A Conversation with Debbie Urbanski

Debbie Urbanski is the author of After World (named a best book of the year by San Francisco Chronicle, Engadget, Strange Horizons, Booklist, and the Los Angeles Times) and Portalmania (named a best horror book of the year by the New York Public Library). She lives in Syracuse and loves to hike in the Onondaga Branch of the Finger Lakes Trail.

About the theme of A/I: Artistic Intelligence & Artificial Intelligence, she says, “I wish tech people and creative people would talk with each other more about AI. I don't mean a shouting match — I mean an actual discussion. I like to imagine these conversations might lead to systems of ethical training or collaboration. I also wish public discussion around AI would not hyperfocus on generative AI but also include uses of AI that are helping us solve existing problems. To put this another way: is it possible to use generative AI to solve existing and urgent problems — or is it merely another form of entertainment?”

This program was brought to you by Artswego and the Department of English and Creative Writing.