Tag: creativ

creativity

Remembering Todd Haimes, President / CEO of New York’s Roundabout Theatre Company

Christa Avampato
In memoriam via https://www.roundabouttheatre.org/in-memoriam-todd-haimes

“I didn’t know if you’d seen this. I remember your reverence for him.”

My friend Trevin Cooper, himself a talented theater professional, wrote me this note when he sent me the news that Todd Haimes, President / CEO of New York’s Roundabout Theatre Company, where I got my first job in New York after college, passed away. I put my head down and let two big tears roll down my face.

When I first started at the Roundabout, Todd showed me what was possible when you bet on yourself. Fresh out of college and not sure where my life or career was going, his example gave me hope, and a roadmap.

Todd went to the University of Pennsylvania for undergrad, as did I. He got an MBA, which I would get 7 years later following his example. He knew his career was not on stage (he acted in only one play), but on the administrative side. The same was true for me as well. He often described himself as an orchestrator with a talent for getting the right people around the table and removing any roadblocks so they could create something incredible together. I think of myself that way, too.

Todd was the first person who helped me realize not only could I love business and the arts equally, but that the two benefit one another. It’s a lesson I’ve never forgotten in all the years since I worked at the Roundabout and it’s been the basis for my entire career and life—to use rock solid business principles to support creative endeavors.

When I found out Todd got cancer in his 40s, I was devastated. Then I was inspired because he kept going in spite of it — for 20 years! — and his star rose higher than ever. I also got cancer in my 40s during the pandemic, and again Todd’s example showed me what’s possible, even in the face of a difficult diagnosis. (I am thankfully now cancer-free.)

Though Todd physically left this world last week after his long battle with cancer, the energy, enthusiasm, and talent he wielded to completely transform Broadway theatre lives on in our beautiful city of New York, artistic communities all over the world, and the many people whom he inspired. Me included, of course.

They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway, wrote Weil and Mann. I say they shine brighter because Todd Haimes dedicated his life to making them so.

creativity

Will writers be replaced by OpenAI, makers of ChatGPT?

Christa Avampato

This week I’m working with one of my biomimicry clients to explore the use of OpenAI, makers of ChatGPT. It has several models within it, including Davinci which we’ve found has the most detailed, natural sounding results but not necessarily the most accurate information. We are using this technology to ingest a wide variety of scientific papers and produce plain-language text that can be used by designers and engineers who want to explore nature-based solutions and biomimicry inventions and applications.

We tried five tests with different biomimicry topics. I compared the source papers and the two versions of AI-generated text to assess them. Of the five tests, four were decent first drafts that need a human editor to refine them. Most of the scientific data was presented in a plain text way that maintained accuracy and integrity. It missed some key findings that would be valuable for engineers and designers, and the tests need to be edited for clarity. It had some trouble extrapolating the information into potential biomimicry applications and nature-based solutions. In other words, it could create plain-language text based on complicated, jargon-filled text reasonably well as a first draft. It could not creatively interpret the data to imagine many new possibilities. The one failed test completely missed the mark on the main points of the scientific paper.

Overall, it was exciting to see how this innovation could democratize access to information that is concealed in jargon. As with any simplification task, the accuracy has to be evaluated by someone who can reliably translate from language that needs deep expertise to language that’s accessible to those without that expertise. Proliferation of misinterpreted, oversimplified, and inaccurate translations is a risk and a danger. We’re in the early days of this tool and it will undoubtedly improve over time.

Some have expressed concern that writers will no longer be needed and that all writers will be forced into becoming editors. As a writer and an editor, I don’t share that fear. Human creativity, ingenuity, and imagination will never be obsolete. My hope is that tools like AI-generated text will free up our time, energy, and headspace to spend more time on creative projects.