From Artificial Intelligence to Abundant Imagination

When Ruha Benjamin’s latest book was first announced, the publisher commissioned a cover created using an AI image generator. Little did she know, artists were already waging a fierce battle against AI companies for using "millions upon millions of copyrighted images, harvested without their creators' knowledge, let alone their consent or compensation." In time, Ruha commissioned a new cover and connected the controversy over AI-generated images to the broader struggle over technology, power, and imagination.
In this talk, Ruha Benjamin takes us into the liberating power of the imagination. Deadly systems shaped by white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, colonialism, and eugenics all emerged from the human imagination, and have real-world, often deadly impacts. To fight harmful systems and create a world in which everyone can thrive, we will have to imagine things differently. Drawing on work that critically examines tech-mediated inequities and engagement with grassroots approaches to viral justice, she offers a pragmatic and poetic approach to worldbuilding that invites each of us to consider the role we play in maintaining or transforming the oppressive status quo.
Co-presented by the Power Institute and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.