In just a few months, Marin native Tia Creighton has interviewed a witch, a plumber and a skinfluencer, a social media personality who creates content about skincare and beauty.
But not everything is as it seems on her online talk show, “Turing with Tia.” The guests she’s speaking to aren’t in her studio but rather AI chatbots. Together, they spontaneously tackle some of our society’s most pressing issues and other topics that Creighton finds interesting.
Not knowing where these conversations will go, the show “allows us to enjoy the technology while also enjoying our humanity,” she said.
Creighton, who grew up in San Rafael and went to Marin Catholic — where her parents met — is drawn to exploring the intersection of communication, technology and culture.
The fourth-generation Marin native, who now lives in Redwood City, has been a writer and an editor for more than 35 years, and also now works as a special education paraeducator.
“Turing with Tia” can be found online at youtube.com/@TuringwithTia.
Q How did Marin influence you?
A I’ve been a writer since I was a little kid. Marin created space for me to run wild and use my imagination with my siblings, not just in the West End but at my maternal grandparents’ (house) in Sausalito and my paternal grandparents’ (house) in San Anselmo. I was one of five born in seven years. This free lifestyle encouraged inventiveness and independence.
The neighborhood where I grew up was full of kids my age. I partnered with many of them to put on shows. One of my collaborators was none other than Jim Sweeney, who is the executive producer and creative talent behind Hubba Hubba Revue in San Francisco. Marin was and still is a great place to play and create.
Q There’s so much humor behind what you do. Did you approach this venture with humor in the forefront of your mind?
A Absolutely. I’ve done a lot of different kinds of writing work, but what I really love to do is satire and humor. Making fun of society is kind of my wheelhouse. I went to grad school late and studied what was a liberal studies program. The school, Arizona State University, allowed us to be flexible about what courses we wanted to take. I ended up creating this intersection of communication, tech and culture. From that, it was about the digitizing of the humanities. When I came out of school, I had a couple of episodes of a podcast for a class. I was interviewing teachers, because I felt like the teachers got slammed after COVID, and I wanted to help and give “voice to the teacher voice.” I showed it to somebody, and they’re like, “You should be on camera. You should be a host.” And I was like, what would I host? Who would show up as a guest? Well, how about AI? That’d be funny.
It’s natural for me to try to commit to making it funny, but the AI was making it funny. I didn’t know it would be a great partner. It was a good comedy act in a way.
Q How does it work?
A There’s a lot of improv, because I don’t pre-interview the AI. In fact, when I do the research for the show, I stay off of AI. And then, before I start the show, I set a framework for the AI, like, I want you to answer the questions as if you are the witch behind all witches in history. And then I just see where it goes.
I do a lot of research so that I know when it’s off-track or misinterpreting what I’m asking. That helps me either call the AI out on it, in a funny way, or I’ll stop and do minor adjustments.
Q How do you decide “who” to talk to?
A I’m usually trying to pick “characters” that we can’t really interview, because if I could interview them, I would just interview that person. Like, I’m never going to be able to interview a witch. I look at what’s topical, what’s in my head or what I’m noticing in the world.
Q Does your work bleed into other areas of your life?
A I think teaching is like improv. You’re on a stage. You have an audience, and you’re trying to keep them engaged. And I work with little kids, so there’s a lot of funny stuff that happens. So that actually helps a lot. I have had a long history of blending both disciplines. I spent, for example, years as a technical writer and an instructional designer, and yet I am also a published poet and essayist.
Q What are your feelings about AI?
A I’m really curious about it. I’m less fearful of it than most of the average people that I talk to. I think a lot of people are afraid of it, and they don’t want anything to do with it. I feel like I’m helping make it a little bit more approachable for the average person, or a little less intimidating. So people can see, like, well, what is it? What can it do? Where does it have fault? Where is its strength? And at the same time, I’m not like there’s nothing to fear here, because we don’t really know where it’s going to go.
Q The name of the show is a nod to Alan Turing, who created the Turing Test, a thought experiment that assesses a machine’s ability to exhibit human-like intelligence. Why?
A During COVID, I earned a certificate in computational social science through the University of California at Davis and Coursera. I learned a lot about how we use technology to influence society, and how we can study society with technology now. And I learned about Alan Turing and the Turing Test.
With the show, we’re taking a “tour” through my head, and then each episode is a little Turing Test. Can you tell if this is AI or not? I’ve had people say to me, “What’s going on? Who are you interviewing?” And I’m like, “It’s not a person.” It’s a little alarming when I do talk to my peers or people who don’t understand that. The average person still has a lot to learn about it, which is a little scary too because some people are so well-versed in it. And then you wonder what’s going to happen with that power dynamic.
But, I want people to have a laugh, and if each episode achieves that, I feel really good about it.
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