Last Wednesday, I spent the day among a community of thinkers and creators imagining the reality of a topic that many people are talking about – the intersection of humanity and technology. Artists, musicians, poets and filmmakers all gathered in New York at the Shared AI Futures Forum hosted by Aspen Digital and the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. The event brought together some visionary creators including King Willonius, Baratunde Thurston, Kelly Boesch, Manon Dave, Sasha Stiles, Dr. Catie Cuan and Reggie Watts. Throughout the day, we co-created a song, learned about the emerging science of choreorobotics, experienced a poetry reading that quickly morphed into a poetry writing where art was created in real time. During the breaks the conversations ranged from AI ethics policy to the rise of a Creators Coalition with bold plans to help AI broaden human creativity instead of undermining it.
The biggest theme that emerged from the event for me was the joy and hope that comes from sharing a room with people who are actively DOING deeply human things with technology. Many events feature professional speakers or researchers who are skilled at describing what’s happening from the outside. In the room at Times Center in NY yesterday, the invited participants were the ones actually creating those futures and applying those tools.
The energy and optimism from those experiments infused every conversation and their passions became infectious. Unlike many future-focused events, it was impossible to walk out of this one feeling anything but positive about the potential for how smart, capable artists will be able to intersect creativity with humanity to create new art forms without destroying those of the past.
These are the voices we need to share, celebrate and elevate because they are the counterbalance to the megalomania and psychopathy of the world’s biggest tech founders. The day was also a perfect reminder that to truly understand the impact of all this technology, there is no substitute for being in a room with people who can help you experience the wonders of what is possible with your own eyes.