In this solo episode of Talking Tech with Creatives, Stella Oni steps back from her guest conversations to ask a question that increasingly sits at the heart of the creative industries:

As technology becomes more capable, where does the human sit in the creative process?

From music and entrepreneurship to publishing, podcasting and professional work, technology is making it possible to create, produce and distribute work faster than ever. But greater access also brings new questions about originality, discoverability, authenticity, ownership and creative rights.

Stella looks at the writing world and recent controversies surrounding alleged generative-AI use in publishing. She asks: How should publishers establish whether a work is human-authored? How reliable are accusations of AI use? And could some writers and writing voices face greater suspicion than others?

The episode also explores the work being done by organisations including the Society of Authors, ALCS, the Authors Guild and the Alliance of Independent Authors, and why Stella believes consent, licensing and compensation must remain central to the conversation about AI and creative work.

She also reflects on her own boundaries as a novelist, technical writer, lecturer, speaker and podcaster — and why the difficult, imperfect process of creating fiction herself remains something she wants to protect.

Plus, there are updates from Stella’s writing world, the Lara’s Detective Agency stories, the Toks Ade Mystery series and her University of Cambridge PACE crime-writing course.

The question isn’t simply what technology can do. It is what we want technology to do — and who we choose to be alongside it.

Links & Resources

Short Story: Case No. 1

Stella Oni — The Case of the Missing Body

Just days before Christmas, Lara Ayodele is given forty-eight hours to locate the missing body of a powerful chief before his family arrives and a scandal erupts. It is a gripping story of power, silence, and buried secrets.

https://books2read.com/u/3LPav7

https://amzn.eu/d/0ea2opSD

https://a.co/d/03GDtVb5

Breaking the Case: Crime Writing — University of Cambridge PACE

https://www.pace.cam.ac.uk/courses/breaking-case-art-and-craft-crime-fiction

Tim Ferriss

https://tim.blog/2026/06/12/has-ai-already-killed-nonfiction/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

The Creative Penn Podcast

https://www.thecreativepenn.com/the-creative-penn-podcast-for-authors/

Society of Author

https://humanauthored.co.uk/

Author Licensing Collection Agency (ALCS)

https://www.alcs.co.uk/

Authors Guild

https://authorsguild.org/

Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLI)

https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/

Professor Jason Arday — Great and Unfortunate Things

https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/Great-and-Unfortunate-Things/Jason-Arday/9781398542747

In this episode of Talking Tech with Creatives, I speak with singer-songwriter Kemi Obafemi, known professionally as Kemy Music, about her debut single, African Woman.

Kemi shares how her love of music began through listening before she started singing in church, leading a choir and writing songs. She also speaks openly about experiencing an abusive marriage and explains how music became her safe space, gave her purpose and helped her find the strength to move forward.

That experience became an important part of the story behind African Woman. Kemi explains why she insisted on releasing the song as her first single, though others in the music industry advised her to begin with something more commercial.

For Kemi, African Woman represents the beauty, courage, resilience and strength of women, particularly African women who continue to pursue their dreams despite the obstacles placed before them.

We also discuss the influence of Fela Kuti, the challenges facing female artists in the African music industry, the importance of remaining authentic and the realities of building a career as an independent musician.

Kemi talks about her previous experience of being signed to a record label, what emerging artists should consider before signing a contract and why having money is not enough if a label does not have the right team or a clear plan for the artist.

We explore the role of technology and artificial intelligence in music. Kemi explains how she uses AI tools to experiment with melodies, sounds, instruments and arrangements, while maintaining that technology should assist the artist rather than replace human creativity.

We talk about community, music distribution, preserving the legacy of African musicians and Kemy’s advice to young creatives: understand your purpose, remain original and use technology to amplify who you already are.

Listen to African Woman by Kemy Music on the major streaming platforms.

Listen to African Woman: Songdis

Follow Kemy Music:

Instagram: @kemymusic

Youtube: @kemymusicofficial

Content note: This episode includes a non-graphic discussion of domestic abuse.

Follow me: @stellaoni_official

What happens when anyone can generate beautiful images?

In this episode of Talking Tech with Creatives, I speak with London-based director and VFX artist Anthony Rubinstein about AI, filmmaking, visual effects and the future of creative work.

Anthony describes AI as a third way of making pixels. First, we captured images with cameras. Then we built worlds through CGI and VFX. Now, we can generate visuals through AI.

But the deeper question is not just what AI can produce.

It is what happens to mastery, taste, intention and the human creative process when the tools become this powerful.

We also talk about commercial creativity, working with global brands, celebrity campaigns, social media overwhelm, China and America’s AI race, and why real-world human experience may become even more valuable in the age of AI.

Listen to the full episode of Talking Tech with Creatives wherever you get your podcasts, or watch on YouTube.

In this episode of Talking Tech with Creatives, Stella Oni speaks with Ugandan writer and filmmaker Dilman Dila about storytelling, African folklore, speculative futures, filmmaking, and creative independence.

Dilman shares how oral storytelling, Ugandan myths, night dancers, African knowledge systems and self-taught filmmaking shaped his work. He also discusses why he prefers independent platforms, crowdfunding, open-source tools and direct audience connection over traditional gatekeepers.

The conversation explores art, technology, AI, African spirituality, visual storytelling, YouTube, PeerTube, Patreon, and what it means to build a sustainable creative life on your own terms.

Dilman Dila

Website

https://www.dilmandila.com/

Mastodon

https://mograph.social/@dilmandila

Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/dilstories

• Melody’s journey from music producer to founder
• The real problems African artists face with royalties
• Why Songdis was created
• Record labels versus distribution platforms
• Payments, ownership and control
• Building African tech for African creatives
• AI, infrastructure and the future of music on the continent

In this solo episode of Talking Tech with Creatives, I share what stood out to me from attending the London Book Fair, especially around publishing, technology, discoverability, and the future of books.

I reflect on the UK government’s controversial AI copyright proposal, the strong pushback from the creative industries, and why this matters so much for writers and anyone building an audience.

I also talk through some of the most interesting ideas I picked up from the fair: why print is still holding strong, why readers are moving back towards more physical and comforting experiences, and why authors now need to think about General Engine Optimization (GEO) and beyond SEO and pay attention to how AI-driven search is changing discoverability.

This is an episode for writers, creatives, and publishing watchers who want to understand where things are going and how to stay visible in a changing landscape.

Episode 13 - Navigating the digitak shift - Insights on writing seo and ai with Abidemi Sanusi

https://talkingtechwithcreatives.com/episode/navigating-the-digital-shift-insights-on-writing-seo-and-ai-with-abidemi-sanusi

Schema.Org

https://schema.org/

ISSN 2978-8307

Dr Kadija George Sesay has spent decades championing Black writers, preserving overlooked stories, and building Pan-African literary networks that stretch across continents. In this rich conversation, I sit down with her to explore what it really means to decolonise the bookshelf and ensure that our stories are not only published, but preserved for future generations.

Kadija speaks about founding Sable LitMag, curating festivals such as the International Black Speculative Writing Festival, and her extensive work with radical independent presses. She explains how Pan-Africanism operates in practice, why independent publishing and ownership are crucial, and how collective memory and community gatherings help us keep our histories alive.

We also discuss how technology, online platforms, and now AI can support preservation and access without losing the heart of the work. Kadija shares her excitement about her upcoming Fulbright journey to the United States, her ongoing research into Black publishers and Pan-Africanism, and what she hopes future readers and scholars will discover about the Black writing emerging today.

If you care about literature, archives, cultural memory, or how our stories survive in a rapidly changing world, this episode offers a powerful and generous masterclass.

If you enjoyed the episode, consider sharing it with someone who loves books, archives, or Black history.

• LinkedIn:

  https://www.linkedin.com/in/kadija-sesay-00323b4/

• Interview on Africa in Words:

  https://africainwords.com/2022/03/23/qa-scholar-activist-kadija-sesay-on-afripoetree/

• Review of the International Black Speculative Writing Festival (Vector Magazine):

  https://vector-bsfa.com/2024/02/27/review-of-the-international-black-speculative-writing-festival-2024/

• About me:

  https://stellaonithewriter.com/about/

• Podcast website:

  https://talkingtechwithcreatives.com/episodes

• Substack:

  https://stellaoni.substack.com/

• YouTube:

  https://www.youtube.com/@TalkingTechWithCreatives

• LinkedIn:

  https://www.linkedin.com/in/stella-oni-065788140/

Thank you for reading and listening. I hope this episode leaves you thinking about your own role in preserving stories, and the ways you can share what you know with the people coming after you.

ISSN 2978-8307

In this episode, I speak with Hamid Ibrahim, creator and production designer of Iwaju, the groundbreaking Afro-futuristic series produced in collaboration between Kugali Media and Disney. We dive into his journey from portrait artist, to Hollywood VFX work on films such as The Lion King, Dumbo and Doctor Dolittle, to building one of the most important African creative IP houses of our time.

Hamid shares the origins of Iwaju, how a BBC interview unexpectedly led Disney to their door, and what it took to build a futuristic Lagos that resonated globally. We talk about African IP, ownership, investment, the realities of raising funds as an African founder, and why authentic stories still matter in an age increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.

If you care about African storytelling, animation, technology, creativity or the future of global IP, this conversation offers valuable insight.

Highlights:

• How Kugali Media caught the attention of Disney

• The making of Iwaju and its cultural impact

• African IP as a global asset

• The business realities behind storytelling

• AI and what it can and cannot replace

• Why meaning and authenticity still matter

• Building creative businesses without a roadmap

Guest Links:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamidibrahimportfolio

Instagram (Kugali): https://www.instagram.com/kugalimedia

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/hamid-ibrahim-564892a7

Twitter: https://x.com/hamid_portfolio

My Links:

About Stella: https://stellaonithewriter.com/about

Podcast Website: https://talkingtechwithcreatives.com/episodes

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TalkingTechWithCreatives

Substack: https://stellaoni.substack.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stella-oni-065788140

ISSN 2978-8307