So much of what’s happening around AI feels like performance. People saying they’ve got it all figured out. Creatives pretending they’re not anxious.

But when I saw Lee Towndrow’s post on LinkedIn, where he just came out and said “I’m scared,” it stopped me in my tracks.

Lee didn’t pretend. He did the cringe. And it resonated.He’s a Creative Director and VFX artist I’ve always admired for his polished but quintessentially human aesthetic. It’s a powerful combination that elevates and honours humanity.

In reflecting on AI and a future yet unknown, Lee encourages us to face our fear while offering powerful strategies for moving beyond it.

Links of stuff we talk about …

* Fear [Lee Towndrow’s LinkedIn post]

* Lee Towndrow [personal website]

* AI 2027 Report [Daniel Kokotajlo, Scott Alexander, Thomas Larsen, Eli Lifland, Romeo Dean]

* Sheila Heti [personal website]

* Leilanni Todd [personal website]

* ‘Manchild’ by Sabrina Carpenter [music video]

Listen now, like, comment, and share THE GRAIN to join the conversation at the edge of AI and creativity.

Stay tuned for my grains of thought in the newsletter, for news and insights on how AI is impacting the creative industry worldwide.

Read more about THE GRAIN at thegrain.ai and get in touch with me at [email protected]. You can also follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok.

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegrainai.substack.com

Happy Canada Day! Please enjoy this special video episode of THE GRAIN Podcast, featuring my grains of thought about how Ottawa can build a new creative economy now that Evan Solomon has taken the office of Minister of AI and Digital Innovation. Plus, I introduce THE MEMORY MACHINE, my new AI art exhibition and speaker series.

Links to the articles I mention…

* Canada’s AI Opportunity with Minister of Artificial Intelligence Evan Solomon [RBC Disruptors podcast]

* Liberals won’t reintroduce old AI law but will address copyright issues [The Logic]

* Kate Armstrong recaps a panel on AI and the arts with OCAD University in Toronto [Substack]

* Report on Geoffrey Hinton’s debate in Toronto with Cohere co-founder Nick Frosst [BetaKit]

* Nick Frosst tells Geoffrey Hinton why he doesn’t use LLMs to write poetry [@thegrain.ai/TikTok]

Listen now, like, comment, and share THE GRAIN to join the conversation at the edge of AI and creativity.

Stay tuned for my grains of thought in the newsletter, for news and insights on how AI is impacting the creative industry worldwide.

Read more about THE GRAIN at thegrain.ai and get in touch with me at [email protected]. You can also follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok.

Thanks for reading THE GRAIN with Ronit Novak! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegrainai.substack.com

Dr. Avriel Epps studies the impact of artificial intelligence on identity, culture, and mental health. An incoming professor at Rutgers University, she has a PhD in Human Development and Education from Harvard. She also wants to help families understand how the systems work through the recent publication of A Kids Book About AI Bias.

Prior to her academic career, Avriel Epps was a child actor, a model, a genre-bending musician—and a Black woman who often felt asked to fit into roles she didn’t choose.

Our conversation is about AI, but it’s also about power. It’s about beauty standards. It’s about why some things rise to the top and others never surface. It’s about what we can do—whether as creatives, parents or users—to push back against the grain.

What we talk about in this episode…

* The concept of AI bias and how a new language of media literacy is taking shape

* Creativity concerns for artists who can mitigate biased elements in their work

* Empowerment and advocacy with a strategy to ensure fairer development of AI

Links to resources we discussed…

*  Dr. Avriel Epps [personal website]

* Unmasking AI [Dr. Joy Buolamwini]

* Algorithms of Oppression [Safiya Umoja Noble]

*  More Than a Glitch [Meredith Brossard]

*   Race After Technology [Ruha Benjamin]

*  Data Feminism [Catherine D'Ignazio and Lauren F. Klein]

*  Weapons of Math Destruction [Cathy O'Neil]

*   Timnit Gebru: The Computer Scientist Fighting for a Fairer World

*  The Data Union [Nicholas Vincent]  

* A Kids Book About AI Bias [Dr. Avriel Epps]

🎧 Listen now, like, comment, and share THE GRAIN to join the conversation at the edge of AI and creativity.

Stay tuned for my grains of thought in the newsletter, for news and insights on how AI is impacting the creative industry worldwide.

Read more about THE GRAIN at thegrain.ai and get in touch with me at [email protected]. You can also follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegrainai.substack.com

Megan McKellar and Isabella Liu, both of whom are certified Apple Distinguished Educators and Google Certified Innovators, visited me at Made Human Studios to talk about implementing AI in education. They outline the benefits and pitfalls of this experience, and explain to THE GRAIN why critical thinking is so… critical to their work.

Megan and Isabella are preparing kids for a future none of us can actually predict. But they’re doing it with care, openness and a willingness to develop that future with their students, not just for them—and they’re inviting parents to be part of the collaboration.

What we talk about in this episode…

* How educators have learned to develop AI literacy

* The pros and cons of using AI in the classroom

* How AI amplifies voices that are otherwise unheard

Links to resources we discussed…

* Bill Gates Explains the Internet to David Letterman [1995]

* Khan Academy

*  Apple Distinguished Educators

*  Google Certified Innovator

*  The Anxious Generation [Jonathan Haidt]

*  Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI [Ethan Mollick]

*  Generative AI for Teachers [Google]

* Holly Clark

* EdTech Index

* Common Sense Media

🎧 Listen now, like, comment, and share THE GRAIN to join the conversation at the edge of AI and creativity.

Stay tuned for my grains of thought in the newsletter, for news and insights on how AI is impacting the creative industry worldwide.

Read more about THE GRAIN at thegrain.ai and get in touch with me at [email protected]. You can also follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegrainai.substack.com

“BBL Drizzy” started off as an insult—but it ended up making music history instead.

A year ago, when Kendrick Lamar and Drake spurred one of the most high-profile rap beefs of our time, comedian and screenwriter Willonius Hatcher saw an opportunity. He wrote some lyrics, fired up an AI music tool, and created a soul-infused anthem that caught fire. As a result, “BBL Drizzy” went viral, hip-hop producer Metro Boomin amplified it even further, and in a wild twist, Drake’s own team licensed the track, making it the first AI-generated work to be officially sampled by a major artist.

But this wasn’t just a lucky meme moment. King Willonius had been working toward this for years—experimenting, failing, writing three songs a day, directing wildly popular audio dramas on the pandemic-era app Clubhouse, and sharpening his storytelling voice. Last year he was named TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in AI. In his own words: “You can’t cheat the process, but with AI you can amplify it.”

In this episode, we talk about:

* The creation of “BBL Drizzy” and how it caught fire

* How tools like Udio are reshaping music production

* The decades-long tension between sampling, authorship, and copyright

* Why he sees AI as creative reparations for under-resourced artists

* What it really means to be an “AI artist”—and why it’s never as simple as pushing a button

* The grind behind the scenes: writing, experimenting, and staying ready for the moment

Whether you’re into hip-hop, creativity, tech, or just want to understand how a joke track ended up changing the music industry—this one’s for you.

For more on King Willonius, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and creator of “BBL Drizzy”:

* @kingwillonius on Instagram

* King Willonius’s personal website

* Willonius Hatcher speaking at C2 Montreal

* 100 Most Influential People in AI [TIME Magazine]

* The filmmaker who says AI is reparations [Wired Magazine]

* Drake drama showed how AI prophecy can become reality [THE GRAIN]

🎧 Listen now, like, comment, and share THE GRAIN to join the conversation at the edge of AI and creativity.

Stay tuned for my grains of thought in the newsletter, for news and insights on how AI is impacting the creative industry worldwide.Read more about THE GRAIN at thegrain.ai and get in touch with me at [email protected].Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn and Substack.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegrainai.substack.com

In this episode of THE GRAIN Podcast, I sit down with photographer, retoucher and artist Ishmil Waterman to talk about why he welcomes AI, and the value of staying open to change. We explore what it means to let go of ego, how a “tsunami” of individualism is quietly building to break industry norms, and why embracing uncertainty is one of the most powerful tools a creative can have right now.

For anyone feeling overwhelmed—or just curious—about the role of AI in the creative process, this episode offers clarity, inspiration, and a few necessary provocations.

For more on Ishmil Waterman:

* Retouch House

* Ishmil Waterman’s Instagram

* Ishmil Waterman’s personal website

* A Return to Refinement: A look at fashion’s renewed love of technique [3 Magazine]

Stay tuned for my grains of thought in the newsletter, for news and insights on how AI is impacting the creative industry worldwide.Read more about THE GRAIN at thegrain.ai and get in touch with me at [email protected].Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn and Substack.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegrainai.substack.com

Creativity has always been a through line in my life and career. For my specialized honours thesis in university, I studied the psychology of creativity—how and why artists are compelled to create.

What I found is that creatives are problem-solvers. They seek conflict that they can process and address, using their creativity as a tool for resolution. Over time, they begin to embody and repeat the way they solve these problems—whether by mastering a specific medium or honing a distinctive style. Their method of problem-solving becomes their identity, something they craft and refine throughout their careers. To grow, a creative will seek new challenges—reinforcing and evolving their unique way of confronting conflict.

For example, James Baldwin confronted racial injustice through his book The Fire Next Time; Pablo Picasso conveyed the horrors of the Spanish Civil War with his painting Guerinica; Nan Goldin shed light on addiction and the AIDS crisis through her photography; Frida Kahlo transformed her physical pain into surreal self-portraits. The list goes on.

As you can see, external and internal conflicts intertwine, as creators absorb the world’s pain, and in turn, externalize their own. Sometimes, creatives work together—forming collectives to address a shared struggle, or because their artistic approaches align.

Today, AI poses an existential challenge for creatives—a pivotal moment for our survival. What makes this conflict especially complex is that it directly affects the very tools and processes we rely on to address challenges. A parallel would be Picasso having to paint about why there is a shortage of paint. Which he did—during his Blue Period—because his limited resources influenced his creative choices.

My guest today on THE GRAIN Podcast is Michael Inzlicht, professor of psychology at the University of Toronto and the Rotman School of Management. Work and Play Lab is where he studies human motivation, empathy, and the effort we exert to reach our goals—whether in work or leisure. His recent report, published in January, found that AI chatbots like ChatGPT are often perceived as more compassionate than human crisis responders and therapists.

Lately, creatives are being encouraged to use AI as a companion and collaborator early in the ideation process. I ask Michael what that means for brainstorming, bias, and creative fulfillment. If AI makes problem-solving easier, does that make the process less meaningful—because less effort was exerted?

As instinctive problem-solvers, creatives have the power to confront this challenge in their own unique way. But we need to talk about how and why we are compelled to confront this crisis.

Please enjoy my conversation with Michael Inzlicht, on THE GRAIN Podcast.

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…

* Work and Play Lab

* Study: AI judged to be more compassionate than expert crisis responders (University of Toronto)

* She Is in Love With ChatGPT (New York Times)

Stay tuned for my grains of thought in the newsletter, for news and insights on how AI is impacting the creative industry worldwide.Read more about THE GRAIN at thegrain.ai and get in touch with me at [email protected].Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn and Substack.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegrainai.substack.com

 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.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegrainai.substack.com

Listen now to THE GRAIN with Ronit Novak, as I launch Season 2 of 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.

Links to some stuff we talk about…

* n-v-r: The Department of Never Been Done Before

* Dré Labre’s portfolio website

* Design Fiction Daily: Dré Labre newsletter on Substack

* The Artifact Scanner: a handheld tool designed to unlock new possibilities

* Voidz: This is Where Reality Ends—an AI artist based in Toronto

* Dara Vandor: Imaginary Friends photo booth project

* Chairman Ting art and design studio

* Beeple sold an NFT for $69 million (March 2021)

Stay tuned for more grains of thought about creative futurism in the newsletter.Read more about THE GRAIN at this link and get in touch at [email protected].You should also follow @thegrain.ai on Instagram and LinkedIn and Substack.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegrainai.substack.com

The past year brought a wave of AI news that had major impact on the creative industry. In this roundup episode, it’s me on the mic, giving you my roundup of the biggest news events of 2024 and how they impacted our creative world. Plus, my grains of thought on how these topics will evolve.

For more info on the stories in this episode...

AI vs. News and Media

* Who's suing AI and who's signing: Publisher deals vs. lawsuits with generative AI companies [Press Gazette]

* The new Person of the Year chatbot explained [Time Magazine]

AI vs. Film

* What is Sora for? Commentary by Alex Kantrowitz [The Wrap]

* What if AI is actually good for Hollywood? [New York Times Magazine]

AI vs. Music

* Viral 'BBL Drizzy' AI Drake diss track company gets sued [CNN]

* 'BBL Drizzy' foretold the future of AI music [Wired]

AI vs. Climate

* AI wants more data. More chips. More real estate. More power. More water. More everything [Bloomberg Markets]

* Will AI save the planet? Why the evidence is flawed [The Conversation]

AI vs. the United States of America

* How Trump's new 'AI czar' David Sacks went from MAGA critic to true believer [NBC News]

* 1 in 6 congresswomen targeted by AI-generated sexually explicit deepfakes [Gizmodo]

AI vs. Reality

* Why doesn't Facebook just ban AI slop like Shrimp Jesus? [Business Insider]

* 'Brain rot': Oxford word of the year 2024 reflects 'trivial' use of social media [The Guardian]

Stay tuned for a special episode of THE GRAIN Podcast: Ask an AI Ethicist. Send your questions and we’ll present them to Cindy Pham, who’s worked on artificial intelligence ethics at companies like Scotiabank and Sony. [email protected]

For news and insights on how AI is impacting the creative industry, sign up for THE GRAIN Newsletter.

Read more about THE GRAIN at this link and get in touch at [email protected].

Follow @thegrain.ai on Instagram and LinkedIn and Substack.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegrainai.substack.com