36: Stephanie Dinkins—AI, Memory & Survival with Peter Bauman

In this episode, host Peter Bauman (Le Random’s editor in chief) speaks with transdisciplinary artist Stephanie Dinkins about AI as a container for preserving oral history, tradition, and the kinds of community knowledge that rarely make it onto the internet.Dinkins shares how a chance encounter with Bina48 in 2014 reshaped her practice. They discuss how this connects to her push for small, community-driven data that protects nuance and self-definition, especially for Black and Brown communities, against the homogenizing pull of large corporate models.They also cover Not the Only One as a “living archive” of family memory, the politics of access, privacy, and consent, and why Dinkins treats imagination (and hyperstition) as a practical method for building the AI futures we actually want.Monday's editorial (Beeple on Robot Dogs as Canvas): https://www.lerandom.art/editorial/beeple-on-robot-dogs-as-canvasChapters 📖:[00:00:03]: Intro: Le Random podcast, Beeple, Stephanie Dinkins[00:03:40]: Play, exploration, and academic freedom[00:07:02]: Meeting Bina48 changes everything[00:12:31]: Small data versus homogenizing big data[00:18:35]: Worldbuilding, autonomy, and Not The Only One[00:24:57]: Using AI to preserve family ethos[00:31:53]: Prompting against algorithmic whitening[00:39:05]: Beyond fear: engagement and agency[00:45:42]: Students’ use, negotiation, and deep work[00:50:27]: Surfing change and lifelong learning