The Illusion of More

AI and Voice Replication with Tim Friedlander

Contents * 00:32 – Tim’s background. * 03:07 – Political voiceovers. * 04:31 – Voice acting is acting. * 06:20 – About NAVA. * 10:25 – Size of NAVA and the market. * 12:35 – Experiences on the Hill. * 17:04 – Economic value of the market. * 18:53 – Resistance to the cause. * 21:46 – The challenge does not end with licensing. * 25:24 – What's resonating on the Hill.  * 28:55 – No FAKES Act. * 33:29 – Reasons why this conversation matters. * 40:15 – AI as a tool for creators. * 44:50 – Is it too late to respond? * 48:45 – The climate has changed for Big Tech. * 55:30 – No FAKES reprise.

Artists' Rights with Musician Blake Morgan

Episode Contents * 02:37 - Why I fight for artists rights. * 07:22 - The biggest threats facing artists. * 11:52 - The American Music Fairness Act * 16:27 - Dying of “exposure.” * 18:40 - A middle-class face on the cause. * 24:00 - Spotify’s “big payouts” to artists. * 30:00 - Support for the TikTok legislation. * 36:10 - Private equity investment in music catalogs. * 45:00 - The VanGogh diversion. * 46:10 - Advice to the next generation. * 50:11 - The latest album Violent Delights.

On Being Among the Banned with Author J. J. Austrian

Pride month is more than celebratory in a time when book bans are on the rise in the United States, and 26% of the titles banned “have LGBTQ+ characters or themes,” according to PEN America. With politicians like Ron DeSantis determined to make “anti-wokeness” part of the Republican brand, this neologism for hate-speech has taken the form of book and media censorship in school and public libraries around the country. One of these banned books, entitled Worm Loves Worm [https://www.amazon.com/Worm-Loves-J-Austrian/dp/0062386336/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=worm+loves+worm&qid=1687176991&s=books&sr=1-1], was written by a close friend named J. J. Austrian [https://jjaustrian.com/], who joins me for this episode of the podcast. Illustrated by Mike Curat [https://www.mikecurato.com/worm-loves-worm]o and published by Harper Collins in 2016, Worm Loves Worm is a story for young children about two earthworms getting married and trying to figure out which is the bride and which is the groom while navigating the not-so-helpful advice and opinions of the other bugs and critters in attendance.  Show Contents * 01:22 - How does it feel to be among the banned? * 03:42 -  The creation of Worm Loves Worm. * 08:12 - What children get from Worm Loves Worm. * 09:36 - It’s not about sex. Indoctrination to what? * 12:23 – Attacks on the transgender community. * 15:03 – Did you expect the backlash when the book first came out? * 18:34 -Is it hard not to look at the negative comments? * 20:19 – The “shotgun wedding.” * 21:50 - Increase in attacks since it was first published. * 24:10 - More worried about middle grade and young adult readers. * 28:10 - Ever criticized for writing about a subject that’s not your subject? (outside your lane) * 34:45 - Do you have Woke Mind Virus? * 37:15 – A conversation about satire. * 44:33 – How banning can affect the author. * 47:44 - The victim’s narrative. * 50:15 – Hope for the future? * 52:44 – The Printing Press and the Internet * 57:05 – Love is love.

Talking to Tech Designer Carla Diana

This year’s World IP Day theme celebrates Women and IP: Accelerating Innovation and Creativity, and for that reason as well as the fact that artificial intelligence dominates all topics these days, my guest for this episode is the highly innovative Carla Diana [www.carladiana.com], whom I first interviewed in 2014 [https://illusionofmore.com/conversation-technologist-carla-diana/].  Carla is a tech designer, author, and educator. She runs the 4D design program at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan; she is the lead designer at Diligent Robotics in Austin, Texas; and she is the author of dozens of articles and essays about technology and design. Her most recent book, published in 2021 by Harvard Business Review Press, is My Robot Gets Me: How Social Design Can Make New Products More Human. And we’ll talk about what that means, plus generative AI, driverless cars, ethics in technology, and at least one product I had not imagined was a thing.   Show Contents * 00:01:24 - Carla’s background. * 00:05:57 - Why good design is social. * 00:11:55 - Design modalities & thinking about consumers with disabilities. * 00:20:27 - That tech should not mimic human behavior. * 00:28:57 - On avoiding innovation for its own sake. * 00:36:07 - On ethics in technology. * 00:45:51 - Generative AI and the arts. * 01:00:55 - Tech solutions for tech problems (e.g. Glaze for visual artists). * 01:05:32 - Self-driving vehicles. * 01:09:30 - Economic & social implications of a driverless world. * 01:15:26 - Combining design and ethics.

When the State Steals Your Work: A Conversation with Rick Allen

In March 2020, the Supreme Court delivered its opinion in the case Allen v. Cooper. The outcome was not surprising because the Court affirmed precedent ruling from the late 1990s which held that the 11th Amendment bars suing a state or state actors for damages stemming from intellectual property infringement.   Thus far, I’ve explored the murky waters of state sovereign immunity as it relates to Allen v. Cooper and other cases, including author Michael Bynum and photographer Jim Olive’s lawsuits filed in the State of Texas. So far, my focus in this area has been academic. But on February 8th, Rick Allen filed an amended complaint in North Carolina, and after I read that narrative, I wanted to invite Rick back to the podcast to talk more personally about his story, what it means to him, and what it should mean to anyone who hears it.   Show Contents * 1:15 Becoming an Underwater Cameraman * 11:06 Queen Anne’s Revenge Opportunity of Lifetime * 15:06 Wreck Diving and Filming * 27:19 Personal Investment * 37:20 Rare Cooperation Between Treasure Hunters and Archeologists * 43:00 A Near-Fatal Accident * 48:00 State Infringements * 59:00 Blackbeard’s Law * 1:05:00 Suing the State of North Carolina * 1:16:00 Implications for All Creators * 1:29:00 Overlap with Censorship