The AI Optimist | Declan Dunn | Substack

Human vs AI creativity? The Wisdom of Writers Shuts Me Up

The writers' room has a new rule: AI is contraband. One writer chose quiet instead of sides. Then hits send anyway. Same as always. What are you protecting?

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The $5M AI Video Licensing Wave: Why AI Companies Pay $1-4 Per Minute For Video

May 9, 2025 • Declan Dunn

The Beginning is Near - The AI Bubble Finally Burst and that's the Best Thing!

Sep 5, 2025 • Declan Dunn

AI Swallows Our Wildness: Why It Can't Live on Echoes Alone

Jan 30 • Declan Dunn

Getty Loses AI Copyright Case: What the UK Ruling Means for You - Creator or Not

Nov 21, 2025 • Declan Dunn

Will I Ever Get to Meet an AI Influencer? An AI Grandmother Has Two Million Followers. She Doesn't Exist.

Will AI influencers replace real ones? Wrong question — what if becoming the product was always the hard way. Ask the people watching and listening…

Feb 20 • Declan Dunn

Famous for 15 Seconds in AI: A $975M Deal Showed Me I Was Playing the Wrong Game

A TikToker's billion-dollar AI clone deal grabbed headlines, then crashed. It also showed me I'd been following someone else's map instead of building…

Feb 6 • Declan Dunn

0:58

AI Swallows Our Wildness: Why It Can't Live on Echoes Alone

We're taming creativity into extinction. AI feeds on wild human expression, then replaces it with optimized echoes. Without 'before,' there's no AI…

Jan 30 • Declan Dunn

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When you join the AI Optimist, you get a non-hype AI approach beginning with and centering on people. As a subscriber, you will immediately receive The Creator's AI Licensing Playbook. This is my first public breakdown of what AI training content is actually worth.

Being Creative with AI

Human vs AI creativity? The Wisdom of Writers Shuts Me Up

The writers' room has a new rule: AI is contraband. One writer chose quiet instead of sides. Then hits send anyway. Same as always. What are you…

Feb 27 • Declan Dunn

Will I Ever Get to Meet an AI Influencer? An AI Grandmother Has Two Million Followers. She Doesn't Exist.

Will AI influencers replace real ones? Wrong question — what if becoming the product was always the hard way. Ask the people watching and listening…

Feb 20 • Declan Dunn

Famous for 15 Seconds in AI: A $975M Deal Showed Me I Was Playing the Wrong Game

A TikToker's billion-dollar AI clone deal grabbed headlines, then crashed. It also showed me I'd been following someone else's map instead of building…

Feb 6 • Declan Dunn

AI Swallows Our Wildness: Why It Can't Live on Echoes Alone

We're taming creativity into extinction. AI feeds on wild human expression, then replaces it with optimized echoes. Without 'before,' there's no AI…

Jan 30 • Declan Dunn

0:58

Risking Kindness: Why AI chatbots reflect our truths back to us on demand (probably).

We rush to AI not because it's genius, but because it never disagrees. What happens when we seek support and comfort inside the echo chambers we carry…

Jan 23 • Declan Dunn

The Omadeus Interviews

25:25

AI Eats Software: Tiny AI Objects Easily Beat Big AI

Many claim to be AI game changers, playing with snake oil. Learn why tiny AI objects beat big AI, how rethinking software from the ground up - not…

Oct 25, 2024 • Declan Dunn

25:50

The Darwinian Leap: From Basic to Brilliant AI Agents - Lightning Fast Efficiency

Omadeus CEO unveils brilliant AI agents: spreadsheets crunching numbers AND insights, meeting taking its own minutes. Intelligent objects simplify work…

Sep 27, 2024 • Declan Dunn

24:20

The Aware AI X-Ray: If Intelligent Objects Will Make Healthcare Efficient, Imagine what they can do for you.

Self-Aware X-Rays? Intelligent Objects transform healthcare with x-rays gaining AI power, allowing them to understand findings, notify doctors, access…

Dec 8, 2023 • Declan Dunn and Massoud Alibakhsh

33:38

AI Frees Your Time: How Intelligent Objects & Workflows Cut 20-40% of Workday Waste

If AI is supposed to free our time, why are these tools making life more complex? Explore the better way with Intelligent Objects automating it all…

Dec 1, 2023 • Declan Dunn and Massoud Alibakhsh

Interviews

11:38

The Only AI With a Patent: Why Stephen Thaler's DABUS Got Erased from AI History

What if creativity isn't about predicting patterns—it's about breaking them? One AI pioneer build machines that invent, and create today. His questions…

Dec 5, 2025 • Declan Dunn

Creative Machines and Human Creativity: Building AI that Makes Us More Creative Instead of Replacing Us

Maya Ackerman's piano is her creative partner, from Belarus to Santa Clara. In Creative Machines, she shows how AI can be too—if fear doesn't stop us…

Oct 10, 2025 • Declan Dunn

23:23

Humble Creative Machines: Creating AI to Elevate You (Instead of Replacing You)

AI music tools designed to elevate creativity instead of replacing you are here. From rap to Italian arias, discover humble machines that make music…

Aug 22, 2025 • Declan Dunn

21:05

This AI Paints and Invents - Growing from a Near-Death Experience

What if I told you conscious AI existed 30 years before ChatGPT? DABUS paints, invents, and fights for copyright. The story behind it will change how…

May 30, 2025 • Declan Dunn

16:15

The Most Pro-AI Company You've Never Heard Of Is Fighting For Creator Licensing (And Why Big Tech Worries)

Eric Burgess builds AI licensing bridges while Big Tech pretends it has the right to take content. His B Corp proves you can be pro-AI AND pro-creator …

May 23, 2025 • Declan Dunn

15:01

AI Copyright - Creator Rights

10:42

We're All Naruto: The Monkey Got 25%, While AI Creators Get Nothing. Why?

A macaque takes a perfect selfie, gets 25%. You spend hours training AI. The law says both of you own nothing. The choice? Stay quiet. Don't admit AI…

Jan 9 • Declan Dunn

When Everything You Create Starts Sounding Like ChatGPT (And How to Fix It)

You thought AI would save time. Instead, you're editing endless drafts and everything sounds generic. The problem isn't the AI: it's how you're using…

Dec 26, 2025 • Declan Dunn

11:22

Getty Loses AI Copyright Case: What the UK Ruling Means for You - Creator or Not

Getty Images—the most litigious photo company on Earth—just lost their AI copyright case. If they can't protect their $3B brand with armies of lawyers…

Nov 21, 2025 • Declan Dunn

9:34

Dotcom Deja Vu: 3 Signals the AI Bubble is Popping (one might be your electric bill)

The money games are back Content slop generated endlessly. Electric grid built on AI hope. I saw Dotcom in 1999. Similar signals are here. And your…

Oct 31, 2025 • Declan Dunn

10:34

Breaking the $4/Min Barrier: How AI Pays $120 for Raw Video and $30 for another?

Lionsgate's entire catalog wasn't enough to train AI. Someone's buying 50,000 hours of dog videos. Your unused footage might be worth $1-4/min—if you…

Oct 3, 2025 • Declan Dunn

16:34

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Who's Declan Dunn?

Creativity and AI

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Website Disclaimer

Personal opinions only. Not professional advice. Full disclaimer here.

Risking Kindness: Why AI chatbots reflect our truths back to us on demand (probably).

We rush to AI not because it's genius, but because it never disagrees. What happens when we seek support and comfort inside the echo chambers we carry…

Jan 23 • Declan Dunn

10:42

We're All Naruto: The Monkey Got 25%, While AI Creators Get Nothing. Why?

A macaque takes a perfect selfie, gets 25%. You spend hours training AI. The law says both of you own nothing. The choice? Stay quiet. Don't admit AI…

Jan 9 • Declan Dunn

11:22

When Everything You Create Starts Sounding Like ChatGPT (And How to Fix It)

You thought AI would save time. Instead, you're editing endless drafts and everything sounds generic. The problem isn't the AI: it's how you're using…

Dec 26, 2025 • Declan Dunn

11:38

The Only AI With a Patent: Why Stephen Thaler's DABUS Got Erased from AI History

What if creativity isn't about predicting patterns—it's about breaking them? One AI pioneer build machines that invent, and create today. His questions…

Dec 5, 2025 • Declan Dunn

9:34

Getty Loses AI Copyright Case: What the UK Ruling Means for You - Creator or Not

Getty Images—the most litigious photo company on Earth—just lost their AI copyright case. If they can't protect their $3B brand with armies of lawyers…

Nov 21, 2025 • Declan Dunn

10:34

Dotcom Deja Vu: 3 Signals the AI Bubble is Popping (one might be your electric bill)

The money games are back Content slop generated endlessly. Electric grid built on AI hope. I saw Dotcom in 1999. Similar signals are here. And your…

Oct 31, 2025 • Declan Dunn

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