Creative Next

AI is being used by music groups, such as our guest this episode Claire Evans, a member of the band YACHT. Their latest album, Chain Tripping, leveraged machine learning solutions for the music, lyrics, and more. Artists are making the most of machine learning, using the technology both in the creation of their art and as a cultural touchpoint for expression, exploration, and commentary. While the Internet and more modern emerging technologies have long had a negative impact on musicians and others who create using audio, Claire Evans and her band YACHT - Young Americans Challenging High Technology - are at the vanguard of discovering how these technologies will impact art and music in the future.   Memorable Quotes “Since we only really learn by doing things and making things, we figured that the most efficient way for us to get a sort of bodily understanding of what the hell AI is and what it's doing and what it means for artists and for all of us was to try to make something with it.” “I think when we firs

Musical composition is one of the earliest examples of human art and creativity. Today, new and original music is increasingly being composed by AI. Drew Silverstein, Co-Founder and CEO of Amper Music, joins the show. Automation of sound and music, in the form of licensing stock and pre-existing recordings, is a decades-old trend that became ubiquitous with the rise of the internet. Now, thanks to machine learning and artificial intelligence, the creation of original music is increasingly being automated. Drew Silverstein, one of the pioneers at the forefront of this trend, joins the Creative Next team to explore these technologies and the trends and impacts they have on work in general and musicians in particular.   Memorable Quotes “As our technology evolves, we see AI dramatically decreasing the cost of accomplishing certain tasks and dramatically decreasing the amount of information that any one person needs to know to be successful at that task. And whether it's music, whether it's farming, whether it's

AI is driving innovation in the field of audio production. Jonathan Bailey, the Chief Technology Officer of iZotope, a company pioneering advances with these technologies, talks about the state-of-the-art in audio software. As recently as 50 years ago, audio production required physical tools such as a soldering iron to achieve. With the rise of the personal computer these technical requirements have disappeared, replaced by software which handles all of the work with bits and bytes. From mixing to sound repair to post-production, machine learning-powered software like that offered by iZotope continues to automate an audio engineer’s workflow and even put professional audio production within the reach of amateurs.   Memorable Quotes “There's a macro trend which is actually bigger than sort of machine learning or AI, which is for the professional working in audio the last 50, 60, 70 plus years has been a transition away from the technical problem domain to the creative problem domain.” “You have a person that

AI is the latest technology to spark innovation in the art world. Artist Mario Klingemann, creator of “Memories of Passersby 1” which was auctioned by Sotheby’s in 2019, talks about his work and the future of art. Machine learning technologies like Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) are accelerating progress in the automation of creative output. While Mario is best-known for his visual art he is shifting his attention to text-based output, which he sees as ripe for pioneering work. Art has always been interwoven with technology, and the future will be increasingly digital, leveraging smart machines that raise questions about the nature of humanity and creativity.

The impact of AI and other emerging technologies is of great interest to artists, who translate that interest into insights about where the world is heading. Transmedia artist Stephanie Dinkins shares her work and insights. We go through our lives, ubiquitously using technologies like Alexa and Netflix, without critically thinking about the impacts that machine learning and other emerging technologies have on today and tomorrow. Stephanie’s art, as well as live event projects that create dialog and participation from experts and every citizens alike, strive to make us aware of and active in how we think about and engage with our technology - being particularly mindful about issues of representation, bias, and empowerment. Memorable Quotes “Not The Only One is talking a lot about ‘the would be’. So if you ask it a question it will say, ‘Take it to the would be.’ And I always marvel at that, because it seems to be offering this idea that you take it to this thing that I'm not quite sure what it's talking about,

The digital design profession has undergone tumultuous change over the last decades, lessons from which inform the future of AI-driven computational design. Daniel Harvey, Head of Product Design & Brand at The Dots Global, is our guest. Design has evolved since the rise of the Internet and mobile computing, resulting in unintended negative consequences in our world such as the appropriation of social media technologies by evil actors, and the pernicious influences of bias and other invisible forces. In extreme cases our tools even contribute to the culmination of the most horrific of outcomes, such as the genocide in Rohingya. We explore how these complicated dynamics provide a glimpse into the future of design and technology.   Memorable Quotes “When we're ripping off the same Silicon Valley apps, or the same sort of business models we end up inheriting, intentionally or not, all their weird, fucked up, white tech world biases too.” “There is this fantastic service that you can take the content of a job

What is the role and future of generative design and machine learning in the field of architecture? Lilli Smith, Senior Product Manager AEC Generative Design at Autodesk, joins us to discuss these emerging technologies. Architecture, in collaboration with Engineering and Construction, leads to the creation of the millions of buildings around the world. Like many other creative professions, architecture is being transformed by smartware in the form of things like generative design applications and additive fabrication, which is better known as 3d printing. Autodesk’s Lilli Smith brings more than 20 years of personal history and insight to our conversation on these topics.   Memorable Quotes “By the year, 2050 there are going to be 10 billion people on earth and if you do the math, we're going to need to build about 13,000 buildings a day to accommodate all those people.” “Humans are still going to be critical in these design efforts because they're gonna be setting up the problems, deciding what kinds of probl

How are computational tools changing filmmaking, and how will it change the video content of the future? To explore these topics we welcome Genevieve Patterson, Chief Scientist and Co-Founder of TRASH, to the show. Tools like those offered by TRASH, Genevieve Patterson’s software that uses AI to make and share video, are beginning to edit video automagically for people. While these are currently limited to short, simple, social media-style videos the underlying machine learning technologies are building toward something far more.   Memorable Quotes “The big goal of our app is both to make it so that users can have an Instagram or Photoshop type feeling about  creating beautiful videos, but not having to really understand how editing works.” “My big issue with lots of public use of artificial intelligence, especially in  life threatening situations, in extreme situations that affect people's lives, is that there's no regulatory agency to check whether or not they're working, or achieving the objectives of the

Amy Yoshitsu, a Founder and the Head of Design for Kleeen software, joins us to talk about their vision for using machine learning to automate a variety of design and engineering tasks for enterprise software. She introduces us to the plans of her startup, Kleeen Software, which aspires to transform enterprise software by automating a variety of design and engineering tasks. Amy also talks about how Kleeen hopes to level up remote collaboration in the process, shared in part from the perspective of their own distributed team and model.   Memorable Quotes “Imagine a world where the enhancement of the core features were part of a release all the time instead of just once a year.” “What makes software a good candidate for automation? Consistency. What makes good UX, what makes good code, or even good features? It is consistency. We were able to determine patterns and repetition in something, and that something may be a good candidate for automation if we can do that.” “When designers are creating wonderful thing

Tatiana Mejia, Head of AI Product Marketing and Strategy at Adobe and named one of 2018’s top Silicon Valley women in AI, joins us to talk about the present and future of machine learning tools for digital designers. Tatiana Mejia, Head of AI Product Marketing and Strategy at Adobe and one of Silicon Valley Business Journal’s 2018 top Silicon Valley women in AI, joins the show. She takes us into the world of Adobe Sensei, the company’s artificial intelligence and machine learning technology that is impacting all of the software company’s key applications. We discuss the design tasks that are already being automated, how business users will increasingly benefit from additional design capabilities, and how Adobe will help evolve the practice of design.   Memorable Quotes “But even in the creation, it's going to make some of the more individual pieces easier to do. So you get the creative more in a kind of a creative director mode, rather than a production assistant.” “We're finding patterns, we're taking that c

AI isn’t just changing the tools designers use; it is a new design material that can be harnesses to enhance the experiences we design. Josh Clark, founder and principal of design studio Big Medium, joins the show to discuss. Josh Clark, Founder and Principal of design studio Big Medium, has spoken and published around the world on his notion that designers should view AI as their newest design material. Available to use in solutions similar to other existing materials like pixels, code, and papyrus, AI in general and machine learning in particular offer a compelling array of features and opportunities for designers to innovate and improve their designed experiences in important ways.

To understand the history and nature of design we invited one of the most important design theorists practicing today. Richard Buchanan, author of Discovering Design and a professor in the United States and China, joins the show. Richard Buchanan, Professor of Information Systems in the Department of Design and Innovation at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University and also Chaired Professor of Design Theory and Practice at the College of Design and Innovation at Tongji University in Shanghai, joins Dirk and Jon to share his frameworks for design and creativity while exploring the past, present, and future of this profession that will dominate much of our upcoming Season 03.

From science to technology, and from society to policy, we are heading into a future of change, instability, and complexity. To explore these interesting times Scientist-in-Residence at Lux Capital Sam Arbesman joins Dirk and Jon. Sam Arbesman, Scientist-in-Residence at Lux Capital, who professionally identifies as a Complexity Scientist, joins Dirk and Jon to explore the lattice of complexities facing us in the near and medium-term futures. Taking deep looks at everything from science, to engineering, to policy, to automation, Sam provides insight in a variety of directions, finally suggesting how we might best prepare for the post-scarcity Utopia we all hope will someday come.   Memorable Quotes "When machines and AI are creating art and music, how do we think about credit? How do we think about copyright?" "The earlier we begin having these kind of really philosophical conversations as a society, the better we're gonna be because when people are already losing their jobs for all these kinds of things, a hu

How does the rest of the world use technology? Author of The Next Billion Users Payal Arora joins Dirk and Jon to explore the use of AI and digital tech in diverse places such as India, China, Africa, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia. Payal Arora, author of The Next Billion Users and Associate Professor, Department of Media and Communication at Erasmus University Rotterdam, joins Dirk and Jon to share her research on the ways emerging technologies are used in developing nations. From teenagers in India to the Chinese state to gangsters in Brazil to Imams in Saudi Arabia, we get an inside look at the current and future impact of technology in important places around the world.   Memorable Quotes "Look at India with a biometric identities scheme, which is the historically largest scheme in the world, which collects 1.2 billion fingerprints, iris scans, and links that with your background information, your bank information, your social media... And all this provides and reinforces your identity." "We need to also unders

How are marketing agencies adapting to smartware and emerging technologies? Tiny Giant co-founder Kerry Harrison joins Dirk and Jon to share her perspective, including explorations in techs such as chatbots and neural networks. Kerry Harrison, a co-founder of Bristol, U.K. marketing agency Tiny Giant, joins Dirk and Jon to talk about the work her firm is in areas such as AI, chatbots, and neural networks. A veteran marketing professional, Kerry also shares her thoughtful take on the future of agencies, how marketing and emerging technologies can synergize, and what marketers need to do in order to adapt to the changing face of future technology.   Memorable Quotes "AIs will help dictate when to begin and end campaigns. Even the mix of content we create and also even the type of imagery we're using. And we'll also see AI begin to automate the timing and delivering of messaging. But technology such as like AI will also give us a new ability to measure as well." "Outside of marketing of course, creative thinking

Could the future of advertising actually make our lives better? Automat co-founder and CEO Andy Mauro joins Dirk and Jon to talk about his work in conversational marketing, an attempt to align value for customers and brands. Andy Mauro, co-founder and CEO of Automat, joins Dirk and Jon to explore conversational marketing and the many benefits it offers for both their corporate clients and the final consumers who will engage with it. We explore the state-of-the-art in these methods and look ahead to a future where marketing and advertising may increasingly break toward value-added service for the consumer as opposed to the long tradition of disrupting and degrading our experiences.

Thanks to cloud computing and the Internet of Things, the smart home is on the rise. Yonomi CEO Kent Dickson joins Dirk and Jon to discuss the present and future of the smart home, and how it might become essential for you. Kent Dickson, the CEO of Yonomi, the IoT company connecting the smart home, joins Dirk and Jon to explore the state of the smart home. With roots in home automation that goes back decades, the smart home of today leverages the Internet of Things and cloud computing to offer modular solutions that are affordable and easy-to-use. We come at the smart home from a variety of perspectives to better understand where it is now and is heading later, as well as how it might impact the environments where we work.   Memorable Quotes "The home will be an API." “Because the moment that the music starts playing at four o'clock in the morning because we assumed that that's what you wanted, yet you were in deep REM, that's, that's the day you start unplugging your smart home devices and none of us want th

Voice UI is just getting started. Karen Kaushansky, an expert in voice experiences, joins Dirk and Jon to share the technology’s progress in a variety of applications today, along with a peek to the innovations soon to come. Experience designer Karen Kaushansky, who has specialized in voice experiences for some 20 years, joins Dirk and Jon to give us a sweeping view into the present and future of voice UI in our everyday lives. From chatbots and voice assistants, to smart homes and workspaces, to the integration of voice into the driverless cars of our future, Karen provides an essential survey of how this emerging technology will actually impact us on a daily basis.

Television, our most universal form of visual storytelling, has undergone a digital revolution. Open Television founder AJ Christian joins Dirk and Jon to discuss the medium today and how it may change in the future. AJ Christian, the author of Open TV, Founder and Head of Development at Open Television, and Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Northwestern University, joins Dirk and Jon to take a deep dive into television. Moving from past to present to future and analyzing the development and distribution sides from both a corporate and independent perspective, Dr. Christian provides a rich foundation to explore. We delve into computational augmentation, automation, and the social opportunities and challenges that the present and future have to offer.   Memorable Quotes “One of my concerns is, will automated technologies make us think that it doesn't matter that people get to tell their stories?” “Culture is so complicated. It's ever changing, so diverse. It's very difficult for AI to really unde