Many creatives feel AI models are built on the theft of their work, scraping the internet—using their images, words, and music without consent, credit, or compensation. To them, AI is a runaway train, with tech companies moving fast and breaking things, ignoring laws, governance, and ethics in the process.

But is that really the whole picture?

In this episode of THE GRAIN Podcast, I sit down with AI ethicist Cindy Pham, someone who's been working on AI governance long before it entered the public consciousness. She challenges the notion that AI operates in a lawless wild west and offers a crucial reality check.

Listen now to THE GRAIN with Ronit Novak, as I continue my podcast probes into the pleasure and peril of AI and the future of creativity—recorded at Made Human Studios in the Little Jamaica neighbourhood of Toronto, Canada.

Some links to what we talk about…

* The pipe-smoking cat judging the place of AI in copyright

* What is AI Ethics? Explainer from IBM

* Cindy Pham on LinkedIn: Navigating the Future of AI

Stay tuned for my grains of thought in the newsletter, where I’ll cover topics like the controversy surrounding an AI art auction from Christie’s, reaction to ChatGPT removing filters that blocked explicit content, and how litigators are looking to block access to DeepSeek because the new AI platform involves sending prompts to China.Read more about THE GRAIN at thegrain.ai and get in touch at [email protected].Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn and Substack.

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