Research

My research sits at the intersection of creative writing, artificial intelligence, and digital humanities, exploring how computational creativity can emerge from deeply human foundations while maintaining transparency and ethical integrity. I investigate how AI systems, far from being purely computational, are fundamentally shaped by human creativity, curation, and collaboration at every stage of development.

Through both critical analysis and creative practice, I develop innovative methodologies that address the growing need for transparency in AI-assisted creative work. My approach centers on training custom AI models exclusively on original human-authored datasets, thereby avoiding the ethical complications of using others’ copyrighted work while creating clear provenance for resulting creative outputs. This methodology allows me to document the entire creative process—from initial human authorship through AI training to collaborative curation—making visible the human elements that shape computational creativity.

This work directly engages with urgent questions about authorship, intellectual property, and creative agency in the age of AI. I am particularly focused on developing practical solutions that enable creators to maintain copyright protection while benefiting from AI collaboration, and ensuring that these technologies serve to democratize rather than concentrate creative power. By combining rigorous documentation methodologies with experimental creative practice, my research provides concrete frameworks for courts, creators, and policymakers navigating the complex landscape of AI-assisted creativity.

In addition to my academic research, I am developing a series of public humanities essays that examine AI ethics from both theoretical and practical perspectives, making complex technological and legal questions accessible to broader audiences and contributing to public discourse about the role of artificial intelligence in creative expression.

Through projects completed at The Digital Scholarship Center at The University of Cincinnati and Yale University Press, I continue to bridge the gap between technological innovation and humanistic inquiry, demonstrating that thoughtful AI collaboration can enhance rather than replace human creativity.

Current Research Projects

My current research encompasses two interconnected projects that demonstrate this approach in practice. Through “Our Sun Bear Paws,” I explore AI-human poetic dialogue by creating a custom model trained on 500 of my own original poems, resulting in a manuscript that makes transparent the collaborative relationship between human and artificial intelligence. Simultaneously, my “Your Own Voice, For Everyone” research develops systematic frameworks for transparent AI collaboration, addressing critical questions about documentation practices, copyright law, and equitable access to AI tools in creative contexts.

“Our Sun Bear Paws”

This creative dissertation demonstrates AI-human collaborative poetry through a custom model trained exclusively on my original work, creating transparent documentation of the entire creative process while exploring questions of authorship.

“Your Own Voice, For Everyone”

A research framework addressing systematic approaches to transparent AI collaboration, copyright protection, and equitable access to AI tools in creative contexts, providing practical guidelines for creators, policymakers, and legal professionals.