Lee Ackerman

Lee Ackerman

This paper introduces the Creative Intelligence Loop (CIL), a novel socio-technical framework for responsible human-AI co-creation. Rooted in the 'Workflow as Medium' paradigm, the CIL proposes a disciplined structure for dynamic human-AI collaboration, guiding the strategic integration of diverse AI teammates who function as collaborators while the human remains the final arbiter for ethical alignment and creative integrity. The CIL was empirically demonstrated through the practice-led creation of two graphic novellas, investigating how AI could serve as an effective creative colleague within a subjective medium lacking objective metrics. The process required navigating multifaceted challenges including AI's 'jagged frontier' of capabilities, sycophancy, and attention-scarce feedback environments. This prompted iterative refinement of teaming practices, yielding emergent strategies: a multi-faceted critique system integrating adversarial AI roles to counter sycophancy, and prioritizing 'feedback-ready' concrete artifacts to elicit essential human critique. The resulting graphic novellas analyze distinct socio-technical governance failures: 'The Steward' examines benevolent AI paternalism in smart cities, illustrating how algorithmic hubris can erode freedom; 'Fork the Vote' probes democratic legitimacy by comparing centralized AI opacity with emergent collusion in federated networks. This work contributes a self-improving framework for responsible human-AI co-creation and two graphic novellas designed to foster AI literacy and dialogue through accessible narrative analysis of AI's societal implications.

Lee Ackerman

As artificial intelligence (AI) systems rapidly gain autonomy, the need for robust responsible AI frameworks becomes paramount. This paper investigates how organizations perceive and adapt such frameworks amidst the emerging landscape of increasingly sophisticated agentic AI. Employing an interpretive qualitative approach, the study explores the lived experiences of AI professionals. Findings highlight that the inherent complexity of agentic AI systems and their responsible implementation, rooted in the intricate interconnectedness of responsible AI dimensions and the thematic framework (an analytical structure developed from the data), combined with the novelty of agentic AI, contribute to significant challenges in organizational adaptation, characterized by knowledge gaps, a limited emphasis on stakeholder engagement, and a strong focus on control. These factors, by hindering effective adaptation and implementation, ultimately compromise the potential for responsible AI and the realization of ROI.