Transforming Culture and Creativity

**(00:00)**

Ashlee: Thank you, David. That intro might have done the trick! Before I dive into my background and more about Creative Theory, I want to say how inspired I feel seeing everyone here. It’s amazing to see faces and know people can actively engage. This really feels like a community.

**(02:04)**

Ashlee: My name’s Ashlee Green, and I'm the VP of Accounts and Culture at Creative Theory Agency, a Black-owned full-service creative agency based in Washington, DC. We offer creative services for incredible partners across tech, retail, and nonprofits, including Google, YouTube, Levi’s, and various sports brands. Our core belief is that there’s value in all communities, people, and experiences, which we bring to our clients' work with a strong focus on equity and inclusion.

My role is twofold: on one side, I lead our accounts team, ensuring we provide the best service and creativity for our clients. On the other side, I work with our people systems director to build and support an internal culture where our team feels acknowledged, valued, and empowered to do exceptional work.

David: Incredible. I’d love to hear more about your work and its impact. Could you also share your perspective on AI?

**(04:28)**

Ashlee: Sure! AI is at the forefront across many industries, and our agency’s work is rooted in access. We believe everyone should have access to new technology, and AI is no exception. Our goal is to bring important conversations around access to AI, particularly generative AI tools, which can empower creatives and creators if used inclusively.

David: That’s a powerful perspective. Could you elaborate on what “access” means in this context?

Ashlee: Access here has two facets. First, it’s about who has access to build and develop AI tools—who’s on the engineering teams, who’s testing, who’s designing. Second, it’s about who the end users are—who has access to use the technology, provide input, and make sure the outputs are inclusive, creative, and devoid of bias.

**(06:12)**

David: I agree. There seems to be more focus on DEI and access within AI than we saw in earlier tech cycles. Are there companies you think are getting it right in terms of access?

Ashlee: That’s a great question. While we’re more focused on the tools’ market presence and use, I do respect companies like Google, which recently paused the use of their Gemini model to create images with people due to bias concerns. I appreciate when companies take a step back to address issues. It’s encouraging, but there’s room to improve how they address those issues, and that’s where our conversations on access come in.

David: I’m impressed by Google’s Real Tone initiative to improve camera technology for people of color. It feels like they’re making a real effort by listening to diverse perspectives.

Ashlee: I’m a Real Tone expert! Creative Theory Agency has been partnering with Google on Real Tone since 2020. We brought in experts—cinematographers, photographers, and colorists who’ve spent their careers working with darker skin tones—to consult with engineers, providing essential input for inclusive development. Google has put both time and resources behind this, ensuring the Pixel’s camera remains the most inclusive phone camera on the market. This partnership exemplifies what access should look like in technology.

**(12:08)**

David: That’s fantastic. Real Tone is clearly a huge success. If they’ve been able to make such strides in one area, how can companies replicate that across their organization to avoid these kinds of issues altogether?

Ashlee: That’s exactly why we believe access is crucial. We don’t want to end up fixing biases after the fact—we want the right people involved from the start. Just last week, we launched an out-of-home campaign in DC called *What Prompted You?* to spark conversations about who is building and using these AI tools. The campaign visually explores this process, aiming to inspire companies to think critically about who has access and whose perspectives are represented.

David: Did this campaign originate with a client request, or was it something you felt the agency had to do?

Ashlee: It was completely self-initiated. As an agency, we often take on passion projects without waiting for a client’s approval. We felt a responsibility to start this conversation. Our campaign features local creatives, chefs, and business owners, each doing their part to create access in their fields. We hope to take it beyond DC and potentially to Cannes, where we’ll engage in more conversations around this.

**(17:54)**

Ashlee: Let’s try a quick exercise to understand what we’re aiming for. Think back to your childhood—maybe late elementary school. Picture a Saturday morning. What did it look like, feel like, smell like? What were you eating, looking forward to?

David: For me, it was cartoons and cereal! Growing up in Westchester County, New York, we had some beautiful rural areas where I’d go out and shoot hoops, though I wasn’t great at it.

Ashlee: I love that. For me, Saturdays at my grandparents’ house in the South meant a big breakfast with grits, eggs, and family all around. If you prompt an AI with “Saturday morning,” David’s experience and mine would look very different. This exercise shows why we need diverse perspectives contributing to these prompts; without that variety, the AI output will only reflect limited experiences.

David: That’s such a critical point. AI needs to reflect the full spectrum of experiences to avoid reinforcing narrow or biased outputs. It’s like capturing “America in the ’50s”—a complex concept with many layers, and AI should be able to explore all of them.

Ashlee: Exactly. The goal isn’t to create one universal experience but to train AI to recognize and accurately reflect the diversity of human experiences. That’s the real value of access—not just one version of reality, but the ability to portray many.

**(24:23)**

David: Are there ways to address these historical biases, especially given how much of our knowledge and historical records come from limited perspectives?

Ashlee: Great question, and one we’re still exploring. The conversation starts with who builds these tools and whether they prioritize inclusivity from the beginning. We don’t have all the answers, but that’s why we launched *What Prompted You?*—to get people asking these questions and caring about access.

**(30:57)**

Morgan: These generative models are trained on massive datasets pulled from the internet, which carries its own biases. The big question now is where these companies will get new data, especially since we need inclusive data sources. That’s why the work Ashlee’s team is doing is so valuable—they’re helping to create synthetic datasets that can make these models more inclusive.

Ashlee: Absolutely. We hope our work influences the AI industry to consider inclusive datasets in future development.

Morgan: And as these AI tools become multimodal, gathering data from various sources, having access across diverse groups becomes even more critical to ensure those datasets are inclusive.

**(38:07)**

David: Do you see digital divides in AI access impacting marginalized communities?

Ashlee: Definitely. People in this group may have easy access, but many in the U.S. and worldwide don’t even have internet access, let alone access to AI tools. That’s why we’re actively working to reach those underserved. For instance, we recently introduced local high school students to AI creativity tools, opening doors for them to use these technologies in ways they hadn’t imagined.

David: That’s great. Education around responsible AI use is essential, especially as these tools become more integrated into everyday life.

Ashlee: Exactly. Every new technology either bridges or widens social divides, and AI could be more polarizing than anything we’ve seen. We have a lot of work to do to make sure that doesn’t happen.

**(42:21)**

David: For those of us who want to make an impact—whether as marketers, technologists, or others—what steps should we take to improve access?

Ashlee: Start by listening to and amplifying the voices of those who care about these issues. Have tough conversations in your own organizations and push for change. Ask yourself: if one person were responsible for shaping all AI outputs, what would that world look like? We need diverse inputs to avoid a one-dimensional AI future.

David: Well said. It reminds me of how Black Lives Matter made me realize the importance of raising these conversations in my own community. I didn’t have the language at first, but I learned to engage and encourage others to share their perspectives too.

Ashlee: Exactly. None of us will get it perfect every time, but if we start the conversation, we can make meaningful progress.