Human Authored: Ownership in the Age of AI
Lo Smith, Michael Downs with Marceline White moderating
Glass Classroom
Maryland Center for History and Culture
610 Park Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21201

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“All art was about one thing and one thing only: what it meant to be human in the world.”

If art is about the human experience, is it still art if the human author is removed? Artificial intelligence is here, but should it be? From large language learning models trained on authors’ works, to the recent cancellation of the horror novel Shy Girl for using AI to poets’ use of LLM models as a constraint to generate experimental poems, this session will discuss the role of AI in the creative writing process. From classrooms to small presses, what questions should we ask, what precautions should we take, and what future should we be creating in a world where Silicon Valley tech titans say AI is inevitable? Michael Downs works in literary fiction and nonfiction and is the author of three books. He also serves on the boards of the Baltimore Review and The Good Contrivance Farm Writer’s Retreat. Lo Smith is an internet evangelist, digital equity specialist, librarian, and fiber artist living and working in Baltimore, MD. Their work in public libraries and digital skills instruction has balanced the positive and negative impacts of the digital world on society, arts, and culture.  Moderator Marceline White is a poet, essayist, and activist living in Baltimore. By day, she leads Economic Action, a statewide nonprofit focused on economic rights, housing justice, and equity. She has been engaged in policy advocacy around AI use for the past few years. Michael Downs works in literary fiction and nonfiction, is the author of three books, and a 2026 Baker Artist Literary Finalist. He also serves on the boards of the Baltimore Review and The Good Contrivance Farm Writer’s Retreat. Lo Smith (they/them) is an internet evangelist, librarian, gardener, and fiber artist in Baltimore. Marceline White is a Baltimore-based writer and activist whose writing has appeared or is forthcoming in Pangyrus, Consequence, SWWIM, The Ekphrastic Review, trampset, yolk,  Prime Number, The Orchard Review, The Indianapolis Review, Atticus Review, and others.

https://authorsguild.org/news/human-authored-certification-expands-to-all-authors/

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/books/shy-girl-book-ai.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

Visit the News Section for detailed information.

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CityLit Project in partnership with Maryland Center for History and Culture present Bearing Witness: Literature as a Revolutionary Act. This celebration of the arts showcases a bevy of leading poets and writers on April 11, 2026. We’re talking fiction, nonfiction, poetry galore, and ways to up the ante on your craft.

Download the CityLit Festival: Bearing Witness flyer with the schedule.

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