Arts Management and Technology Laboratory

In this episode of the Arts Management and Technology Lab, host Luna Lu speaks with Bad Press co-directors Rebecca Lansberry-Baker and Joe Peeler, alongside journalist and film subject Angel Ellis, about the making of their Sundance 2023 award-winning documentary. The conversation explores how the team came together, the ethical and creative challenges of documenting press censorship within the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and the tension between tribal sovereignty and press freedom. Through Angel Ellis's experience as a journalist turned whistleblower, the episode highlights the vital role of independent Indigenous media, transparency, and civic participation, while also reflecting on trust, community-based storytelling, and the power of individuals to effect democratic change.

Speical thanks to Stephan Caspar, Dept of Languages, Cultures, and Applied Linguistics, Professor Anne Lambright, and CAS Center for Arts in Society, and all the students and staff at CMU who supported this event!

Bad Press (Official Film Website)

Rebecca Lansberry-Baker

Joe Peeler

Angel Ellis

In this episode of the Arts Management and Technology Lab, Samantha Childers explores why so many songs recommended by streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music sound strikingly similar. She breaks down the inner workings of music streaming algorithms—how metadata, collaborative filtering, content-based filtering, and continuous feedback loops collectively shape the "perfect playlist." Samantha also examines Spotify features such as Discover Weekly and Discovery Mode, uncovering how these tools influence music discovery, artist visibility, and even compositional trends as musicians increasingly write with algorithms in mind. Alongside these technical insights, she raises critical ethical questions about data privacy, algorithmic bias, pay-to-play practices, and the shrinking role of human curation. Ultimately, the episode invites listeners to rethink how algorithm-driven platforms shape not only what we hear but also how we discover, value, and experience music.

Samantha Childers

A Critical Research of Spotify's Business Model—The Case of Discover Weekly

We Tested Popular Music Streaming Services — These Are the Top 6 You Should Check Out In 2025

About Spotify- Newsroom

The Role Of Music Streaming Algorithms In The Industry

Algorithmic Symphonies: How Spotify Strikes the Right Chord

Algorithms in Music: Blessing or Curse?

Understanding recommendations on Spotify

How to Break Free of Spotify's Algorithm

Pay-to-Playlist: The Commerce of Music Streaming

Impacts of AI on Music Consumption and Fairness

In this episode of the Arts Management and Technology Lab, Andrew Wolverton and Zachary Collins explore how arts-focused technology can transform nonprofit ticketing and operations, tracing Ludus's journey from a side project for a single high school musical to a nationwide platform serving more than 4,000 organizations. Collins explains how Ludus was built from the ground up around the real needs of drama teachers and community theaters, growing into an end-to-end system for ticketing, fundraising, marketing, volunteers, and concessions—while staying anchored in a people-first culture summed up by the company's core value, "Give a Shit." He reflects on navigating the COVID-19 shutdown through livestreaming and social-distancing tools, choosing the right growth equity partner, and why he believes AI shouldn't replace arts workers but instead act as a "superpower" that frees them to focus on human-centered work and shared live experiences.

Andrew Wolverton

Zachary Collins

Link to Ludus

In this episode of the Arts Management and Technology Lab, Alexann Sharp and Cara Flanery sit down with four-time Emmy-winning innovator Michael Cioni to unpack how technology and creativity converge in modern media workflows. Cioni introduces Strada, a peer-to-peer platform designed to enable remote collaboration without cloud storage, and shares career lessons on building networks through industry events (NAB, Cine Gear, IBC) and assembling complementary teams ("Swiss-cheese" collaboration). He distinguishes generative vs. utilitarian AI, predicts a shakeout and rebound for GenAI, and outlines his Skills Gap Principle and "Technative" mindset for balancing creative and technical strengths. The conversation closes with candid advice on taking smarter risks and betting on yourself.

Michael Cioni's IMDB page

Link to Strada

Michael Cioni's YouTube interview: Using AI to fill your skills gap

In this episode of the Arts Management and Technology Lab, Daniel Temkin and Luna Lu discussed the artistic possibilities of code, focusing on esoteric programming languages (esolangs) and how they can function as a medium for art and human expression. Temkin explained that his interest began with experimenting in existing esolangs (like Brainfuck) around 2007-2008, leading him to create his own and document them conceptually, moving away from overly technical documentation. The conversation highlighted how giving up on the idea that programming must be practical allows for artistic exploration, connecting esolangs to idea art, constraint-based work (such as the Oulipo Group), and performance art. Temkin detailed the structure of his book, which presents programming languages as idea-based art, containing both realized works and conceptual prompts inspired by artists like Yoko Ono, and described how his languages — such as Fat Finger, which inspired code poetry, and Folders, which manipulates file system hierarchy — explore themes of collaboration, human irrationality, and the extreme constraints of logical systems. Listeners were also encouraged to explore existing esolangs on the Esolang Wiki before trying to design their own.

See AMT Lab Website for transcript

Book: Forty-Four Esolangs—The Art of Esoteric Code

Website: https://danieltemkin.com/About

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danieltemkin_/?hl=en

In this episode of the Arts Management and Technology Lab, Melida Hernandez and Christine Rivera dive into the intersections of technology, identity, and representation in digital spaces and media. Melida explores how AI-based recognition systems, often trained on biased datasets, misclassify transgender and non-binary individuals, which impacts their self-presentation, psychological well-being, and digital agency. Melida also discusses how these technologies replicate real-world prejudices, limiting the fluidity of gender expression online, and highlights the lack of diversity in AI research teams, where women make up only 10–15% of staff. Christine's research, on the other hand, focuses on how scripted and streaming television depicts motherhood and women's reproductive choices, connecting these portrayals to broader issues such as policy, workplace inequality, and the "motherhood penalty." Together, they unpack how media archetypes, algorithmic bias, and social platforms shape public perception and reinforce gender roles, calling for more inclusive storytelling, equitable AI design, and better systemic support for women and marginalized communities.

See https://amt-lab.org/podcasts-interviews for transcript

Show Notes

The Politics of Portrayal: Motherhood Narratives on Television During Policy Transformation

Christine Rivera

Melida Hernandez

Alexann Sharp and Lehan Xu discuss the impact of technology on performance industries, particularly VR concerts and broadcast theater. They note that COVID-19 accelerated the adoption of VR concerts, initially by smaller artists due to cost and uncertainty. Examples include Sabrina Carpenter and Kid Leroy's Meta collaborations. They highlight technical challenges like audio quality and headset comfort. In broadcast theater, historical examples date back to the 1930s, with modern initiatives like the Met Opera's "Live in HD" and National Theater Live. Both discuss the balance between accessibility and maintaining the authenticity of live performances.

National Theatre Live/

Met Opera "Live in HD"

Amaze VR

Transcript available at the Arts Management and Technology Lab: Podcasts

In this episode of the Arts Management and Technology Lab, Hannah Brainard and Anuja Uppuluri explore two significant threats to artists and cultural institutions: the ethical and legal implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI), specifically its pre-training practices, and the impact of climate change on art and cultural heritage. They discuss how AI models often exploit artists' work without consent or compensation, leading to calls for dynamic consent systems, robust attribution, and fair compensation models. Concurrently, they examine how climate change amplifies natural disasters, posing existential threats to museums and collections, particularly impacting under-resourced and historically marginalized communities. The conversation emphasizes the urgent need for systemic change and equitable allocation of resources to ensure the long-term sustainability and preservation of creative works and cultural heritage in both domains.

Transcsript and show notes can be found at https://amt-lab.org/podcasts-interviews/2025/7/ethics-ai-sustainability

In this episode of Tech in the Arts, Dr. Brett Ashley Crawford of the Arts Management and interviews Bill Updegraff, founder and CEO of Grapeseed Media, a programmatic digital advertising firm. Grapeseed Media, established in 2013, has grown into a trusted partner for brands and agencies in digital advertising, earning recognition on Inc.'s 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies.

In this episode, Updegraff explains that Grapeseed Media's initial goal was to provide arts organizations with access to programmatic advertising, a concept he once thought was exclusive to larger corporations. The company's role has since evolved from introducing programmatic advertising to guiding clients through its complexities. He highlights three approaches to programmatic advertising: in-house management, managed service partnerships, or working with a single, agnostic programmatic partner like Grapeseed Media, which provides unbiased access to all programmatic channels and consolidated reporting.

Updegraff also differentiates programmatic advertising from search and paid social media, noting that programmatic is more "open market" compared to the "walled gardens" of platforms like Google and Meta. He also discusses the growing integration of programmatic into digital out-of-home advertising, offering hyper-targeting and data collection capabilities. Of course, they also discuss the ethical uses of AI in marketing, particularly in data analysis and creative ideation.

Grapeseed Media

Programmatic Marketing (Video)

Bill Updegraff

Brett Ashley Crawford, PhD

Read the transcript at amt-lab.org.

What are the implications of AI and algorithmic governance on culture and creative industries? To answer these and other questions, the Arts Management and Technology Laboratory gathered a panel of experts on campus at Carnegie Mellon University. Working across arts, media, data, and technology, panelists discuss frameworks for understanding how power flows within and between these industries.

This episode of the Tech in the Arts podcast is a recording from the program, held in April. The discussion is moderated by Lead Researcher Ian Hawthorne, and features

• Eleanor Mattern, Director of the Sara Fine Institute and a teaching assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Computing and Information. Her teaching and research interests include archives and digital curation, community-centered information work, civic engagement, and information policy and ethics.
• Emma Slayton, Data Education Librarian at the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries. Emma is an expert in data and AI literacies, GIS, and data visualization, she helps researchers and students develop their own data stories for publication and sharing. As a social scientist, she focuses on using computer modelling to analyze big data.
• Samantha Shorey, Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Samantha is a design researcher who studies automated technologies — such as AI and robots — in the workplace. In her research, she seeks to highlight the labor and innovation of people who are often overlooked in media narratives about new technologies.

See more at amt-lab.org