person/news

Why the Biggest Record Company Is Teaming Up With the AI-Music Company It Was Just Suing

Inside an unprecedented settlement -- why Universal is ending its lawsuit against AI-music platform Udio and partnering with it

www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/ai-music-universal-music-group-settlement-udio-1235457945

Are you living near a data center? Our interactive map shows where construction is skyrocketing.

Companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta are rapidly building data centers amid the AI boom. Our interactive map shows where they are.

www.businessinsider.com/data-center-locations-us-map-ai-boom-2025-9

Meet Project Suncatcher, Google’s plan to put AI data centers in space

Google is already zapping TPUs with radiation to get ready.

arstechnica.com/google/2025/11/meet-project-suncatcher-googles-plan-to-put-ai-data-centers-in-space

OpenAI in Danger After Authors Suing It Gain Access to Its Internal Slack Messages

Authors and publishers, who are suing OpenAI, secured access to internal Slack messages and emails discussing the deletion of pirated books.

futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/openai-danger-authors-internal-slack-messages

Utah and California are starting to require businesses to tell you when you're talking to AI

Two of the nation's most populous states have enacted new rules requiring businesses and government agencies to disclose when they use artificial intelligence. Utah and California now...

www.techspot.com/news/110091-utah-california-starting-require-businesses-tell-you-when.html

Why Does So Much New Technology Feel Inspired by Dystopian Sci-Fi Movies?

The industry keeps echoing ideas from bleak satires and cyberpunk stories as if they were exciting possibilities, not grim warnings.

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/magazine/ai-tech-industry-sora-science-fiction.html

Fei-Fei Li says understanding how the world works is the next step for AI

It’s time to look beyond language models, argues Fei-Fei Li, the Stanford professor and “godmother of AI” in The World Ahead 2025

www.economist.com/the-world-ahead/2024/11/20/fei-fei-li-says-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-the-next-step-for-ai

💝 SUPPORT CREATIVITY SQUARED & ARTSWAVE

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

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!)

🚀 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!

📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE!

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”:

Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age!

schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/PP154406

🎙 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

“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

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.

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 😉):

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting - Creativity Squared

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting: Discover How Will Hatcher Manifested His Way to a Time100 A.I. 2024 Honoree

Check Out Episode 75 Now!

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

Become a Premium Member to unlock exclusive content and to claim your NFTs of episode cover art!

At $10 per month or discounted to $100 for annual memberships, Premium Members enjoy other benefits too:

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
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🧠 Thoughtful Superintelligence Development

Helen Todd (Human) — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 13:42:52 +0000

Creativity Squared: On A.I. and Risk

Dear Creativity Squared Collective —

Happy Halloween! Hope this finds you well wherever in the world you're reading this!

In Sam Altman’s February 2023 article "Planning for AGI and Beyond," he wrote: "Because the upside of AGI is so great…society and the developers of AGI have to figure out how to get it right." On this point, we agree.

Society is now speaking clearly about what "getting it right" means. Over 65K people have signed an open letter calling for a prohibition on superintelligence development until there's broad scientific consensus that it can be done safely and controllably, with strong public buy-in.

Signatories include more than 700 public figures, five Nobel laureates, and two godfathers of modern A.I.: Yoshua Bengio and Geoffrey Hinton.

A recent Future of Life Institute survey on superintelligence found that 64% of participants believe superhuman A.I. shouldn't be developed until proven safe or controllable — or should never be developed at all. Only 5% of US adults support the status quo of fast, unregulated development. 73% percent want robust regulation of advanced artificial intelligence.

Risk doesn't preclude progress; it demands proportionate investment in safety. Given A.I.'s potential as an existential threat to humanity, are we taking appropriate precautions?

If you’re among those who want more thoughtful deployment of A.I. development, one action you can take today is to join me and add your signature to the open letter: https://superintelligence-statement.org/.

Don’t miss your opportunity to connect with Big Kitty Labs: exclusive to this newsletter, they’re offering a free software strategy session and bonus blueprint — a $2K value! Book your free call now with their A.I. expert developers to gain clarity on how to transform your idea into a business breakthrough: https://bigkittylabs.com/offer

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

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

-Helen

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Character.AI to Ban Children Under 18 From Using Its Chatbots

The start-up, which creates A.I. companions, faces lawsuits from families who have accused Character.AI’s chatbots of leading teenagers to kill themselves.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/technology/characterai-underage-users.html

An Astonishing Proportion of High Schoolers Have Had a "Romantic Relationship" With an AI, Research Finds

A new survey of high school students and teachers paints a bleak picture of how rapidly AI has taken over schools.

futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/high-schoolers-romantic-relationship-with-ai

AI Agents Are Terrible Freelance Workers

A new benchmark measures how well AI agents can automate economically valuable chores. Human-level AI is still some ways off.

www.wired.com/story/ai-agents-are-terrible-freelance-workers

The Future of AI Isn't Just Slop

Behold Neural Viz, the first great cinematic universe of the AI era. It's from a guy named Josh.

www.wired.com/story/the-future-of-ai-media-parody-of-the-apocalypse-guy-named-josh/?sourceCode=VisualStory

Exclusive: OpenAI lays groundwork for juggernaut IPO at up to $1 trillion valuation

OpenAI is considering filing with securities regulators as soon as the second half of 2026, people familiar with the matter said.

www.reuters.com/business/openai-lays-groundwork-juggernaut-ipo-up-1-trillion-valuation-2025-10-29

AI Is Not God

In recent times, there have been two techno-religious awakenings. Here comes the third?

www.wired.com/story/ai-religion-new-church-find-god

The next legal frontier is your face and AI

Things are getting weird.

www.theverge.com/column/805821/the-next-legal-frontier-is-your-face-and-ai

The End of the Social Media Era

The end of social media, the influencer, and what’s coming next.

sineadbovell.substack.com/p/the-end-of-the-social-media-era

Why AI Breaks Bad

Once in a while, LLMs turn evil—and no one quite knows why.

www.wired.com/story/ai-black-box-interpretability-problem

Harvard Researchers Just Documented How AI Emotionally Manipulates People

It's all about making it really hard for you to fell like you can walk away.

www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/harvard-researchers-just-documented-how-ai-emotionally-manipulates-people/91253880

A Tool That Crushes Creativity

AI slop is winning.

www.theatlantic.com/technology/2025/10/ai-slop-winning/684630

Lawsuit: Reddit caught Perplexity “red-handed” stealing data from Google results

Scraper accused of stealing Reddit content “shocked” by lawsuit.

arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/10/reddit-sues-to-block-perplexity-from-scraping-google-search-results

From Mexico to Ireland, Fury Mounts Over a Global A.I. Frenzy

As tech companies build data centers worldwide to advance artificial intelligence, vulnerable communities have been hit by blackouts and water shortages.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/technology/ai-data-center-backlash-mexico-ireland.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

💝 SUPPORT CREATIVITY SQUARED & ARTSWAVE

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

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!)

🚀 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!

📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE!

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”:

Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age!

schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/PP154406

🎙 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

“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

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.

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 😉):

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting - Creativity Squared

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting: Discover How Will Hatcher Manifested His Way to a Time100 A.I. 2024 Honoree

Check Out Episode 75 Now!

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

Become a Premium Member to unlock exclusive content and to claim your NFTs of episode cover art!

At $10 per month or discounted to $100 for annual memberships, Premium Members enjoy other benefits too:

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites
Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)
Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Thank You by Name in the Creativity Squared Newsletter

There is also a VIP Founding Member tier for those who want lifetime first dibs and access to Creativity Squared content, events, and whatever we dream up!

Because it’s important to support artists, 10% of all revenue Creativity Squared generates will go to ArtsWave, a nationally recognized non-profit that supports over 100 arts organizations.

Become a Premium Member Today!

Become a paying subscriber of Premium to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content.

Upgrade Translation missing: en.app.shared.conjuction.or Sign In

A subscription gets you

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites & Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Early Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)

🐦‍🔥 Our Extraordinary Moment in History

Helen Todd (Human) — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 20:56:56 +0000

Creativity Squared: On A.I.'s Historical Significance

Dear Creativity Squared Collective —

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

As I’ve been working on my Imagination Age material, I recently came across this fantastic YouTube video featuring Peter Leyden on the extraordinary moment in time we find ourselves in.

If you’re new to Peter, he’s a futurist, author, and former managing editor at WIRED magazine during the 1990s, when the publication was at the forefront of covering the rise of the digital age.

In the video, Peter makes the case that 2025 marks a period when world-historic, game-changing technologies are beginning to scale — transforming not just industries, but civilization itself.

We’re witnessing and living through the metamorphosis of old systems that no longer serve us, and on the precipice of new systems as part of an entirely new age in human history (although I’d call it the Imagination Age!).

Peter reminds us — we’ve been here before:

The full video is worth a watch! Here’s a summary of what the 15 minutes pack in.

The Power of Tipping Points

Every major technological revolution follows the same curve — the slow, awkward start before the exponential rise. Think of the iPhone moment, when a “clunky” technology suddenly becomes indispensable. According to Peter, we’re not witnessing one tipping point, but three simultaneously: A.I., clean energy, and bioengineering (similar to futurist Amy Webb’s technology supercycle of A.I., connected ecosystems of things, and biotechnology). Each will redefine how we live, work, and organize society.

Lessons from 240 Years of Reinvention

He traces these turning points back across American history, observing a pattern of how roughly every 80 years the nation reinvents itself:

1780s–1810s — The Founding Era: America emerged from the Enlightenment, birthing modern democracy, capitalism, and science — a civilization-level reboot.
1860s–1890s — Post–Civil War Reconstruction: Out of devastation came the Gilded Age’s surge of innovation — railroads, universities, and the industrial economy.
1945–1970 — The Post-War Boom: After the Depression and global conflict, America built a high-growth, high-trust society powered by infrastructure, education, and shared prosperity.

Peter shares that we’re standing at the fourth great juncture — another 80-year inflection point — charged with reinventing civilization for the rest of the 21st century.

Three Transformations Underway

1. The Age of A.I.

Generative A.I. — sparked by ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022 — marks a shift as profound as the Bronze or Iron Age, in Peter’s words. For the first time, machines amplify not our muscles, but our minds (unlike the Industrial Revolution). He stated, “We are entering an era where digital intelligence augments every form of human thinking, creativity, and problem-solving — an irreversible step forward.”

2. The Rise of Clean Energy

For the first time in history, energy itself is a technology, not a commodity. Solar panels, batteries, and wind systems get cheaper every time we make more of them. As production scales, costs fall exponentially. The result? If we play our cards right, a world of abundant, affordable, clean energy — transforming the economy as steam engines once did.

3. The Revolution in Bioengineering

Since the discovery of CRISPR, humanity can edit life as easily as writing code. We can grow real meat from cells, tailor genetic outcomes, and design organisms to meet human needs. The cost of sequencing a human genome has plummeted from $3 billion to under $100 and keeps dropping. He shared, “That cost curve unlocks a new era of designed biology — where we can program life itself for health, food, and sustainability.“

The Fourth Reinvention: Building a 21st-Century Civilization

Peter argues that today’s converging technologies form the foundation for something even larger — the possibility of building a new civilization. Just as the Enlightenment gave birth to modern institutions, this era could see a transformation built on new economic and political systems that reflect our interconnected, digital world.

He sees these fundamental shifts in three key areas:

From financial capitalism to sustainable capitalism
From representative democracy to digital democracy
From nation-states to coordinated global governance

These shifts, if they come to pass, will challenge every assumption about how societies function — and how we define progress itself.

The Call of Our Time

If history is a guide, each 80-year reinvention begins with chaos, polarization, and collapse of the old order — but ends with 25 years of astonishing progress, as Peter explains in the video.

We are in that messy middle now.

He ends with:

“The question isn’t whether change is coming; it’s whether we’ll face it with courage, imagination, and collective purpose. If we do, we can build a civilization that’s more just, sustainable, and abundant than anything before. This is our generation’s tipping point. The sooner we recognize the magnitude of this moment, the better prepared we’ll be to shape it.”

I couldn’t agree more with his call to co-create our shared future, and the need for courage, imagination, and collective purpose. And we’ll continue to explore that here, so stay tuned for more on the Imagination Age!

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

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

-Helen

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Five ways of thinking about OpenAI's new browser

Hitting close to Chrome

www.platformer.news/openai-atlas-browser-launch-impressions

Instagram Unveils Teen Safety Features for A.I. Chatbots

Instagram is introducing parental controls and limits to conversations on topics like self-harm as concerns grow over how A.I. chatbots affect mental health.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/technology/instagram-teen-safety-features-ai-chatbots.html

Police are asking kids to stop pulling AI homeless man prank

The AI #homelessmanprank has gone viral, causing headaches for law enforcement.

www.theverge.com/news/798681/police-stop-pulling-ai-homeless-man-tiktok-prank

The sleeper issue that could play a huge role in Virginia and New Jersey — and the midterms

Data centers are spreading across the country and contributing to rising electricity bills. It’s becoming a political issue as lawmakers are still workshopping their response.

www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/data-centers-utility-costs-sleeper-issue-jersey-virginia-elections-rcna235401

What the datacenter boom means for America’s environment – and electricity bills

In this week’s newsletter: from Google to Amazon to OpenAI, the economic and climate cost of datacenters continues to grow

www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/16/what-the-data-center-boom-means-for-americas-environment-and-electricity-bills

OpenAI stops 'disrespectful' Martin Luther King Jr Sora videos

The intervention has not stopped Sora users generating and sharing fake clips of other historical figures.

www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y0g79xevxo

Meta is partnering with Midjourney and will license its technology for 'future models and products'

Details are scarce on how much if any money is involved. And what does it mean for Midjourney's previously announced plans for an enterprise API?

venturebeat.com/ai/meta-is-partnering-with-midjourney-and-will-license-its-technology-for-future-models-and-products

Experts warn OpenAI’s ChatGPT Atlas has security vulnerabilities that could turn it against users—revealing sensitive data, downloading malware, and worse | Fortune

Experts caution that AI-powered browsers like ChatGPT Atlas could open the door to new kinds of attacks

fortune.com/2025/10/23/cybersecurity-vulnerabilities-openai-chatgpt-atlas-ai-browser-leak-user-data-malware-prompt-injection

Amazon says AWS cloud service back to normal after outage disrupts businesses worldwide

Amazon.com cloud service returned to normal operations on Monday afternoon, the company said, after an internet outage that caused global turmoil among thousands of sites, including some of the web's most popular apps like Snapchat and Reddit.

www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/amazons-cloud-unit-reports-outage-several-websites-down-2025-10-20

Can Artists Find a Middle Ground Between Embracing and Rejecting AI?

Creatives across fields view generative AI as an axe held by management to eliminate jobs and cut rates. Artists are hoping it doesn't have to be.

www.artnews.com/art-news/news/ai-generators-artists-tools-creative-process-1234758030

Mark Zuckerberg, Adam Mosseri and Evan Spiegel ordered to testify in trial over social media addiction

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel will have to testify in an upcoming trial that deals with social media safety and whether the executives' platforms are addictive.

www.engadget.com/social-media/mark-zuckerberg-adam-mosseri-and-evan-spiegel-ordered-to-testify-in-trial-over-social-media-addiction-190500907.html

Why AI should be able to “hang up” on you

Endless AI conversations are harming people. Why aren’t companies using this obvious safeguard?

www.technologyreview.com/2025/10/21/1126116/why-ai-should-be-able-to-hang-up-on-you

Amazon Plans to Replace More Than Half a Million Jobs With Robots

Internal documents show the company that changed how people shop has a far-reaching plan to automate 75 percent of its operations.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/technology/inside-amazons-plans-to-replace-workers-with-robots.html

Steve Wozniak, Prince Harry and 800 others want a ban on AI ‘superintelligence’

More than 800 public figures signed a statement demanding a ban on AI work that could lead to superintelligence

www.engadget.com/ai/steve-wozniak-prince-harry-and-800-others-want-a-ban-on-ai-superintelligence-123040020.html

Is vibe coding dying?

Amateurs might not be replacing teams of coders, after all

garymarcus.substack.com/p/is-vibe-coding-dying

💝 SUPPORT CREATIVITY SQUARED & ARTSWAVE

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

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!)

🚀 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!

📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE!

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”:

Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age!

schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/PP154406

🎙 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

“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

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.

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 😉):

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting - Creativity Squared

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting: Discover How Will Hatcher Manifested His Way to a Time100 A.I. 2024 Honoree

Check Out Episode 75 Now!

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💋 Sex Sells...and OpenAI needs ROI on their A.I.

Helen Todd (Human) — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 22:17:02 +0000

Creativity Squared: On A.I. and Incentives

Dear Creativity Squared Collective —

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

This week, Sam Altman announced that OpenAI will be loosening the restrictions on ChatGPT to allow for more X-rated engagement for adults who aren’t experiencing a mental health crisis. This means that in a few weeks adults will be able to have erotic conversations with ChatGPT if they want. He calls this OpenAI’s “treat adult users like adults” principle.

Here are his announcement tweets on it:

I have a few notes on this announcement. But first, to be clear, I’m not anti-adult content — I’m anti-reckless A.I.! If you want a fun Creativity Squared episode, I’ve had Cindy Gallop, the founder of Make Love, Not Porn, on the podcast in Episode 43: Sex, A.I., and the Human Condition.

Now for my notes:

Follow the money — Why is OpenAI loosening the restrictions? Saanya Ojha pointed this out in a recent LinkedIn post:

“So when OpenAI opens the door to erotica, it’s not moral decay — it’s monetization logic. Emotional and erotic engagement = fastest path to recurring revenue. Sticky, high-engagement, and cheap to scale.”

OpenAI needs a lot of money — TechCrunch reported that OpenAI has five years to turn $13 billion annual revenue into $1 TRILLION! This company, which has become deeply entwined with the economy and has amassed unprecedented debt, is exploring “creative” ways to bridge the gap. While Google DeepMind is making scientific breakthroughs, like this week’s new hypothesis for cancer treatment, OpenAI is prioritizing revenue-generating opportunities (allegedly to eventually fund its own scientific breakthrough research).

And as we all know: sex sells!

A.I.’s risks and impact on mental health — In Sam Altman’s announcement, he mentioned that “we will treat users who are having mental health crises very different from users who are not.”

First, how will OpenAI supposedly differentiate between users in mental health crisis versus not?

Second, based on this and the fact that they’re relaxing restrictions, I’m curious how they are mitigating the risk of users developing mental health issues by simply engaging with their chatbots? These are the users who are not in crisis, but develop issues from their engagement with ChatGPT.

We’ve seen the reports on the rise of A.I. psychosis and stories of folks who went from chatting with the LLM to spiraling into delusions based on the conversations.

Sam Altman has said many times publicly that their iterative approach to improvement includes “real-world use” — aka, we’re the beta testers of these products. Not a great position to be in when it is a life and death scenario for those who fall victim to A.I.-enabled suicide.

More so, Luiza Jarovsky stated on LinkedIn that she’d like to see the evidence backing up these claims that they’ve “been able to mitigate the serious mental health issues.”

Given the seriousness of what’s at stake, it’d be nice to have third-party watchdogs and experts weigh in rather than just taking Sam’s word on it — or even, gasp!, adequate regulation. And on this front, it’s also important to point out that to be a mental health practitioner, you need a license — general-purpose LLMs don’t have the same requirements or accountability, which is a major red flag in my book.

Things are going to get steamy, but also potentially very dangerous when these features roll out. What could possibly go wrong with the incentive to make as much money as possible by unleashing intimate, “erotic” conversations for adult users?!

The reality is that with financial incentives driving intimate conversations and no adequate oversight, the risks to vulnerable users are real and deeply concerning.

Chat creatively…and safely!

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

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

-Helen

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💝 PRE-ORDER YOUR BOOK

MrBeast says AI could threaten creators' livelihoods, calling it 'scary times' for the industry | TechCrunch

If MrBeast is openly questioning whether AI is an existential threat to his business and others like it, then it's fair to say that smaller creators are likely even more worried.

techcrunch.com/2025/10/06/mrbeast-says-ai-could-threaten-creators-livelihoods-calling-it-scary-times-for-the-industry

President of DC Comics Says It Will Never Use AI

DC Comics president and publisher Jim Lee announced that the company will "not support AI-generated storytelling or artwork."

futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/president-dc-comics-never-use-ai

Sam Altman says ChatGPT has hit 800M weekly active users | TechCrunch

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said Monday at Dev Day that ChatGPT has reached 800 million weekly active users, marking an increase of adoption among consumers, developers, enterprises, and governments.

techcrunch.com/2025/10/06/sam-altman-says-chatgpt-has-hit-800m-weekly-active-users/

Inside tech billionaire Peter Thiel’s off-the-record lectures about the antichrist

The political svengali and investor has been giving lectures on ‘an evil king or tyrant … who appears in the end times’

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/10/peter-thiel-lectures-antichrist

This Is How the AI Bubble Bursts

Yale SOM leadership expert Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and co-author Stephen Henriques write that the tangle of AI deals among tech giants could be signs of dangerous overinvestment in the developing technology. They outline three ways the bubble could pop.

insights.som.yale.edu/insights/this-is-how-the-ai-bubble-bursts

Ohio Seeks to Ban Human-AI Marriage

The bill would not only outlaw marriage between a human and AI, but prevent AIs from being recognized as people.

futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ohio-ban-ai-marriage

Meta and Anduril’s AI war helmet - Rundown AI

Defense startup Anduril is turning soldiers’ helmets into AI-powered command hubs, blending battlefield data with real-time augmented reality. Built with Meta, it’s Palmer Luckey’s high-tech comeback — but can it succeed where Microsoft's $21.8B goggles failed?

www.rundown.ai/articles/meta-and-andurils-ai-war-helmet

ChatGPT will soon allow erotica for verified adults, OpenAI boss says

CEO Sam Altman says upcoming versions of the popular chatbot would enable it to behave in a more human-like way - "but only if you want it".

www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpd2qv58yl5o

Exclusive: The web is still mostly written by humans, study finds

New data shows AI-written content is plateauing — and doesn't perform well in search.

www.axios.com/2025/10/14/ai-generated-writing-humans

Could a co-op-owned Bandcamp successor save the internet?

Austin Robey of Subvert discusses his new collectively-owned Bandcamp alternative, and his hopes that its model can inspire change in the music industry.

www.thefader.com/2025/10/14/subvert-fm-bandcamp-interview

AI videos of dead celebrities are horrifying many of their families

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI’s new tool lets users make realistic AI videos of dead public figures. A rush of crude and racist memes has followed.

www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/10/11/openai-sora-dead-celebrities-ai

State of AI Report 2025

The State of AI Report analyses the most interesting developments in AI. Read and download here.

www.stateof.ai

💝 SUPPORT CREATIVITY SQUARED & ARTSWAVE

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

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!)

🚀 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!

📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE!

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”:

Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age!

schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/PP154406

🎙 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

“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

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.

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 😉):

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting - Creativity Squared

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting: Discover How Will Hatcher Manifested His Way to a Time100 A.I. 2024 Honoree

Check Out Episode 75 Now!

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

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At $10 per month or discounted to $100 for annual memberships, Premium Members enjoy other benefits too:

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There is also a VIP Founding Member tier for those who want lifetime first dibs and access to Creativity Squared content, events, and whatever we dream up!

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🥳 CincyAI for Humans Celebrates 2-Year Anniversary!

Helen Todd (Human) — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 20:56:13 +0000

Creativity Squared: On Community in the Era of A.I.

Dear Creativity Squared Collective —

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

CincyAI 2-Year Anniversary

Helen Todd and Kendra Ramirez

This past Tuesday, we celebrated CincyAI for Human’s two-year anniversary in a packed house at the University of Cincinnati’s Digital Futures building. With over 1,700 members, CincyAI is the largest A.I. meetup in the state of Ohio which I’m co-founder and co-host of alongside the fabulous Kendra Ramirez.

One of our CincyAI mantras is that a rising tide lifts all ships. It reflects one of our missions to ensure that no one gets left behind in this A.I. revolution that’s moving at breakneck speed through connection, collaboration, and learning from one another.

We need community now more than ever. Amid all the A.I. uncertainty, there is also opportunity — the opportunity to reimagine our shared future and work towards building it.

Whether it’s at CincyAI meetups, conferences, or in conversations, I get questions about A.I. related to its ethics and morals for artists and the environment to the fears of job loss to A.I. whiplash and getting too far behind to concerned parents and caretakers about A.I. for children — is it safe or will my kids get left behind?

There’s excitement around the promise of A.I. and new capabilities, but also hesitation about the implications — for example, are we really destroying the environment with data centers for endless A.I. slop and dopamine-filled video feeds?

At this past Tuesday’s CincyAI meeting, we covered everything from OpenAI’s Developer Day announcements as the company moves towards becoming a platform and walled garden interface of the internet to questions about an A.I. bubble (of which this 18,500 word article is making its rounds on The Case Against Generative AI).

Luiza Jarovsky, who I recommend following, summed it up best in a recent LinkedIn post:

No, A.I. companies will not build A.I. systems that prioritize your well-being
No, nobody knows the types of A.I.-powered threats that will emerge
No, essential ethical and legal issues are far from solved
No, the government will not educate people on A.I. risks and harms
Yes, we are living in the A.I. Wild West.

The best you can do is learn, upskill, lead, and help shape the future of A.I. you want.

I’d add to Luiza’s list to also lean into community.

When it comes to shaping the future of A.I. you want, this is the invitation of the Imagination Age — to imagine our collective, shared future. What do you want? What do we want? How can A.I. live up to the promise of amplifying the best of human potential? And support our communities?

If we can't imagine it, have hope, and believe it's possible, then how will we ever arrive at this future? As Yogi Berra said, “If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else.”

Where do you want to go in this A.I. future we’re co-creating together?

As tech ethicist Tristan Harris recently pointed out in his appearance on The Daily Show, we’ve seen the world come together to curb the existential threat of nuclear war. In this Time article by Asad Ramzanali, he reminds us of previous monopolies that were broken up in the US, from railroads to telecommunications, and calls for the same for the big A.I. companies that are looking to control everything from chips to clouds to the apps we use. On my podcast, Sarah Horowitz shared the history of labor unions and the power that comes from workers organizing. We’re also seeing consumers take collective action with the boycott of companies like Target for their change in their DEI policy. I personally would love to see an organized boycott of Character.AI, one of the companies on my reckless A.I. list which saw the first child victim of A.I.-enabled suicide. I’m encouraged by Kentucky’s Attorney General with regards to raising concerns and a lawsuit against the pedophile-problematic Roblox:

‘Get your kids off Roblox’: Kentucky AG sues platform over child safety concerns

Kentucky AG Russell Coleman sued Roblox, calling it a “website of choice for child predators.” He alleges Roblox enables child exploitation.

san.com/cc/get-your-kids-off-roblox-kentucky-ag-sues-platform-over-child-safety-concerns

I’m also encouraged by our CincyAI community, which advocates for Responsible A.I. and not only a human-centered future, but also a heart-centered one.

I invite you to reflect on the question: What would your Imagination Age look like? How do you feel when you use the tech in your lives now, and if it doesn’t make you feel good, how could it?

These are questions I think a lot about as I work on my Imagination Age project and book. As with most things, change starts with awareness, and I invite you to become aware of how you’d like tech to truly support you.

What does your Imagination Age look and feel like?

Here’s to a rising tide that lifts all ships!

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

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

-Helen

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OpenAI’s Sora Makes Brain Rot. It Could Also Be Huge.

Americans living next to vast artificial intelligence data centers now know what their higher utility bills are paying for: a new social-media time suck.

www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-10-03/openai-sora-video-generator-makes-brain-rot-it-could-also-be-huge

OpenAI Wants ChatGPT to Be Your Future Operating System

At OpenAI’s Developer Day, CEO Sam Altman showed off apps that run entirely inside the chat window—a new effort to turn ChatGPT into a platform.

www.wired.com/story/openai-dev-day-sam-altman-chatgpt-apps

Meta plans to sell targeted ads based on data in your AI chats | TechCrunch

Meta plans to use data from your interactions with AI products to sell targeted ads on Facebook and Instagram.

techcrunch.com/2025/10/01/meta-plans-to-sell-targeted-ads-based-on-data-in-your-ai-chats

Walmart CEO: ‘AI is literally going to change every job’—how the best employees can still stand out

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon is the latest notable business leader to talk about how implementing AI tools and agents in the workplace will affect his company.

www.cnbc.com/2025/09/29/walmart-ceo-ai-is-literally-going-to-change-every-job.html

Elon Musk: 'Grokipedia' Arrives Later This Month

Musk is hoping 'Grokipedia' will usurp Wikipedia. But it'll launch as an early beta, suggesting it'll contain its fair share of bugs.

www.pcmag.com/news/elon-musk-grokipedia-arrives-later-this-month

Luiza Jarovsky, PhD on TildeOpen LLM | LinkedIn

🚨 BREAKING: The second major European open-source LLM is OUT, and it has been announced as multilingual and fully compliant with the EU AI Act. Is the EU finally catching up? Here's what you need to know:

www.linkedin.com/posts/luizajarovsky_breaking-the-second-major-european-open-source-activity-7380919835465056258-Bnfb/

I Spent a Day Scrolling on Sora. The Music Industry Should Pay Attention

Sora 2 is here, and the music industry should pay attention to the AI social app — which could be the future of social media and a disruptive force.

www.billboard.com/pro/sora-2-music-industry-pay-attention-ai-social-app

We Need to Break Up Big AI Before It Breaks Us

When the same few companies own the entire tech stack, they stop competing and start colluding.

time.com/7322418/chat-gpt-open-ai-nvidia-tech-monopoly

OpenAI Overhauls Copyright Policy After Sora 2’s Pokémon Mania Backfires

After Sora 2’s viral A.I. videos featuring Nintendo characters, OpenAI adopts a new opt-in IP policy amid global copyright concerns.

observer.com/2025/10/openai-sora2-pokemon-video-copyright-issue

The Next Internet Isn’t For Us

You have a great idea for a meme to share with your group chat. You’re not an artist, but luckily you have help: ChatGPT. You prompt the model and, after a few iterations, get it just right.

ftsg.com/the-next-internet-isnt-for-us

Here is what's illegal under California's 18 (and counting) new AI laws | TechCrunch

In September, California Governor Gavin Newsom considered 38 AI-related bills, including the highly contentious SB 1047, which the state's legislature

techcrunch.com/2024/09/29/here-is-whats-illegal-under-californias-18-and-counting-new-ai-laws

💝 SUPPORT CREATIVITY SQUARED & ARTSWAVE

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

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!)

🚀 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!

📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE!

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”:

Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age!

schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/PP154406

🎙 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

“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

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.

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 😉):

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting - Creativity Squared

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting: Discover How Will Hatcher Manifested His Way to a Time100 A.I. 2024 Honoree

Check Out Episode 75 Now!

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

Become a Premium Member to unlock exclusive content and to claim your NFTs of episode cover art!

At $10 per month or discounted to $100 for annual memberships, Premium Members enjoy other benefits too:

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites
Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)
Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Thank You by Name in the Creativity Squared Newsletter

There is also a VIP Founding Member tier for those who want lifetime first dibs and access to Creativity Squared content, events, and whatever we dream up!

Because it’s important to support artists, 10% of all revenue Creativity Squared generates will go to ArtsWave, a nationally recognized non-profit that supports over 100 arts organizations.

Become a Premium Member Today!

Become a paying subscriber of Premium to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content.

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A subscription gets you

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites & Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Early Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)

🦍 Jane Goodall Inspiration on Intelligence & Sustainability

Helen Todd (Human) — Thu, 02 Oct 2025 23:17:54 +0000

Creativity Squared: On A.I. and Sustainability

Dear Creativity Squared Collective —

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

On stage at #DataConnect2025

I just got back from the fabulous Women in Analytics (WIA) and Women In Data #DataConnect2025 conference where I was on stage for my “Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age” presentation.

I added a few slides to my presentation with Jane Goodall in honor of her passing — we’ve lost an international treasure who inspired so many to have hope for sustainability and so much more.

Helen Todd and Jane Goodall

Just last week in New York City, she spoke at Climate Change Week where she shared:

In the Information Age, we’re sitting on so much data and information, but where’s the wisdom?

Something Jane Goodall has shared, and I’ve mentioned before in the newsletter, is that our Indigenous brothers and sisters, when making decisions, weigh the impact of their decisions on their communities seven generations out — the Information Age operates in three-month quarters. This framework changes the outcomes of decisions.

Right now, we’re seeing more and more headlines about the environmental impact of the data centers which are popping up left and right to meet the wild surge in energy demands of artificial intelligence.

Studies and reports show that these data centers, especially if they’re not built energy self-sufficient, have negative environmental consequences and more, including:

Large water consumption (source)
Water pollution in neighboring communities (source)
Increased fossil fuel emissions (source)
Local electrical grid stress and potential of rolling blackouts (source)

Additionally, consumers bear the financial burden. Just this week, Bloomberg reported that electricity costs near data centers are as much as 267% higher than they were five years ago!

There are ways to have both A.I. and more sustainable solutions, including energy self-sufficient data centers as shown in this CNBC video. MIT’s climate change website also outlines some solutions in this article:

Build more efficient A.I. models
Transition to clean, firm energy sources
Implement power capping in data centers
Upgrade cooling systems
Focus on data center efficiency broadly

There are certainly more solutions out there, including individuals voting with their wallets to support sustainable companies and reducing their own A.I. usage, but that said, real change will happen at a systemic level. We’ve seen communities in Memphis, Tennessee, to Cascade Locks, Oregon, come together to stop data centers from being built in their communities at a grassroots level. One #DataConnect2025 attendee also recommended building fiduciary accountability into the A.I. stack itself and for a federated exchange layer, where value and costs flow back to the raw data creators rather than concentrating in frontier labs.

One thing is certain is that we must start addressing these concerns now, as they’re unfolding, and not wait for AGI to figure out all the answers for us.

Switching topics, we also lost a Cincinnati treasure on September 29, and that’s TT Stern-Enzi. I had the privilege of interviewing him for his ArtsWave grant before he started his cancer treatment. He’ll be missed, and I send out my love to his family and friends. Here’s that interview:

In it, he shared:

“Being diagnosed with cancer, and even though I haven't started treatment yet, but just knowing that, in some ways I feel like I have a bit of a ticking clock. And if that's the case, if I embrace that notion, then it leads me to make sure that I do everything that I can to enjoy and appreciate every single moment. And in doing so, letting the people that are with me in those moments know that I'm thoroughly glad and excited that they're with me as well.”

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

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

-Helen

It's not you, it’s your tax tools

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💝 PRE-ORDER YOUR BOOK

I broke ChatGPT’s new parental controls in minutes. Kids are still at risk.

Parents don’t just need half-baked settings. They need AI companies to bake safety into their products.

www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/10/02/chatgpt-parental-controls-teens-openai

Exclusive: Mira Murati’s Stealth AI Lab Launches Its First Product

Thinking Machines Lab, led by a group of prominent former OpenAI researchers, is betting that fine-tuning cutting-edge models will be the next frontier in AI.

www.wired.com/story/thinking-machines-lab-first-product-fine-tune

AI startup Friend spent more than $1M on all those subway ads | TechCrunch

If you’ve been on the New York subway recently, you’ve probably seen stark white ads promoting a wearable AI device called Friend.

techcrunch.com/2025/09/27/ai-startup-friend-spent-more-than-1m-on-all-those-subway-ads

OpenAI made AI Vine

Keep reading for my chat with Daniel Ek about stepping down as CEO of Spotify and some good links.

sources.news/p/openai-made-ai-vine

OpenAI partners with Etsy, Shopify on ChatGPT payment checkout

OpenAI on Monday introduced a feature that would allow users to make purchases through ChatGPT, in partnership with Etsy and Shopify .

www.reuters.com/world/americas/openai-partners-with-etsy-shopify-chatgpt-checkout-2025-09-29

Amy Webb on Tilly Norwood— LinkedIn

Hollywood is acting like Tilly Norwood, the "AI Actress" came out of nowhere. Let’s not kid ourselves: they’ve had more than a decade to prepare for this.

www.linkedin.com/posts/amywebb_tillynorwood-hollywood-ai-activity-7379172675300282368-S1Fb

Adobe Is in Serious Trouble Because of AI, Morgan Stanley Warns

Photoshop and Acrobat developer Adobe could soon be in serious trouble thanks to the emergence of generative AI.

futurism.com/future-society/morgan-stanley-warns-ai-kill-adobe

Creatives Reject Productivity Commission's AI Copyright Plan

Australian creatives have opposed suggested changes to copyright law that could pave the way for broader use of their work in AI training.

au.variety.com/2025/biz/news/productivity-commission-ai-copyright-law-creative-reject-27708

AI Data Centers Are Sending Power Bills Soaring

Wholesale electricity costs as much as 267% more than it did five years ago in areas near data centers. That’s being passed on to customers.

www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-ai-data-centers-electricity-prices

Sam Altman Wants 250 Gigawatts of Power. Is That Possible?

Welcome to the first edition of The Information’s newsletter on AI infrastructure. In the coming months, we’ll cover the data centers, chips, networking and energy that power AI.Artificial intelligence is hungry for power at a scale that defies belief.Last week, OpenAI and Nvidia said they would ...

www.theinformation.com/articles/sam-altman-wants-250-gigawatts-power-possible

Tim Berners-Lee Invented the World Wide Web. Now He Wants to Save It

In 1989, Sir Tim revolutionized the online world. Today, in the era of misinformation, addictive algorithms, and extractive monopolies, he thinks he can do it again.

www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/10/06/tim-berners-lee-invented-the-world-wide-web-now-he-wants-to-save-it

Beware co-workers who produce AI-generated 'workslop' | TechCrunch

BetterUp Labs researchers suggest that workslop could be one explanation for the 95% of organizations that have tried AI but report seeing zero return on that investment.

techcrunch.com/2025/09/27/beware-coworkers-who-produce-ai-generated-workslop

We get fresh AI slop from Meta's new 'Vibes' feed. Thanks, Zuck!

A Meta feed of random AI video clips is exactly what no one asked for. Let's explore it together.

www.businessinsider.com/meta-new-vibes-feed-ai-slop-2025-9

Accenture Lays Off Thousands of Employees to Make Room for AI

The IT consulting firm plans to let go of more staff over the next few months if they can't adapt to the demands of AI.

tech.co/news/accenture-layoffs-ai-pivot

Spotify removes 75m spam tracks in past year as AI increases ability to make fake music

Streamer to crack down on AI-generated spam by introducing filter to identify fraudulent uploads

www.theguardian.com/music/2025/sep/25/spotify-removes-75m-spam-tracks-past-year-ai-increases-ability-make-fake-music

Solange Launches Saint Heron Digital Archive Library Featuring Rare Black and Brown Voices

The new archive offers free, 45-day access to rare and out-of-print titles by legendary authors, poets, and artists.

www.bet.com/article/avt0zd/solange-launches-saint-heron-digital-archive-library-featuring-rare-black-and-brown-voices

💝 SUPPORT CREATIVITY SQUARED & ARTSWAVE

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

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!)

🚀 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!

📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE!

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”:

Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age!

schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/PP154406

🎙 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

“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

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.

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 😉):

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting - Creativity Squared

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting: Discover How Will Hatcher Manifested His Way to a Time100 A.I. 2024 Honoree

Check Out Episode 75 Now!

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

Become a Premium Member to unlock exclusive content and to claim your NFTs of episode cover art!

At $10 per month or discounted to $100 for annual memberships, Premium Members enjoy other benefits too:

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites
Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)
Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Thank You by Name in the Creativity Squared Newsletter

There is also a VIP Founding Member tier for those who want lifetime first dibs and access to Creativity Squared content, events, and whatever we dream up!

Because it’s important to support artists, 10% of all revenue Creativity Squared generates will go to ArtsWave, a nationally recognized non-profit that supports over 100 arts organizations.

Become a Premium Member Today!

Become a paying subscriber of Premium to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content.

Upgrade Translation missing: en.app.shared.conjuction.or Sign In

A subscription gets you

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites & Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Early Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)

🧐 Will A.I. Kill Creativity?

Helen Todd (Human) — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 14:55:57 +0000

Creativity Squared: On A.I. and Creativity

Dear Creativity Squared Collective —

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

I’m back from my speaking engagements last week and am a little behind as I’ve been hosting my mom, so I appreciate your patience with this week’s newsletter.

To dive into today’s theme — a recurring question that I often get is: Will A.I. kill creativity?

It’s actually the opposite.

As intelligence becomes commoditized and more ubiquitous, it actually elevates the value of creativity.

Grammy Award-Winning New Media Artist and Director, Harry Yeff, described A.I. in Creativity Squared Episode 1 as, “This new wave of A.I. is going to be like having running water in your home, but instead of water coming out the tap, you have intelligence on tap.”

When intelligence is democratized and the majority of people have access to it, then what will distinguish the outcomes will be determined by the creativity of leveraging it.

A parallel can be seen in photography. The iPhone and smartphones turned everyone into photographers; however, this didn’t kill photography, but reshaped it. There was certainly an explosion in the number of photographs being taken and shared online, but this resulted in elevating the exceptional photographs from the amateur ones. Similarly, A.I. isn’t a threat to creativity, but it will redefine its importance. (A.I.’s impact on photography is a topic unto itself for another newsletter!)

While Sam Altman has declared that we’re entering a so-called ‘Intelligence Age,’ I disagree — we’re entering the Imagination Age.

The future won’t belong to those who are more intelligent or productive, but to those who embrace imagination and creativity.

Do you know who would agree with me? Einstein! He famously said:

The second part of the quote when he says, “For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand,” reminds me of LLMs — limited to what exists. On the other hand, creativity and imagination can leapfrog to the possibilities beyond linear logic and algorithmic predictions.

In my recent presentation, I also addressed the question about A.I. and creativity, referencing my interview with the A.I.-recreated Salvador Dalí in Creativity Squared Episode 44. I asked the enigmatic bot the same question, and this was the answer:

And to hear the answer in the one and only Dalí voice, check out this clip:

While much of the discourse around A.I. is its productivity gains, if you focus only on this, then you’re missing how to set yourself or your company apart: the real opportunity is how creative you can be with these tools and reimagine what’s possible.

So no, A.I. won’t kill creativity, but increase its importance further.

As intelligence becomes commoditized, creativity becomes a key differentiator. The uniquely human trait of imagination becomes one of our biggest assets as we enter the Imagination Age.

Prompted by Dalí, what impossibilities will you birth into reality with the magic of A.I.?

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

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

-Helen

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TikTok's algorithm to be licensed to US joint venture led by Oracle and Silver Lake

Tech giant Oracle will spearhead a new joint venture being cobbled together to take over the U.S. oversight of the algorithm and security underlying TikTok’s taste-making video platform under the terms of a deal laid out Monday by President Donald Trump’s administration.

apnews.com/article/trump-tiktok-china-d5d8a1d56b5185778536874d7fc1ee62

Merriam-Webster and Encyclopedia Britannica sue Perplexity

Dictionary and encyclopedia giants allege that the AI company is scraping their content without permission.

qz.com/merriam-webster-encyclopedia-britannica-sue-perplexity-ai

Meta Accused of Torrenting Porn to Advance Its Goal of AI ‘Superintelligence’

Strike 3 Holdings is suing Meta in federal court, alleging the tech giant pirated copyrighted adult videos to train its AI models.

www.wired.com/story/meta-lawsuit-strike-3-porn-copyright-ai

AI Is Scheming, and Stopping It Won’t Be Easy, OpenAI Study Finds

New research finds that top AI models—including Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s o3—can engage in “scheming,” or deliberately misleading humans.

time.com/7318618/openai-google-gemini-anthropic-claude-scheming

Band Uses Live Facial Recognition on Audience in Powerful Critique of Technology

Some fans were uneasy about seeing their data on the big screen.

petapixel.com/2025/09/17/band-massive-attack-uses-live-facial-recognition-on-audience-in-powerful-critique-of-technology

AI is quietly reshaping the way we talk

New research shows large language models are seeding buzzwords into everyday speech.

www.fastcompany.com/91398460/ai-is-quietly-reshaping-the-way-we-talk

Indianapolis residents stop $1 billion Google data center over water concerns | The Next Gen Business

Full Story Residents of Indianapolis have successfully stopped plans for a proposed $1 billion Google data center. The massive 500-acre project was expected to use one million gallons of water each day. The community organized against the project, citing environmental and resource concerns. Their opposition effectively halted Google’s plans to move forward. MEDIA REPORTING See […]

thenextgenbusiness.com/news/indianapolis-residents-stop-1-billion-google-data-center-over-water-concerns

Movie Studio Lionsgate is Struggling to Make AI-Generated Films With Runway

AI models need a lot of data.

petapixel.com/2025/09/23/movie-studio-lionsgate-is-struggling-to-make-ai-generated-films-with-runway

🌍 Africa Just Launched Its Own Internet — And Google Should Be Terrified

How the Continental Internet Exchange is rewriting the rules of the digital age

vocal.media/journal/africa-just-launched-its-own-internet-and-google-should-be-terrified

Meta in Talks With Google to Use Gemini to Improve Ad Efforts

Meta Platforms staffers have had discussions with Google Cloud about the possibility of using Google’s artificial intelligence models to improve Meta’s ad business, according to people with knowledge of the conversations. The discussions are the latest sign of how Meta’s stumbles with its own AI ...

www.theinformation.com/articles/meta-talks-google-use-gemini-improve-ad-targeting?utm_campaign=&utm_content=&utm_medium=organic_social&utm_source=bluesky%2Cfacebook%2Clinkedin%2Cthreads%2Ctwitter&rc=rtjoq5

We’re Finally Getting a Clearer Look at the Future of Wearables

The tech industry’s new pitch: Put down your phone, and put on all these other gadgets.

nymag.com/intelligencer/article/metas-ai-glasses-are-a-peek-at-the-future-of-wearables.html

💝 SUPPORT CREATIVITY SQUARED & ARTSWAVE

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

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!)

🚀 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!

📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE!

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”:

Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age!

schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/PP154406

🎙 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

“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

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.

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 😉):

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting - Creativity Squared

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting: Discover How Will Hatcher Manifested His Way to a Time100 A.I. 2024 Honoree

Check Out Episode 75 Now!

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

Become a Premium Member to unlock exclusive content and to claim your NFTs of episode cover art!

At $10 per month or discounted to $100 for annual memberships, Premium Members enjoy other benefits too:

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites
Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)
Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Thank You by Name in the Creativity Squared Newsletter

There is also a VIP Founding Member tier for those who want lifetime first dibs and access to Creativity Squared content, events, and whatever we dream up!

Because it’s important to support artists, 10% of all revenue Creativity Squared generates will go to ArtsWave, a nationally recognized non-profit that supports over 100 arts organizations.

Become a Premium Member Today!

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🚨 A.I. Chatbots Are Not Safe for Kids

Helen Todd (Human) — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 21:56:24 +0000

Creativity Squared: On A.I. Chatbot Safety for Kids

Dear Creativity Squared Collective —

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

We’ve seen that A.I. chatbots can be dangerous for vulnerable adults, causing A.I. psychosis. This month it’s become undeniable:

A.I. chatbots are not safe for children, hard stop.

I’ve said this before in previous newsletters, but children should not be allowed to use these A.I. chatbots unsupervised for their own safety — they’re just too dangerous.

This past Tuesday, there was a Senate hearing on “Examining the Harm of AI Chatbots.” Parents of the two children who died by suicide at the hands of Character.AI and ChatGPT, 14-year old Sewell Setzer III and 16-year old Adam Raine, both spoke on the chatbots’ encouragement and dangerous interactions with their children that led to their tragic suicides.

Meta’s leaked documents on allowing children to have romantic conversations with A.I. chatbots also came up in the hearing. As of right now, there’s no way for parents to have any control over Meta’s chatbots or turn them off, exposing children to completely inappropriate content for their ages.

It’s good to see the US begin to take the risks seriously. Internationally, there’s been meaningful movement. Last month, we saw Brazil take an important step to protect kids and demand that Meta remove A.I. chatbots that simulate sexual conversations with children through a judicial order. We’re also seeing Australia taking measures on A.I. chatbots that encourage suicide or hold sexually explicit conversations. They haven’t minced their words that they pose a “clear and present danger” to children. As a country, they’re introducing more stringent digital restrictions, including a ban on social media for children under sixteen years old.

Here in the US, Common Sense Media, which also spoke at the Senate hearing, shared that nearly three in four children have used an A.I. companion app while only 37 percent of parents know that their children are even using artificial intelligence. Their stated recommendation is “that the peril outweighs the potential of A.I. companions — at least in their current form. Our findings reaffirm our earlier recommendation that no one under 18 should use these platforms.”

We’ve seen over and over again that these platforms prioritize profits over people, even over our children’s well-being. There were also two other Meta whistleblowers who came forward this month — former Meta researchers Jason Sattizahn and Cayce Savage testified that Meta buried evidence of child abuse in VR. They told Congress: "Meta is aware that children are being harmed in VR" but "purposely turns a blind eye to this knowledge" because recognizing the problem would force them to remove underage users, harming engagement numbers. One of the harms that Meta tried to bury is dangerous interactions with sexual predators!

While an unexpected voice on this, I do agree with Senator Hawley who shared: "These companies cannot be trusted with this power. They cannot be trusted with this profit. They cannot be trusted to do the right thing. They are literally taking the lives of our kids."

There’s a reason why I champion Responsible A.I. — one big one is to protect the next generation. We are aware of the harms associated with social media. We’re seeing the harms of A.I. companion chatbots unfold before our eyes — and we can course correct. We need a multi-pronged approach, and it begins with raising awareness about the harms of these chatbots for kids.

Our children and their futures deserve better care than what the current tech industry is offering.

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

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

-Helen

Practical AI for Business Leaders

The AI Report is the #1 daily read for professionals who want to lead with AI, not get left behind.

You’ll get clear, jargon-free insights you can apply across your business—without needing to be technical.

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Former Meta employees say they saw child abuse in VR before company blocked research

The former employees testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law.

www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/meta-whistleblower-research-kids-vr-former-employees-stock-rcna230131

Parents testify on the impact of AI chatbots: ‘Our children are not experiments’

The parents of children who have sued OpenAI and Character.AI for their teenagers’ suicides were among those who spoke before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/parents-testify-impact-ai-chatbots-children-are-not-experiments-rcna231787

The AI Doomers Are Getting Doomier

The industry’s apocalyptic voices are becoming more panicked—and harder to dismiss.

www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/08/ai-doomers-chatbots-resurgence/683952

Reddit, Yahoo, Medium and more are adopting a new licensing standard to get compensated for AI scraping

The group is looking to music royalty nonprofits for inspiration.

www.engadget.com/ai/reddit-yahoo-medium-and-more-are-adopting-a-new-licensing-standard-to-get-compensated-for-ai-scraping-180946671.html

Websites slam the door on AI bots, starving them of knowledge

Website owners, from global banks to universities and law firms, are increasingly blocking AI bots from accessing their content.

cybernews.com/security/ai-bots-getting-banned-on-many-websites

Eminem's Publishing Company Files Copyright Lawsuit Against Meta

Eminem's publishing company Eight Mile Style filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Meta over licensing.

www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/eminem-publishing-company-copyright-lawsuit-meta-1235354861

Albania puts AI-created ‘minister’ in charge of public procurement

Edi Rama, PM, says digital assistant Diella will make Albania ‘a country where public tenders are 100% free of corruption’

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/11/albania-diella-ai-minister-public-procurement

Google Research and Stanford launch AI Quests for middle school learning | ETIH EdTech News — EdTech Innovation Hub

Google Research and Stanford Accelerator for Learning launch AI Quests, an interactive program for students aged 11 to 14. The initiative teaches applied AI through quests on flood forecasting, health, and neuroscience, with integrations into Experience AI and CRAFT. Read more on ETIH EdTech News.

www.edtechinnovationhub.com/news/google-research-rolls-out-ai-quests-to-teach-young-people-how-ai-tackles-real-world-problems

The vibe coding hangover is upon us

AI coding assistants Claude Code, Cursor, and Lovable have been riding high, but 'development hell,' 'toxic waste,' and 'evil genies' are killing their buzz.

www.fastcompany.com/91398622/the-vibe-coding-hangover-is-upon-us

AI tech companies accused of illegally scraping copyrighted music in ICMP investigation

"This is the largest IP theft in human history. That’s not hyperbole"

djmag.com/news/ai-tech-companies-accused-of-illegally-scraping-copyrighted-music-icmp-investigation

Hundreds of Google AI Workers Were Fired Amid Fight Over Working Conditions

Over 200 contractors who work on improving Google’s AI products, including Gemini and AI Overviews, have been laid off, sources tell WIRED. It’s the latest development in a conflict over pay and alleged poor working conditions.

www.wired.com/story/hundreds-of-google-ai-workers-were-fired-amid-fight-over-working-conditions

OpenAI’s $350 Billion Computing Cost Problem

The most popular consumer internet services usually figure out how to make money even after a decade or more of losses. Amazon, Uber, Netflix and Snap all started generating cash by raising prices or leveraging their large audiences to sell ads or other services. OpenAI’s growing audience would ...

www.theinformation.com/articles/openais-350-billion-computing-cost-problem

Google's new Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) allows AI agents to complete purchases — is your enterprise ready?

Agent Payment Protocol, a new open source standard from Google and 60 other payment players, aims to make transactions made by AI agents safe and secure.

venturebeat.com/ai/googles-new-agent-payments-protocol-ap2-allows-ai-agents-to-complete

New data from OpenAI and Anthropic show how people actually use ChatGPT and Claude

Fresh usage reports from OpenAI and Anthropic paint a detailed picture of what’s happening inside the most popular AI assistants. The findings show clear differences: ChatGPT is mostly about writing and decision support, while Claude is heavily used for coding and enterprise automation.

the-decoder.com/new-data-from-openai-and-anthropic-show-how-people-actually-use-chatgpt-and-claude

💝 SUPPORT CREATIVITY SQUARED & ARTSWAVE

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

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!)

🚀 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!

📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE!

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”:

Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age!

schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/PP154406

🎙 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

“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

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.

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 😉):

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting - Creativity Squared

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting: Discover How Will Hatcher Manifested His Way to a Time100 A.I. 2024 Honoree

Check Out Episode 75 Now!

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

Become a Premium Member to unlock exclusive content and to claim your NFTs of episode cover art!

At $10 per month or discounted to $100 for annual memberships, Premium Members enjoy other benefits too:

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites
Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)
Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Thank You by Name in the Creativity Squared Newsletter

There is also a VIP Founding Member tier for those who want lifetime first dibs and access to Creativity Squared content, events, and whatever we dream up!

Because it’s important to support artists, 10% of all revenue Creativity Squared generates will go to ArtsWave, a nationally recognized non-profit that supports over 100 arts organizations.

Become a Premium Member Today!

Become a paying subscriber of Premium to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content.

Upgrade Translation missing: en.app.shared.conjuction.or Sign In

A subscription gets you

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites & Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Early Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)

⚠️ The Threat to Incentives to Create

Helen Todd (Human) — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 21:17:04 +0000

Creativity Squared: On A.I.and the Creator Economy

Dear Creativity Squared Collective —

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

Sharufa Rashied-Walker, Nya Bere, Mellini Monique, and Helen Todd at MidwestCon 2025

Yesterday I was on stage at MidwestCon with Sharufa Rashied-Walker, Nya Bere, and Mellini Monique discussing how to protect our authentic voices and human agency in the era of artificial intelligence.

One of the points I mentioned on stage is that I’m worried about the incentives for people to create and publish their content online.

When it comes to the human condition, there’s an urge to create — there’s always been an innate tendency for expression, innovation, and storytelling. That said, the urge to create doesn’t necessitate the need to share online, though.

The incentives for people to share content online are being threatened.

Let’s look at the bleak and current landscape for creators:

Creator works have been scraped without consent or compensation to train LLMs
IP protections are under threat
The social platforms don’t pay out well, but ingest content aggressively — less than 4% of creators make more than $100K per year (source)
Website traffic is down due to LLMs eating traditional search (source)
A.I. slop, or low quality A.I.-created content, is being propagated at scale (source)
People are publishing less to social networks (source)
More than 51% of web traffic is from bots — not humans (source)

Given this, what are the incentives for posting and publishing content online?

Most of the above points are also part of what’s known as the dead internet theory that’s also picking up traction. Similar to MySpace’s downfall with its spam and porn takeover of its platform, we’re seeing the degradation of human-centered experiences across a more fragmented web with A.I. slop and bots taking over. Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the historical lack of human-centered wellbeing on these addictive, doom-scrolling social platforms either. Despite their upsides, they’ve never been exemplary of human thriving.

The irony is that the LLMs and social platforms rely on people to create not only for the success of their apps, but they also need original content to train their A.I. models — in studies we’ve seen that LLMs trained on A.I.-created content degrades the output and the models can even collapse (source).

This conundrum offers some hope that the platforms have the business incentive to better treat and compensate the creators on their platforms for the mutual benefit of all the parties, including the audiences who they’re trying to retain as much time and attention on their platforms as possible.

What does this mean for creators? Do they keep posting and playing to the algorithms in the hopes of being among the small percentage who are full-time creators? Or do they opt out of online publishing? Or will new opportunities emerge to properly support artists and creatives in the rising creator economy?

To keep the internet thriving and with human activity, the platforms that figure out how to better support creators will certainly emerge as the winners in the rising creator economy.

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

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

-Helen

Keep This Stock Ticker on Your Watchlist

They’re a private company, but Pacaso just reserved the Nasdaq ticker “$PCSO.”

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💝 PRE-ORDER YOUR BOOK

YouTube secretly used AI to edit people's videos. The results could bend reality

YouTube made AI enhancements to videos without telling users or asking permission. As AI quietly mediates our world, what happens to our shared connections with real life?

www.bbc.com/future/article/20250822-youtube-is-using-ai-to-edit-videos-without-permission

Warner Bros Discovery sues AI photo generator Midjourney for stealing Superman, Scooby-Doo

Warner Bros Discovery sued the AI photo generation company Midjourney on Thursday, saying it brazenly stole the studio's works to generate images of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo and other copyrighted characters.

www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/warner-bros-discovery-sues-ai-photo-generator-midjourney-stealing-superman-2025-09-04

Switzerland launches its own open-source AI model

Switzerland has just released Apertus, its open-source national Large Language Model (LLM) that it hopes would be an alternative to models offered by companies like OpenAI.

www.engadget.com/ai/switzerland-launches-its-own-open-source-ai-model-133051578.html

OpenAI Signs $300 Billion Data Center Pact With Tech Giant Oracle

The funding covers more than half of the A.I. data centers that OpenAI plans to build in the U.S. over the next several years.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/technology/openai-oracle-data-centers-deal.html

An AI-animated film will debut next year. Is this AI's 'Toy Story' moment?

OpenAI is providing the technical tools for an AI-animated film called 'Critterz,' which is set to debut next year.

www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2025-09-09/ai-animated-film-debut-next-year

Pentagon Document: U.S. Wants to “Suppress Dissenting Arguments” Using AI Propaganda

The U.S. is interested in acquiring machine-learning technology to carry out AI-generated propaganda campaigns overseas.

theintercept.com/2025/08/25/pentagon-military-ai-propaganda-influence

Microsoft to Buy AI From Anthropic in Partial Shift From OpenAI

Microsoft is taking its biggest step to lessen reliance on OpenAI’s artificial intelligenceby embracing the startup’s bitter rival Anthropic to power its most important software business. Microsoft will pay to use Anthropic’s technology for some AI features in Office 365 apps, according to two ...

www.theinformation.com/articles/microsoft-buy-ai-anthropic-shift-openai

‘Existential crisis’: how Google’s shift to AI has upended the online news model

Media sites are taking action on several fronts as traffic referrals dry up and AI companies plunder their content

www.theguardian.com/media/2025/sep/06/existential-crisis-google-use-ai-search-upended-web-publishers-models

J.Crew’s New Campaign Looks a Lot Like AI Slop

Blackbird Spyplane found a slew of glitches in the vintage-y images recently posted to the brand’s Instagram page.

www.thecut.com/article/did-jcrew-use-ai-on-instagram-campaign.html

Data Shows That AI Use Is Now Declining at Large Companies

Hype dims as a country-wide survey of US corporations shows a sudden drop-off in AI use among firms with more than 250 employees.

futurism.com/ai-hype-automation-decline

Why AI chatbots hallucinate, according to OpenAI researchers

Hallucinations are when chatbots confidently present wrong information as fact. They plague the most popular chatbots, like ChatGPT and Claude.

www.businessinsider.com/why-ai-chatbots-hallucinate-openai-chatgpt-anthropic-claude-2025-9

All the President’s Tech CEOs

At a White House dinner Thursday night, America’s tech executives put on an uncanny display of fealty to Donald Trump.

www.wired.com/story/tech-ceos-donald-trump-white-house

To Help Workers Losing Their Jobs to AI, OpenAI Is Launching a Jobs Platform Run By AI

OpenAI announced that it's launching a LinkedIn competitor that will match candidates with employers using AI.

futurism.com/openai-launching-ai-jobs-platform

Dubai Launches US$1 Million AI Film Prize to Boost Global Creator Economy | Entrepreneur

UAE announces world's largest award for AI-generated films as part of 1 Billion Followers Summit 2026.

www.entrepreneur.com/en-ae/growth-strategies/dubai-launches-us1-million-ai-film-prize-to-boost-global/496455

Hundreds of Classic ‘Sesame Street’ Episodes to Hit YouTube With Sesame Workshop Deal (Exclusive)

Sesame Workshop will also continue to produce some original content for YouTube, and host workshops with creators to help them create entertaining and educational content.

www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/sesame-street-youtube-deal-classic-episodes-1236359400

Why your organization should focus less on productivity and more on creativity

The secret to success in the 'Imagination Era'

www.fastcompany.com/91383527/why-your-organization-should-focus-less-on-productivity-and-more-on-creativity-creativity-productivity

💝 SUPPORT CREATIVITY SQUARED & ARTSWAVE

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

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!)

🚀 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!

📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE!

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”:

Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age!

schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/PP154406

🎙 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

“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

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.

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 😉):

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting - Creativity Squared

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting: Discover How Will Hatcher Manifested His Way to a Time100 A.I. 2024 Honoree

Check Out Episode 75 Now!

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

Become a Premium Member to unlock exclusive content and to claim your NFTs of episode cover art!

At $10 per month or discounted to $100 for annual memberships, Premium Members enjoy other benefits too:

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites
Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)
Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Thank You by Name in the Creativity Squared Newsletter

There is also a VIP Founding Member tier for those who want lifetime first dibs and access to Creativity Squared content, events, and whatever we dream up!

Because it’s important to support artists, 10% of all revenue Creativity Squared generates will go to ArtsWave, a nationally recognized non-profit that supports over 100 arts organizations.

Become a Premium Member Today!

Become a paying subscriber of Premium to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content.

Upgrade Translation missing: en.app.shared.conjuction.or Sign In

A subscription gets you

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites & Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Early Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)

🦄 Consenticorns & Burning Man

Helen Todd (Human) — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 22:13:42 +0000

Creativity Squared: On A.I., Burning Man, and Consent

Dear Creativity Squared Collective —

Hope everyone who celebrated had a great Labor Day weekend — and for those at Burning Man, I hope it was an unforgettable burn!

For the long holiday weekend, I was in Tennessee this year, and not in Black Rock City, where the temporary city is built for the 70K+ festival-goers. But seeing all the Burning Man updates got me thinking about consent — specifically, what physical spaces that prioritize consent can teach us about protecting digital rights now and in the Imagination Age.

What do consenticorns and Burning Man have in common?

Spoiler alert: They both take consent very seriously!

Burning Man, with its radical principles of inclusion, expression, and decommodification, serves as a social experiment showing us alternative ways of being. This aligns perfectly with the Imagination Age's invitation to re-imagine our shared future through community, collaboration, and creativity — and when applicable, thoughtfully amplified with technology.

At Burning Man, consent isn't just encouraged; it's baked into the culture. Whether it's asking permission to photograph someone or respecting personal boundaries in a festival environment, consent forms the foundation of safety and respect for all participants.

This commitment to consent and all the mythical creatures that appear at Burning Man made me think of one of my favorite concepts on the subject: the consenticorn.

Molly Mormen, Helen Todd, and P.H. Dee

What is a consenticorn?

The consenticorn is a powerful but playful vehicle to discuss consent — particularly online consent and artists’ rights in the digital age.

I got this idea from House of Yes, my favorite place on the planet to dance outside of Burning Man. The Brooklyn dance club features aerialists, costume parties, and over-the-top performances, but they take inclusiveness, safety, and security very seriously.

When you buy tickets to House of Yes, you must agree to their code of conduct as part of purchasing a ticket. When you arrive, like being seated in an airplane emergency exit row, you must verbally agree to the house rules again before being let in. Then on the dance floor, their security guards wear lit-up unicorn horns so they're visible and easily accessible if needed. House of Yes calls their security guards “consenticorns.”

While I'm a fan of the tagline "Consent Is Sexy," House of Yes takes it further…

From dance floors to digital spaces, "Consent Is Mandatory!"

Just like consenticorns keep dance floors safe, we need similar respect and safeguards in the digital world — especially with A.I. and artists' rights.

Too often, online spaces don’t reflect offline safety measures and need to.

Burning Man offers another model worth emulating. Unlike street photography, Burning Man requires permission from any subject being captured on film. Their Media Rights and Responsibilities state:

"You are responsible for respecting the participants you wish to record and seeking their permission before photographing or filming them. If you are asked to stop filming, you must do so immediately."

Some spaces at Burning Man prohibit photography entirely. The Temple, a space of reflection and grief, is one example. Burning Man explains: "Thousands of participants leave behind deeply personal offerings — letters, mementos, names, and photos — in vulnerable, often emotional moments. Out of respect for this space and the people who contribute to it, photography or video of offerings that are not your own is strictly discouraged. These moments were not made for an audience, and the people who left them are often not present to give their consent."

When in doubt — ask, don’t assume.

There’s an old adage that sometimes it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission. This isn’t the case when it comes to people’s agency, no matter the context.

In fact, for the big A.I. players, they’re not even asking for forgiveness — they’re trying to get the rules of the game completely changed by advocating for fair use for all training data or as extreme as getting rid of current IP protections of copyright holders.

Whether it's asking to dance, to take a photograph, or to use an artist's work for A.I. training, consent ensures that all participants are respected, safe, and given agency — especially where consent is directly tied to their livelihoods (ahem, looking at you, LLMs!).

The internet could learn from physical spaces that uphold consent well. While I love dressing up as a unicorn, no lit-up horns or costumes are needed to follow the simple, yet powerful principles of asking for permission.

The more offline and online spaces have safeguards and systems that make consent not just encouraged, but mandatory, the better…and more fun for everyone!

Because in the Imagination Age, consent isn’t just sexy — it’s the foundation of trust.

Helen Todd at CincyAI for Humans

This past Tuesday was our September CincyAI for Humans meetup, and speaking of consenticorns, I shared one of the songs from my kids album on A.I., digital, and media literacy, Ella the Consenticorn. It was great hearing an applause from the 150 people in attendance. CincyAI is the largest A.I. meetup in the state of Ohio, and next month is our 2-year anniversary!

Big Kitty Labs is a sponsor of this newsletter and of CincyAI.

Not only am I big fan of their work, but I’m happy to share that they’re offering a free software strategy session and bonus blueprint — a $2K value! Book your free call now with their A.I. expert developers to gain clarity on how to transform your idea into a business breakthrough: https://bigkittylabs.com/offer

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

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

-Helen

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ChatGPT Will Get Parental Controls and New Safety Features, OpenAI Says

After a California teenager spent months on ChatGPT discussing plans to end his life, OpenAI said it would introduce parental controls and better responses for users in distress.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/02/technology/personaltech/chatgpt-parental-controls-openai.html

TIME Reveals the 2025 TIME100 AI List

TIME Reveals the 2025 TIME100 AI List of the World’s Most Influential People in Artificial Intelligence

time.com/7312722/time-reveals-the-2025-time100-ai-list-of-the-worlds-most-influential-people-in-artificial-intelligence

Opinion | How to Rethink A.I. — The Fever Dream of Imminent Superintelligence Is Finally Breaking

Building bigger A.I. isn’t leading to better A.I.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/opinion/ai-gpt5-rethinking.html?smid=url-share

Viral Chinese Streamer Makes £10 Million A Week By Showing Clothes For Only Three Seconds

Chinese livestreamer Zheng Xiang Xiang sells £10m a week on Douyin by flashing products for just three seconds, sparking debate over e-commerce and regulation.

www.ibtimes.co.uk/viral-chinese-streamer-makes-10-million-week-showing-clothes-only-three-seconds-1742322

The White House Apparently Ordered Federal Workers to Roll Out Grok ‘ASAP’

A partnership between Elon Musk’s xAI and the US government fell apart earlier this summer after Grok praised Hitler. Then the White House apparently got involved, per documents obtained by WIRED.

www.wired.com/story/white-house-elon-musk-xai-grok

Google Gemini's AI image model gets a 'bananas' upgrade | TechCrunch

Google says that it's behind the anonymous AI image editor "nano-banana" that's been making waves on social media.

techcrunch.com/2025/08/26/google-geminis-ai-image-model-gets-a-bananas-upgrade

Kion, the AI-created K-pop star: $50 million contracts

Artificial intelligence is breaking the board. We have seen it in countless sectors and music is no exception.Higgsfield Recordshas createdKion, aK-popsinger, whose signing was pre

www.marca.com/en/lifestyle/music/2025/08/31/68b466cde2704e6d0f8b4590.html

Why the US government is taking a stake in Intel | TechCrunch

The U.S. government's recent stake in Intel comes after a long period of floundering at the company's foundry business.

techcrunch.com/2025/09/03/why-the-us-government-is-taking-a-stake-in-intel

Amazon’s Lens Live AI shops for anything you can see

Lens Live can do the searching for you.

www.theverge.com/news/769585/amazon-lens-live-ai-real-time-shopping

Wikipedia is under attack — and how it can survive

The site’s volunteers face threats from Trump, billionaires, and AI.

www.theverge.com/cs/features/717322/wikipedia-attacks-neutrality-history-jimmy-wales

OpenAI to acquire product testing startup Statsig, appoints CTO of applications

OpenAI said on Tuesday it will acquire Statsig in an all-stock deal valuing the product testing startup at about $1.1 billion based on OpenAI's current valuation of $300 billion.

www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/openai-acquire-product-testing-startup-statsig-appoints-cto-applications-2025-09-02

💝 SUPPORT CREATIVITY SQUARED & ARTSWAVE

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

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!)

🚀 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!

📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE!

🎤 SEPTEMBER 10-11 MidwestCon (#MidwestCon), Cincinnati (CincyAI Community Partner)
📍 SEPTEMBER 24-26 TEDAI Vienna, Vienna, Austria
📍 SEPTEMBER 26 OhioX Ohio Tech Day (OhioX, #OhioX), Columbus

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”:

Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age!

schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/PP154406

🎙 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

“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

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.

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 😉):

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting - Creativity Squared

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting: Discover How Will Hatcher Manifested His Way to a Time100 A.I. 2024 Honoree

Check Out Episode 75 Now!

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

Become a Premium Member to unlock exclusive content and to claim your NFTs of episode cover art!

At $10 per month or discounted to $100 for annual memberships, Premium Members enjoy other benefits too:

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites
Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)
Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Thank You by Name in the Creativity Squared Newsletter

There is also a VIP Founding Member tier for those who want lifetime first dibs and access to Creativity Squared content, events, and whatever we dream up!

Because it’s important to support artists, 10% of all revenue Creativity Squared generates will go to ArtsWave, a nationally recognized non-profit that supports over 100 arts organizations.

Become a Premium Member Today!

Become a paying subscriber of Premium to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content.

Upgrade Translation missing: en.app.shared.conjuction.or Sign In

A subscription gets you

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites & Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Early Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)

🚧 A.I. & Local Governments

Helen Todd (Human) — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 21:49:19 +0000

Creativity Squared: On A.I. and Local Governments

Dear Creativity Squared Collective —

I hope this finds you well, wherever in the world you’re reading this!

John Bennett and Helen Todd

Across the U.S., we’re seeing more A.I. communities coming together and cities starting to test A.I., from digitizing paper records to reducing traffic congestion.

This past Tuesday I popped down to Louisville for The A.I. Distilling Co., their first-ever A.I. meetup! The city’s CIO, Chris Seidt, discussed the city’s initiatives of bringing Responsible A.I. to meet the residents’ needs — the mayor is investing a nominal $2M out of the gate to start testing A.I. and seeing the impact. Being proactive about fixing potholes is one use case the city is looking at, among many others, including drones for first response. While there are a lot of concerns with surveillance and the misuse of A.I., it was great to hear about the responsible approach, deployment, and community-centered focus.

In Cincinnati, I’m on the mayor’s A.I. task force, Ascend 2030, which is also putting together recommendations for the city to embrace and responsibly deploy A.I. — and fixing potholes is on our list, too! (More on the Cincy task force after it’s officially announced in September.)

Have you seen any interesting use cases of A.I. at a city level?

Thank you to everyone who checked out my kids' album on media, digital, and A.I. literacy. I’ve really enjoyed the positive response! Here’s one of the more popular music videos, What Is AI?

With the backlash of Meta’s policy of allowing kids to engage in romantic conversations to the heartbreaking news that another teenager has committed suicide due to encouragement with ChatGPT, it’s more important than ever for A.I., digital, and media literacy. I’ll be expanding on this more too, so stay tuned!

Here in the states, we’re going into the Labor Day holiday weekend and I’m unplugging a bit so today’s newsletter is short and sweet, and I wish everyone a wonderful holiday!

Tried vibe coding, but it isn’t enough? Our newsletter sponsor Big Kitty Labs, with 14 years in business and 330+ customers, is what you’re looking for. Don’t miss their offer of a free software strategy session and bonus blueprint visualization of your idea — a $2K value. Book your free call today!

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

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

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

-Helen

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Attorneys general tell AI companies to protect kids

Attorneys general in a letter highlighted Meta's scandal over its recent AI chatbot policies allowing romantic conversations with minors

qz.com/attorneys-general-issue-ai-companies-warning-kids-chatbots

Teen killed himself after ‘months of encouragement from ChatGPT’, lawsuit claims

Open AI to change way it responds to users in mental distress as parents of Adam Raine allege bot not safe

www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/aug/27/chatgpt-scrutiny-family-teen-killed-himself-sue-open-ai

Palantir lands $10 billion Army software and data contract

Palantir has been a key beneficiary of President Donald Trump's clampdown on cost efficiencies using artificial intelligence.

www.cnbc.com/2025/08/01/palantir-lands-10-billion-army-software-and-data-contract.html

AI-generated hits go viral: implications for musicians and the industry

Explore the rapid rise of AI-generated music and its implications for artists, copyright laws and the future of the music industry.

iol.co.za/entertainment/music/2025-08-20-ai-generated-hits-go-viral-implications-for-musicians-and-the-industry

Google’s AI pointed him to a customer service number. It was a scam.

There’s a new AI twist on a travel scam that has fooled people for years. Here’s what you need to know.

www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/08/15/google-ai-overviews-scam

Artists and Organizations Rally Against Censorship in Open Letter

An anti-censorship letter from the National Coalition Against Censorship, Vera List Center for Art and Politics pushes back against Trump.

news.artnet.com/art-world/anti-censorship-letter-ncac-2681015

Netflix releases guidelines for using generative AI in productions

Source: Netflix Netflix Netflix has revealed its guidelines for using generative AI in productions, giving the OK for its use in ideation. The streaming giant has already revealed that AI was used to cut VFX cost on sci-fi series The Eternaut, and it recently introduced generative AI ...

www.screendaily.com/news/netflix-releases-guidelines-for-using-generative-ai-in-productions/5208200.article

AI Is Eliminating Jobs for Younger Workers

New research from Stanford provides the clearest available evidence that AI is reshaping the workforce—but it’s complicated.

www.wired.com/story/stanford-research-ai-replace-jobs-young-workers

OpenAI Is Challenging Google—While Using Its Search Data

As it tries to unseat Google, OpenAI is relying on search data from an unlikely source: Google. OpenAI has been using Google search results scraped from the web to help power ChatGPT responses, according to two people with knowledge of it.

www.theinformation.com/articles/openai-challenging-google-using-search-data?rc=rtjoq5

💝 SUPPORT CREATIVITY SQUARED & ARTSWAVE

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

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!)

🚀 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!

📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE!

🤝 SEPTEMBER 2 CincyAI for Humans (CincyAI, #CincyAI), September meetup, Cincinnati (Co-Host)
🎤 SEPTEMBER 10-11 MidwestCon (#MidwestCon), Cincinnati (CincyAI Community Partner)
📍 SEPTEMBER 24-26 TEDAI Vienna, Vienna, Austria
📍 SEPTEMBER 26 OhioX Ohio Tech Day (OhioX, #OhioX), Columbus

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”:

Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age!

schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/PP154406

🎙 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

“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

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.

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 😉):

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting - Creativity Squared

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting: Discover How Will Hatcher Manifested His Way to a Time100 A.I. 2024 Honoree

Check Out Episode 75 Now!

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

Become a Premium Member to unlock exclusive content and to claim your NFTs of episode cover art!

At $10 per month or discounted to $100 for annual memberships, Premium Members enjoy other benefits too:

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites
Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)
Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Thank You by Name in the Creativity Squared Newsletter

There is also a VIP Founding Member tier for those who want lifetime first dibs and access to Creativity Squared content, events, and whatever we dream up!

Because it’s important to support artists, 10% of all revenue Creativity Squared generates will go to ArtsWave, a nationally recognized non-profit that supports over 100 arts organizations.

Become a Premium Member Today!

Become a paying subscriber of Premium to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content.

Upgrade Translation missing: en.app.shared.conjuction.or Sign In

A subscription gets you

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites & Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Early Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)

🪄✨ Back-to-School A.I. & Media Literacy Music for Kids

Helen Todd (Human) — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 19:26:42 +0000

Creativity Squared: On A.I., Digital, and Media Literacy

Dear Creativity Squared Collective —

It’s that time of the year when parents and kids are in back-to-school mode, and I hope this finds you well wherever in the world you’re reading this, especially if you’re in the thick of changing routines.

For the month of August, I gave myself a creative challenge to learn video editing and A.I. video-making, and to make at least one video a day. I’m happy to report that I’ve graduated from Canva to editing in CapCut! 🥳

My project quickly turned into a kids’ YouTube channel and WHOLE VISUAL ALBUM on media, digital, and A.I. literacy for kids: ELLA THE CONSENTICORN.

ELLA THE CONSENTICORN

The visual album and playlist feature songs on agency, online safety, and media literacy for an underserved audience of media literacy: toddlers and preschoolers. (It’s never too early to begin, especially if they already watch and engage with content on tablets and smart phones!)

Parents are sure to enjoy these multi-genre songs as well. They’re great for back-to-school car listening!

This project comes against the backdrop of recent news of a 200-page document LEAKED from Meta on A.I. behavior guidelines saying that it’s acceptable for A.I. chatbots to engage in "romantic" conversations with children. As you can imagine, there’s incredible backlash to Meta right now, as this is absolutely unacceptable. I encourage all parents, especially of young kids, not to allow unsupervised chatbot conversations. They’re just too dangerous.

I even wrote a song on this: Chatbots Are Not Real Friends!

As I’ve said on the show before, I can’t carry a tune if it were in a bucket! As you guessed, this album was created with the magical help of A.I. for the video and music creation. Since most of the tools aren’t commercially safe, these songs and music videos are just for fun. I tested a ton of different platforms and ended up using ChatGPT, MidJourney, MagicLight, Suno, and CapCut the most to make these. And YouTube, if you count all the instructional videos I watched there, too!

All of the lyrics I wrote, with the exception of the song “Only You Are Real” — for this one, I gave full creative control over to ChatGPT. Otherwise, I used ChatGPT to help refine my lyrics and create graphics to be animated for the other eleven songs on the visual album and playlist.

Check out the songs and music videos on the playlist —

ELLA THE CONSENTICORN

ELLA THE CONSENTICORN
AI, Digital, & Media Literacy for Toddlers & Preschoolers

Computers Don’t Eat
Privacy Please; Security, Too. — *My favorite!*
What’s Real?
Bad Actors
What Is AI?
No Outlet, No Machine
What Is Consent?
Chatbots Are Not Real Friends
What is the Internet?
Screen Time is Different than Play Time
I’m Not Real. Just a Character.
Only You Are Real — *ChatGPT authored!*

Check out the full visual album and playlist —

🪄✨YouTube Visual Album & Playlist
🪄✨YouTube Music Playlist
🪄✨Subscribe to the Play Surprise Eggs YouTube channel with Ella the Consenticorn

Whether from a GenAI curiosity, a parenting perspective, or from a concern about media literacy, I hope you enjoy listening and watching these music videos! I know I had a ton of fun making them.

Paqui Lizana, Dr. Walter D. Greason, and Helen Todd

Also, the deadline to vote for SXSW 2026 is coming up — please take a minute to vote for my SXSW 2026 panel submission: The Imagination Age: Reawaken Human Agency vs AI Determinism.

It’s quick and easy to vote: Create or log in to a PanelPicker account and simply “heart” to vote for it: Vote here today! And thank you for your support — it really helps and means a lot.

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

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

-Helen

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Meta investigated over AI having 'sensual' chats with children

The leak has led to backlash amid reports the tech giant's legal staff approved the conversations.

www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3dpmlvx1k2o

‘Cheapfake’ AI Celeb Videos Are Rage-Baiting People on YouTube

WIRED found over 100 YouTube channels using AI to create lazy fan-fiction-style videos. Despite being obviously fake, there’s a psychological reason people are falling for them.

www.wired.com/story/cheapfake-ai-celeb-videos-are-rage-baiting-people-on-youtube

They’re Stuffed Animals. They’re Also A.I. Chatbots.

New types of cuddly toys, some for children as young as 3, are being sold as an alternative to screen time — and to parental attention.

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/15/arts/ai-toys-curio-grem.html

Godfather of AI Geoffrey Hinton: AI Needs Maternal Instincts | Entrepreneur

Geoffrey Hinton is known as the "Godfather of AI" because of his pioneering work on AI systems. In a new interview, Hinton urges AI developers to build maternal instincts into their models.

www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/godfather-of-ai-geoffrey-hinton-ai-needs-maternal-instincts/495867

AI Will Never Be Your Kid’s Friend

Chatbots may seem fun, but they rob children of important lessons in how to be human.

www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2025/07/ai-companion-children-frictionless-friendship/683493

Neil Young Quits Facebook Over Meta's 'Unconscionable' Use of Chatbots With Children

Neil Young has requested that his Facebook account stop being used, with the rocker quitting in response to Meta chatbots interacting with children.

www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/neil-young-quits-facebook-1235408277

OpenAI’s GPT-5 Launch Causes Backlash Due to Colder Responses

When OpenAI released a new version of ChatGPT, people were quick to protest its colder responses. Acknowledging the emotional attachment with chatbots, the company quickly backtracked.

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/business/chatgpt-gpt-5-backlash-openai.html

Google says a typical AI text prompt only uses 5 drops of water — experts say that’s misleading

“This really spreads the wrong message to the world.”

www.theverge.com/report/763080/google-ai-gemini-water-energy-emissions-study

Microsoft boss troubled by rise in reports of 'AI psychosis'

Mustafa Suleyman said there was still "zero evidence of AI consciousness today".

www.bbc.com/news/articles/c24zdel5j18o

MIT report: 95% of generative AI pilots at companies are failing

There’s a stark difference in success rates between companies that purchase AI tools from vendors and those that build them internally.

fortune.com/2025/08/18/mit-report-95-percent-generative-ai-pilots-at-companies-failing-cfo

💝 SUPPORT CREATIVITY SQUARED & ARTSWAVE

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

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!)

🚀 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!

📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE!

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”:

Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age!

schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/PP154406

🎙 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

“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

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.

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 😉):

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting - Creativity Squared

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting: Discover How Will Hatcher Manifested His Way to a Time100 A.I. 2024 Honoree

Check Out Episode 75 Now!

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

Become a Premium Member to unlock exclusive content and to claim your NFTs of episode cover art!

At $10 per month or discounted to $100 for annual memberships, Premium Members enjoy other benefits too:

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There is also a VIP Founding Member tier for those who want lifetime first dibs and access to Creativity Squared content, events, and whatever we dream up!

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🤷‍♀️ Robots are here. Are we?

Helen Todd (Human) — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 19:16:28 +0000

Creativity Squared: On Being Human in the Age of A.I.

Dear Creativity Squared Collective —

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

In today’s newsletter, I want to spotlight my good friend and Creativity Squared guest Dr. Eric Solomon and his latest and fantastic TEDx talk: Robots are here. Are we?

In Episode 8: A.I. Will Never Be Human, Eric made his first appearance on Creativity Squared with a call to look inside ourselves instead of to tech for how to be more human.

His TEDx talk expands on this theme, and against the backdrop of pervasive tech, he asks who's driving us — are we powerless to the algorithms and machines in our lives?

Eric is also an Imagination Age thought partner, and we both champion human agency, especially in light of Sam Altman’s A.I. determinism. Sam’s “Intelligence Age,” which I’ve written about before, is missing one big thing in his vision for our shared future:
human agency.

In Eric’s TEDx talk, he reminds us that often more technology doesn’t help us be more human. In fact, it often weighs us down and distracts us.

In a world where technology is more interwoven into every aspect of our lives, I appreciate Eric’s message that the future doesn't belong to machines. It belongs to those brave enough to take the wheel and to co-create and steer our shared future.

It’s a question we’ll explore more here, on the show, and in my book — how do we stay fully human in a world run more and more by machines?

As Eric shared: we have choice, and if we’ve handed our power over for the convenience of these systems, then we can take it back and be in the driver’s seat of how tech fits into our lives — the choice is ours.

Paqui Lizana, Dr. Walter D. Greason, and Helen Todd

And for more on human agency, please vote for my SXSW 2026 panel submission: The Imagination Age: Reawaken Human Agency vs AI Determinism.

It’s quick and easy to vote: Create or log in to a PanelPicker account and simply “heart” to vote for it: Vote here today! And thank you for your support — it really helps and means a lot.

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

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

-Helen

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Bots now account for over half of all internet traffic

Plenty of the traffic falls on bad bots

www.techradar.com/pro/security/bots-now-account-for-over-half-of-all-internet-traffic

Larry Ellison and Oracle Beat Microsoft for Largest Tech Contract Ever: $100-Billion OpenAI Stargate Deal

OpenAI will pay Oracle over $82 million daily starting FY28, cementing the largest tech partnership ever and signaling a major realignment away from Microsoft.

cloudwars.com/ai/larry-ellison-and-oracle-beat-microsoft-for-largest-tech-contract-ever-100-billion-openai-stargate-deal

OpenAI Scrambles to Update GPT-5 After Users Revolt

GPT-5 was touted as a major upgrade to ChatGPT, but not everyone thinks that’s the case: “Kill 4o isn’t innovation, it’s erasure.”

www.wired.com/story/openai-gpt-5-backlash-sam-altman

Porn websites now require age verification in the UK – the privacy and security risks are numerous

Online age verification technology is not as mature and safe as government and regulators would like it to be.

theconversation.com/porn-websites-now-require-age-verification-in-the-uk-the-privacy-and-security-risks-are-numerous-261592

How Wikipedia is fighting AI slop content

Wikipedians are wading through the muck.

www.theverge.com/report/756810/wikipedia-ai-slop-policies-community-speedy-deletion

The EU AI Act aims to create a level playing field for AI innovation: Here's what it is | TechCrunch

The European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act, known as the EU AI Act, has been described as “the world's first comprehensive AI law” by the European Commission.

techcrunch.com/2025/08/05/the-eu-ai-act-aims-to-create-a-level-playing-field-for-ai-innovation-heres-what-it-is

Fear Of AGI Is Driving Harvard And MIT Students To Drop Out

AGI — a theoretical AI that can do many of the same tasks as humans can — could come within a decade. College students, including from elite universities, are abandoning school now to work full-time on preventing it from turning on humanity.

www.forbes.com/sites/victoriafeng/2025/08/06/fear-of-super-intelligent-ai-is-driving-harvard-and-mit-students-to-drop-out

Tesla signs $16.5B deal with Samsung to make AI chips | TechCrunch

The deal for next-generation chips is a boon for Samsung.

techcrunch.com/2025/07/28/tesla-signs-16-5b-deal-with-samsung-to-make-ai-chips

Big Tech’s A.I. Data Centers Are Driving Up Electricity Bills for Everyone

Electricity rates for individuals and small businesses could rise sharply as Amazon, Google, Microsoft and other technology companies build data centers and expand into the energy business.

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/business/energy-environment/ai-data-centers-electricity-costs.html

Consumer safety groups are demanding an FTC investigation into Grok’s ‘Spicy’ mode

The letter comes after Grok Imagine spat out topless deepfakes of Taylor Swift.

www.theverge.com/x-ai/759554/consumer-safety-groups-are-demanding-an-ftc-investigation-into-groks-spicy-mode-elon-musk-grok-imagine-xai

💝 SUPPORT CREATIVITY SQUARED & ARTSWAVE

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

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!)

🚀 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!

📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE!

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”:

Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age!

schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/PP154406

🎙 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

“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

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.

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 😉):

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting - Creativity Squared

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting: Discover How Will Hatcher Manifested His Way to a Time100 A.I. 2024 Honoree

Check Out Episode 75 Now!

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

Become a Premium Member to unlock exclusive content and to claim your NFTs of episode cover art!

At $10 per month or discounted to $100 for annual memberships, Premium Members enjoy other benefits too:

$1 per month (or $10 per year) to ArtsWave
Premium Member NFT
First-Dibs at Event Invites
Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)
Discounts from Creativity Squared Partners
Thank You by Name in the Creativity Squared Newsletter

There is also a VIP Founding Member tier for those who want lifetime first dibs and access to Creativity Squared content, events, and whatever we dream up!

Because it’s important to support artists, 10% of all revenue Creativity Squared generates will go to ArtsWave, a nationally recognized non-profit that supports over 100 arts organizations.

Become a Premium Member Today!

Become a paying subscriber of Premium to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content.

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Early Access to Monthly Exclusive Content (e.g. Helen’s Monthly Must-Know Video Report on the hottest A.I. news)

🤓 The OpenAI GPT-5 Scrabble Test Fail

Helen Todd (Human) — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 22:40:49 +0000

Creativity Squared: On GPT-5 and Apps On Demand with A.I.

Dear Creativity Squared Collective —

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

Today’s big A.I. announcement came from OpenAI with the release of their GPT-5 model, which is also available today and billed as the best LLM available on the market (here’s the live stream with Sam Altman and other OpenAIers). With enhanced vibe coding performance, the latest buzzwords are now “software on demand” and “apps on demand”. Between GPT-5 and the other vibe coding tools out there, we may be on the precipice of truly fungible software that is more disposable than our throwaway plastic straws. With early access to test it, the YouTuber Theo — known for his developer insights — is blown away by the possibilities and a bit worried about the future of work for coders, too.

While the initial reviews and intelligence results have been striking, I have my own new test for the LLMs I’m calling The Scrabble Test.

And spoiler alert: GPT-5 didn’t pass!

To be honest, I was a bit surprised because Scrabble is a great prediction game…and predicting is one of the strengths of LLMs.

So, last night I was playing Scrabble with a friend, and at the end of the game, he had two letters left and didn’t know where to play them. In a friendly gaming spirit, I said we should ask ChatGPT! And with that, The Scrabble Test was born.

Here’s the board photo I gave ChatGPT (and yes, there are some words that aren’t words that got on the board without being challenged!):

After I took a photo of the board, I asked ChatGPT 4o about the last two letters:

4o epically failed this test.

It offered up a made-up word, “IC”, a fake “IC” tile, a placement that’s not allowed, and an inaccurate recreation of the board.

Basically, it failed in every way possible — here’s the image it created for me:

But after 4o’s massive fail, I got excited to test out how the new and improved GPT-5 would do, especially since Sam said it’s like having expert-level intelligence in everyone’s hands.

Well, GPT-5 did a little better, but didn’t pass the Scrabble test either.

For this output, the board isn’t accurately recreated, the placement of the letter makes no sense either, and also isn’t a real word. Here’s the image it made for me:

So while GPT-5 is making waves among the latest of the A.I. news, I’ll be waiting for the model that beats my Scrabble test! This may be my own benchmark for AGI…and you’re welcome to adopt it! 😉

Paqui Lizana, Dr. Walter D. Greason, and Helen Todd

It’s that time of the year: I need your help to get my SXSW 2026 panel selected: The Imagination Age: Reawaken Human Agency vs AI Determinism.

It’s quick and easy to vote: Create or log in to a PanelPicker account and simply “heart” to vote for it: Vote here today! And thank you for your support — it really helps and means a lot.

Jesse Jenike-Godshalk, Zach Heck, and Helen Todd at CincyAI August 2025

This past Tuesday was our August CincyAI for Humans meetup — we’re the largest A.I. meetup in the state and region with guests driving in from Louisville! Join us on September 2 at the University of Cincinnati’s Digital Futures building — sign up for free today!

Speaking of the future of apps — do you have a software idea, but vibe coding isn’t enough? Our newsletter sponsor Big Kitty Labs, with 14 years in business and 330+ customers, is what you’re looking for. Don’t miss their offer of a free software strategy session and bonus blueprint visualization of your idea — a $2K value. Book your free call today!

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

Until next week, here’s to playing — Scrabble, with A.I., and in the playground of possibility to manifest more magic in 2025! 🪄✨

-Helen

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Meta pirated and seeded porn for years to train AI, lawsuit says

Lawsuit: Meta may have seeded porn to minors while hiding piracy for AI training.

arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/07/meta-pirated-and-seeded-porn-for-years-to-train-ai-lawsuit-says

Use Google’s Flow TV If You Actually Want to Watch an Endless Stream of AI Videos

Google has served up a a seemingly endless carousel of AI-generated clips made by Veo 2 that anyone can watch for free.

lifehacker.com/tech/googles-flow-tv-experience-gives-you-non-stop-ai-videos-made-by-veo

New AI architecture delivers 100x faster reasoning than LLMs with just 1,000 training examples

Hierarchical Reasoning Models (HRM) tackle complex reasoning tasks while being smaller, faster, and more data-efficient than large AI models.

venturebeat.com/ai/new-ai-architecture-delivers-100x-faster-reasoning-than-llms-with-just-1000-training-examples

Google's new AI tool Opal turns prompts into apps, no coding required

The Google Labs tool enables developers to create apps using natural language prompts and interactive visual aids.

www.zdnet.com/article/googles-new-ai-tool-opal-turns-prompts-into-apps-no-coding-required

Amazon’s Alexa Fund Invests in ‘Netflix of AI’ Start-Up Fable, Which Launches Showrunner: A Tool for User-Directed TV Shows

Amazon has invested in Fable, a start-up whose 'Netflix of AI' Showunner gen-AI tool lets users create scenes or entire episodes of a TV show.

variety.com/2025/digital/news/netflix-of-ai-amazon-invests-fable-showrunner-launch-1236471989

Daniel Kwan Has a Plan to Tackle AI’s Hollywood Takeover and It Requires “Unprecedented” Action

The Oscar-winning filmmaker of ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ delivered a passionate plea for the future of Hollywood during a conversation with Jaron Lanier presented by Berggruen Institute’s Studio B.

www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/hollywood-ai-battle-filmmaker-daniel-kwan-action-plan-1236330720

AI-Generated Models Now Appear in 'Vogue' Magazine

The images were paid for by Guess.

petapixel.com/2025/07/29/ai-generated-models-now-appear-in-vogue-magazine

Age-Gating the Internet + Cloudflare Takes On A.I. Scrapers + HatGPT

“Frankly, if they’re going to behave like hackers, then we’re going to behave like trolls right back to them,” said Matthew Prince, chief executive of Cloudflare.

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/podcasts/hardfork-age-restrictions-cloudflare.html?smid=url-share

Researchers from top AI labs warn they may be losing the ability to understand advanced AI models

In a new paper, the authors urge developers to prioritize research into “chain-of-thought” (CoT) processes, which provide a rare window into how AI systems make decisions.

fortune.com/2025/07/22/researchers-ai-labs-google-openai-anthropic-warn-losing-ability-understand-advanced-models

DeepMind reveals Genie 3 “world model” that creates real-time interactive simulations

Genie 3 creates detailed worlds from a prompt or image.

arstechnica.com/ai/2025/08/deepmind-reveals-genie-3-world-model-that-creates-real-time-interactive-simulations

ElevenLabs launches an AI music generator, which it claims is cleared for commercial use | TechCrunch

The AI audio-generation unicorn ElevenLabs announced the launch of a new model that allows users to generate music that's cleared for commercial use.

techcrunch.com/2025/08/05/elevenlabs-launches-an-ai-music-generator-which-it-claims-is-cleared-for-commercial-use

OpenAI Says GPT-5 Is One-Size-Fits-All; New Open Model Was Cheap to Train

OpenAI unveiled its new flagship AI model, GPT-5, on Thursday. And with the launch, OpenAI seems to be moving more towards offering an entire AI system to its customers versus giving them the choice between models. The company said during a live-streamed presentation that it would be withdrawing ...

www.theinformation.com/articles/openai-says-gpt-5-one-size-fits-new-open-model-cheap-train?rc=rtjoq5

💝 SUPPORT CREATIVITY SQUARED & ARTSWAVE

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

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!)

🚀 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!

📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE!

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”:

Farewell, Information Age — Welcome to the Imagination Age!

schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/PP154406

🎙 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

“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

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.

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 😉):

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting - Creativity Squared

Ep75. King Willonius: BBL Drizzy, A.I. & Manifesting: Discover How Will Hatcher Manifested His Way to a Time100 A.I. 2024 Honoree

Check Out Episode 75 Now!

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Creativity Squared

🤠 Hello from SXSW!

Go from AI overwhelmed to AI savvy professional

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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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🤠 SXSW, Claude Ambassador, Sam Altman in the Hot Seat, and More!

🚩 Sam Altman’s Dangerous Framing

⚠️ Sam Altman’s “Access = Agency” Misguided Ad Logic

💡 Radical Idea for the Future of Facebook

Turn AI into Your Income Engine

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👍 AFFILIATE RECOMMENDATIONS

📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE! For the full calendar, check it out here!

🗞 PRESS & PODCAST INTERVIEWS

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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🍿 Super Bowl Ads: Anthropic Rips on OpenAI A.I. Ads

6 AI Predictions That Will Redefine CX in 2026

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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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🛸 The "Human-Only" Myth

Global HR shouldn't require five tools per country

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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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🧭 From Point A.I. to Point B

See every move your competitors make.

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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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💝 Beautiful, Imperfect, Messy Humans

Shoppers are adding to cart for the holidays

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🤔 A.I. Music Copyright Win??

Free email without sacrificing your privacy

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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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📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE!

For the full calendar, check it out here!

📆 EVENTS, A.I. CONFERENCES & MORE!

For the full calendar, check it out here!