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The Futur with Chris Do

Inside the Future of AI Creativity w/ Don Allen Stevenson III | Ep 402

The Futur with Chris Do

The Futur

Business, Arts, Education, Self-improvement, Marketing, Design

4.9 • 998 Ratings

🗓️ 4 December 2025

⏱️ 81 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode, Chris Do sits down with futurist and creative AI researcher Don Allen Stevenson III for a wide-ranging conversation on emerging technology, spatial computing, and how subjective realities will reshape the way humans interact with the world. Don shares his journey from DreamWorks Animation to becoming a leading voice on accessible creativity, discussing the tools, interfaces, and philosophies that drive his work. They explore how animation-style thinking can change how people learn, create, and communicate visually. Chris and Don also dig into the emotional, ethical, and cultural implications of AI-powered technologies and the personal stories that fuel Don’s mission. Timestamps (00:00) — Intro(04:12) — Bob Ross influence explained(08:58) — Subjective reality breakdown(13:47) — Shared whiteboard in mixed reality(18:15) — Facial recognition future tools(22:03) — Bias, avatars, and public perception(26:44) — Social signaling and safety cues(31:20) — Futurist optimism vs realism(36:02) — Ethical concerns in AI progress(40:55) — Tech companies and IP conflicts(45:12) — Government pressure and innovation race(49:58) — Identity, profiling, and digital overlays(54:37) — Memory augmentation through wearables(59:16) — Practical vs dystopian use cases(01:03:40) — Human inconsistency with privacy(01:08:12) — Convenience tipping points for adoption(01:12:47) — Safety, misuse, and large-scale risks(01:16:25) — Why sub-optimism shapes the future(01:20:10) — Final thoughts on ethical tech Check out today's guest, Don Allen Stevenson III: LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/donalleniii/ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.donalleniii.me/ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/donalleniii/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DonAllenIII Check out The Futur: Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.thefutur.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Courses: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.thefutur.com/shop⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Linkedin: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-futur/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thefutur.com/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thefuturishere/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/theFuturisHere/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ X : ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/thefuturishere⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@thefuturishere⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/thefuturishere⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out Chris Do: LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/thechrisdo/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/BizOfDesign⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.instagram.com/thechrisdo/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ X:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://x.com/thechrisdo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@thechrisdo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Threads: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.threads.net/@thechrisdo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Behance: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.behance.net/chrisdo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

I met my next guest in all places, Dubai.

0:03.1

And some people are saying Dubai is where the future is at.

0:05.6

And so it seemed pretty appropriate that I'm speaking to my newfound friend, Don,

0:09.4

who's at the cutting edge of like all things AI.

0:14.0

This is Don Allen Stevens in the third, and you're listening to The Future.

0:20.8

There are a lot of people who do AI things,

0:23.2

but then I find them not to be super practical.

0:25.7

And very rarely do I find it to be artistic things

0:28.2

that are done with an aesthetic edge and an eye.

0:30.9

Don, you're the exception to that.

0:32.7

And I want to get into your background.

0:34.4

And once people understand that,

0:35.7

we're going to talk about the now and the future. Don, welcome to the show. Chris, thank you so much. Delighted to be here. Very excited

0:42.3

for our chat. Wonderful. So for people who don't know who you are, Don, can you please introduce

0:46.9

yourself and tell us a little bit about your backstory? Yeah, so my name's Don. I'm a creative

0:51.5

AI research lead. I used to teach all the software at DreamWorks

0:55.5

animation for many years, getting people into the animation studio for feature animations. And then

1:00.8

I decided to kind of resign, go freelance. And now I try to be kind of like a Bob Ross character

1:06.2

of futuristic technologies. What does that mean? We know who Bob Ross is, but how do you see your connection with him as it relates to AI? Yeah, well, you know how Bob Ross? Like, he always makes stuff very approachable. He communicates at a pace that's relatable and makes it feel like anyone can be a part of it. I try to do that, but for like AI and creativity and tech. So I didn't know at the time, but I did actually grow up in an age when I could actually

1:29.7

watch Bob Ross and BBS.

1:32.0

And it was something about him.

1:33.4

He was a little goofy, older gentleman, very soft-spoken.

...

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