Creative Machines

Praise for Creative Machines “Creative Machines challenges the illusion of either/or—inviting us to embrace the trans­formative power of and. It’s a visionary call to dissolve the artificial boundaries between art and technology, the physical and digital, prose and code. This isn’t about machines becoming human— it’s about humans fully realizing our potential.” —HANNAH GELLER, Emmy-nominated Producer “This book hits at exactly the right moment. In an industry flooded with fast tech, Creative Machines asks the deeper questions: about artistry, AI, and where we actually want this to go.” —DANIEL ROWLAND, Oscar-winning, Grammy-nominated Audio Engineer and Producer “Creative Machines opens up a critical and often overlooked part of the AI conversation: how these tools are actually used by real people in creative workflows.” —MATEI ZAHARIA, CTO of Databricks and Professor at the University of California, Berkeley A BOLD AND EYE-OPENING JOURNEY INTO AI’S POWER TO TRANSFORM HUMAN CREATIVITY Creative Machines: AI, Art & Us, by renowned generative AI researcher and pioneer, Maya Ackerman, is an exciting and original new discussion of the rise of creative artificial intelligence. She takes you on a journey that begins with the earliest AI trailblazers and concludes with examinations of the contemporary, cutting-edge tools shaping music, art, and human imagination today. Ackerman demolishes the hype and misinformation that surrounds generative AI to reveal the opportunities and dangers that the technology actually presents. She draws on psychology, neuroscience, and her own data-driven research to explain how generative artificial intelligence can enhance the brilliance and expose the blind spots in human creativity. Creative Machines is an exciting and practical walk-through of the creative and imaginative dimensions of our humanity—our ingenuity, biases, intelligence, and identities—and how we can build on them using AI. It’s a must-read for developers, founders, ethicists, artists, business leaders, and anyone else interested in harnessing the latest developments in tech to discover new ways of doing business, creating art, and explaining the world around us. A bold and thought-provoking journey into AI's power to transform human creativity In Creative Machines: AI, Art & Us, world-renowned AI researcher and generative AI pioneer, Maya Ackerman, takes you on a thrilling journey into the rise of creative AI, from its earliest pioneers to the cutting-edge tools shaping music, art, and human imagination today. Ackerman cuts through the hype, revealing the true capabilities and limitations of generative AI while championing its potential to amplify human creativity rather than replace it. Drawing on psychology, philosophy, and her own cutting-edge research, she reveals how generative AI exposes both the brilliance and the blind spots of human society—our ingenuity, our biases, our assumptions about intelligence and identity. The book contains:

• The hidden history and explosive growth of AI-generated creativity
• Explorations of the true capabilities and limitations of creative AI
• A visionary framework for using AI as a tool to enhance, rather than hinder, human creativity
• A bold new perspective on AI ethics and why fixing AI is not enough

Perfect for entrepreneurs, tech leaders, developers, ethicists, and creative professionals, Creative Machines offers deep insights, compelling stories, and a visionary perspective on AI's impact on human society. An essential read for anyone doing their best to navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of generative AI. MAYA ACKERMAN, PHD, is an interna­tionally renowned leader in generative AI, pioneering the next chapter of creativity. As CEO and Co-Founder of WaveAI, one of the earliest generative AI startups, she has enabled millions to explore new frontiers in creative expression through AI. An Associate Professor at Santa Clara University, Dr. Ackerman is widely known for her research on AI and creativity. Dr. Ackerman’s insights have been featured in NBC News, NPR, Forbes, and more. Her work champions the role of AI in amplifying—rather than replacing—human creativity.