Pondering AI

Cecilia Dones guides leaders toward meaningful AI adoption by remaining endlessly curious, prioritizing social connection, valuing deviation, and embracing uncertainty. 

Kimberly and Celicia discuss connection in a tech-centric world; tech's shiny object syndrome; amplifying the right messages; extreme personalization, social affinity and "brand love"; AI slop; why attention and trust travel alone; internet blindness; influencers and experiential activity; scarcity and value; anonymity as a value play; the 2 data camps; valuing nuance and deviation; purposeful growth and mindful decision making; incentivizing ideas over yessing; agency and the construct of consent. 

Dr. Cecilia Dones is the Founder and CDO of 3 Standard Deviations, which helps leaders and brands navigate AI under conditions of uncertainty. Building on over 15 years of leadership experience at Fortune 500 organizations and in academia, Cecilia works at the crossroads of AI/technology adoption, consumer experience, leadership psychology and organizational decision-making. 

Related Resources: 

• The AI Shift: Thriving in a World with Smart Machines and Robots (book) 

A transcript of this episode is here. 

Kelly Monahan reimagines the story of AI at work, helping leaders to reclaim the plot and draw up new business blueprints that optimize human capability and innovation. 

Kimberly and Kelly discuss what work and AI are all about; universally held (un)truths; if people are lazy; economic incentives and employee experience; optimization vs. maximization; AI as an elevator; how leaders lose the plot; what constitutes good business; the danger in humanizing AI; human variance and innovation; desirable work; creating space for learning; keeping people employable; and bringing humanity back to work.  

Kelly Monahan is a preeminent Future of Work and AI Advisor working at the intersection of leadership, labor markets and emerging tech. Prior to co-founding Beyond the Desk, Kelly served as Managing Director of the Upwork Research Institute and held senior leadership roles positions at Meta, Accenture and Deloitte.  

Related Resources: 

• Reclaim the Plot: How Leaders Rewrite the Story when AI Rewrites Work (book) 
• Essential: How Distributed Teams, Generative AI, and Global Shifts Are Creating a New Human-Powered Leadership (book)  
• Dr. Kelly Monahan (website)  

A transcript of this episode is here. 

Leigh Felton believes we can benefit from AI systems without surrendering to them if we carefully consider the environments and behaviors we promote while deploying AI.

Kimberly and Leigh discuss the power of perspective; organizations as people; using AI consciously; the AI environment and library etiquette; how AI use shapes human behavior; whether AI systems are adaptive; AI authority and narrow optimization; the gap between lived experience and historical data; the AI Emperor’s new clothes; quiet organizational failures; and who benefits from humanizing AI.

Leigh Felton is the President of the AI for Job Security Foundation. Leigh applies her extensive experience leading communications, business strategy and operations at the world’s largest tech companies to help organizations make conscious decisions about and with AI. 

Related Resources:

• I Could’ve Been CEO Yesterday V1: But AI Algorithms Say I’m a DEI Risk Today (book)
• I Could’ve Been CEO Yesterday V2: Does AI Decide Who’ll Be CEO Tomorrow? (book)
• Inside Power w/ Leigh Felton (newsletter)

A transcript of this episode is here.

Sarah Barrington shifts from simply asking “real or fake?” to deeply considering the ways AI and synthetic media influence our notions of culture, identity and trust.   

Kimberly and Sarah discuss her road from the fast track of F1 to the frontlines of AI; the genesis of photography; supercharging existing harms with GenAI; the unsavory roots of synthetic media; microtargeting and information warfare; the liar’s dividend; content detection and digital identity; the agentic AI challenge; culture, identity and relevance; Mythos, AI access and proliferation; anti-regulatory narratives; the nuclear analogy; equipping policy makers and the public; questioning everything; and true AI enablement. 

Sarah Barrington is an AI researcher and PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley where she is part of Professor Hany Farid’s digital forensics lab. She also holds multiple cybersecurity positions. A specialist in generative AI & deepfake analysis, Sarah’s work has been cited at the Nobel Prize Summit, on NPR, by the UN and in numerous publications.  

Related Resources: 

• David Attenborough and the Voice That Revealed a Planet (article) 
• Sarah’s Research and Publications (website) 
• The DeepSpeak Dataset 
• Get Real Security Labs 

A transcript of this episode is here. 

Renée Cummings channels the spirit of due process while envisioning a radically imaginative world in which the benefits of ethical AI innovation are available to all. 

Kimberly and Renée discuss her radical optimism; finding joy in justice; AI’s criminal misadventures; bringing an ethical imagination to AI; creative innovation; our responsibility to the future; AI as a public health challenge; the social contract and duty of care; how governance, data, and trust intertwine; due process as core to intelligence; child protection and the AWARE (algorithmic awareness and responsible engagement) campaign; giving love a break; and why responsibility requires honesty.   

Renée Cummings is a Professor of Practice at the University of Virginia School of Data Science as well as a Nonresident Senior Fellow and Co-Director of the AI Equity Lab at the Brookings Institution. Renee also serves as the Co-Chair of the Global Academic Network at the Centre for AI and Digital Policy (CAIDP). 

Related Resources: 

• Michigan Technology Journal: An Invitation to Partner (article) 
• The A.W.A.R.E Initiative (Press Kit) 
• Who is Raising Your Child? (A.W.A.R.E Initiative publication) 

A transcript of this episode is here. 

Ryan Bishara and Christian Lau team up on an AI and data playbook that delivers an engaging, penalty free experience for LAFC employees and fans on and off the pitch.  

Ryan, Christian and Kimberly discuss LAFC’s innovative ethos; building an analytics and data program from the pitch up; LAFC’s AI plays; making mistakes and continuous learning; keeping AI onside with responsive governance; prioritizing joy and the human experience; if convenience and privacy can co-exist; staying accessible and engaging fans; and how analytics/AI continue to play out in a rapidly evolving ecosystem. 

Ryan Bishara and Christian Lau serve as the EVP of Revenue & Strategy and Chief Technology Officer, respectively, at the LA Football Club (LAFC). 

A transcript of this episode is here.

Maitreya Shah disables harmful notions and aspires to a world in which AI systems honor the humanity and agency of disabled persons rather than using them as a shield.  

Maitreya and Kimberly discuss digital tech done well; how society views disabled persons; engaging people with disabilities as leaders and developers; ableist narratives; why ‘fixing’ disabilities misses the mark; confusing accessibility with AI for Good; whitewashing bad behavior with assistive tech; the false dichotomy between access and privacy; disability as a diverse identity; the high stakes for AI reliability and trust; the deepening digital divide; the dearth of disability data and resources; entrenched societal biases; and asking rather than deciding for people with disabilities. 

Maitreya Shah is a lawyer and researcher working at the intersection of tech policy and disability rights. Maitreya current serves as the Technology Policy Director at the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). 

Related Resources: 

• To Regulate Artificial Intelligence Effectively We Need to Confront Ableism (Article) 
• Maitreya Shah (Profile) 

A transcript of this episode is here.

Courtney Radsch reports on the political and economic impact of synthetic media and the stultifying consequences of our increasingly low-quality, high-fat media diet.  

Courtney and Kimberly discuss the range of journalistic endeavors; synthetic media’s entrée on the scene; disinformation vs. propaganda; competing with AI in the marketplace of ideas; content verification, labeling and trust; how synthetic media depends on and undermines journalism; information as a social, political and economic concern; embedded AI ideologies; equating regulation with censorship; information warfare; cognitive liberty in an age of corporate dominance; infrastructure and intent; the need for bright line protections, pluralism and independent oversight.

Dr. Courtney Radsch, PhD is the Director of the Center for Media and Digital Governance (formerly CJL) and a non-resident Fellow at the Brookings Institution.  An award-winning journalist, scholar, diplomat, and human rights advocate, Courtney was recently named one of the 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics.

Related Resources:

• Same Gatekeepers, New Tollbooths: Mapping the AI Content Licensing Market (CMDG Research Report)
• The Algorithm Loses Its Immunity (Article)
• The Pentagon Wants Its Panopticon (Article)
• The Battle for Cognitive Liberty in the Age of Corporate AI (Tech Policy Press)

A transcript of this episode is here.

Olga Goriunova rejects digital abstractions as mirror images of ourselves and reflects on why we concern ourselves with representations that aren’t concerned about us.  

Olga and Kimberly discuss how cultural imagination is shaped by technology; digital subjects as unnatural constructs; the distance between individuals and their digital profiles; banal categorization and subjective truth; how statistics and ML changed the concept of the ideal; the limits of digital subjects; extreme individuation and aspiring to become our digital reflections; how current predictions create future realities; why the ideal digital subject isn’t concerned with you; and thinking critically about what we desire and why. 

Olga Goriunova is a cultural theorist working at the intersection of technology, philosophy, and aesthetics. A Professor of Media Arts at Royal Holloway, University of London, Olga is the author of the critically acclaimed book Ideal Subjects: The Abstract People of AI. 

Additional Resources: 

• Aksioma: Institute for Contemporary Art Book Lecture  
• Olga Goriunova Academic Profile  

A transcript of this episode is here. 

Mel Sellick readies for AI by going beyond literacy to address the psychological, cognitive, and relational capacities required to ensure AI works for humans.         

Mel and Kimberly discuss AI literacy vs. human readiness; the contours of human vulnerability; AI as a social actor; collective understanding and emotional regulation; instrumental AI dependency; the non-reciprocal nature of AI; the spectrum of relationality; human flourishing; attention, agency and alternate futures; positive friction in human systems; supportive social structures; cognitive offloading and debt; self-reflection and calibrating human needs.

Mel Sellick is an applied psychologist specializing in Human-AI interaction. The Founder of the Future Human Lab, her Human Readiness Framework has shaped conversations in IEEE, UNESCO, Oxford, MIT, Harvard and beyond.

Additional Resources:

• Future Human Lab: https://www.futurehumanlab.com/ 
• IEEE Organizational Readiness for Human-AI Interaction (Chair, SA-P7023) https://standards.ieee.org/ieee/7023/12394/
• Oxford AI in Education Hub (AIEOU): https://aieou.web.ox.ac.uk/ 
• Harvard AI for Human Flourishing Council: https://hfh.fas.harvard.edu/ai-human-flourishing 

A transcript of this episode is here.