The pleasure and peril of AI and the future of creativity

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The pleasure and peril of AI and the future of creativity 〰️

THE GRAIN™ is a media platform that explores the pleasure and peril of AI and the future of creativity.

Through its podcast, newsletter, and live events, THE GRAIN champions thoughtful dialogue and builds a community of empowered creatives to navigate an AI-shaped world with curiosity, skill, and agency.

As we grow, we will operate through THE GRAIN Foundation™, a nonprofit arm focused on mission-driven educational projects.

What is THE GRAIN?

Ronit Novak

(Ro-NEET)

Hello! I’m Ronit Novak.

I’m a creative director, strategist, and educator with 20 years in media.

I founded THE GRAIN™, and establishing THE GRAIN Foundation™ to advance our mission: exploring how AI is transforming creativity from a human-centred perspective—and how we can shape that future with intention.

Through conversations, news, and events, I look at how we can work with machines in ways that amplify, not replace, our creativity—helping artists, businesses, and schools adapt and thrive.

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THE GRAIN Newsletter

Each week I cut through the AI noise with 5 hand-picked stories plus my grains of thought on what they mean for creativity and how they spark deeper conversations.

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I’ll be speaking about THE GRAIN and the concept of “versus”, how two things can be true about AI at the same time, and holding space for that tension. Come this Friday October 3 at CTRL+SHIFT GenAI and Creativity Meet-up, starting
We all hated getting duped by Velvet Sundown on Spotify, but what about AI musicians created by humans to bring their artistry to life in a way they never could? Xania Monet is the creation of Mississippi-based designer and poet Telisha “Nikki
OpenAI is stepping into Hollywood with a feature length animated film made largely with Sora and other AI and non-AI tools. “Critterz” is aiming for a Cannes premiere next May. But how much disclosure will we get on the use of AI versus
Publicly Hollywood plays coy and critical about AI, but behind the scenes, it’s being used to cut costs and timelines. But why the secrecy? Follow THE GRAIN for more news and insights on how AI is impacting our creative industries. Subscribe T
Do you think ownership of your creative work is your human right? Some think so, and others don’t—but lasting decisions are being made. So what now? Follow this story and other vital conversations about how AI is impacting our creative i
Google overviews continue to decimate media outlets around the world. The latest battle is with Penske media, of Rolling Stone magazine, suing Google for grabbing their content and derailing search traffic. Get THE GRAIN newsletter for more, plus my
From THE GRAIN Newsletter: We don’t need no AI-ducation The University of New South Wales is moving ahead with the “Generative AI for Artists” course despite more than 7000 students signing a petition to shut it down. Read about
From THE GRAIN Newsletter: Clanker cleanup Freelance graphic designers, writers, editors, and the like are getting hired to polish the AI slop churned out by generative tools. Is this just a temporary patch until AI improves, or a glimpse into the
From THE GRAIN Newsletter: Survey says… A recent survey polling 150 Americans concluded they overwhelmingly want AI to assist artists, and not replace them. Duh! But how do these opinions evolve over time, place, and privilege? Read about it
From THE GRAIN Newsletter: AI versus natural Stupidity. Guillermo del Toro‘s long-awaited film Frankenstein featured at TIFF today. The legendary director asserts the film is not an AI allegory, quipping, “I’m not afraid of artific
From THE GRAIN Newsletter: Another one in the can. AI is being used to reconstruct lost footage from Orson Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons. Fable CEO Edward Saatchi who said AI is "possibly the end of creativity" also asserts both Welles
THE GRAIN, AI vs Film: I was privy to fascinating conversations today at TIFF’s Industry Spotlight: The Next Wave of AI Filmmaking: Smarter, Safer & Better, with speakers from Moonvalley, Adobe, GRAiL and Transitional Forms. Big takeaways
It’s been a heck of a summer and this is a snapshot of just the past week for THE GRAIN! Let’s all take a bow for showing up with wisdom and love. This year will bring big things so remember that being ready isn’t a feeling, it&rsq
You got an extra story out of me this week because people kept sending me the J.Crew scandal. I wasn’t going to include it but if you all insist—here’s my grain of thought on the matter, plus 5 other AI news stories and my grains of

THE GRAIN Podcast

THE GRAIN Podcast explores how AI is reshaping creativity through candid conversations with artists, experts, and industry leaders.

Episodes are available as video on YouTube and Substack, and as audio on Spotify, Apple, and other major platforms.

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THE GRAIN Community

THE GRAIN community is made up of creative professionals, organizations, corporations and educators.

They are photographers, illustrators, musicians, filmmakers, writers, designers, artists, agencies, schools, and media companies.

They share a curiosity to explore how AI can enhance their creativity, productivity and collaboration.

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