Community in conversation.

For more than a decade, Penumbra’s Let’s Talk Series has created space for compassionate and challenging conversations about wide-ranging topics that affect our community, from racial healing to community health. Hosted by Sarah Bellamy, each event begins at 6:00pm with a reception followed by a 90-minute presentation and discussion at 7:00pm.

Afrofuturism and the Ethics of Generative AI
May 4, 2026

Afrofuturism has long been a space for Black artists to dream of alternative futures where Black life and culture thrive, using technology as a means to leap across time, shed vestiges of the past, and realize a liberated future. As generative AI makes powerful advancements, join us as we contemplate the implications of this nascent technology on our future, both mystical and mathematical.

Hear from a distinguished panel of artists, scholars, and technologists: Dr. Elizabeth M. Adams, global leader in responsible AI strategy; Jazsalyn, artist and technologist exploring Ancestral Intelligence; Dr. Fayola Jacobs, Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs; and Miko Simmons, an award-winning multimedia artist working at the intersection of performance and technology.

Meet the Panelists!

Sarah Bellamy, Penumbra President
Sarah is President of Penumbra, where she leads the organization’s work in racial healing. She is a stage director, writer, scholar, and professor. Her recent directing work at Penumbra includes Spittin’ Seeds, Sugar in Our Wounds, and for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf. As a writer, Bellamy focuses on essays, memoir, plays, and short stories. Bellamy is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and holds an M.A. in the Humanities from the University of Chicago. She has taught at Macalester College and the University of Minnesota, and served as Visiting Professor of Theatre and Culture at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. A respected facilitator around issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion, Bellamy has led coalition-building efforts to address inequities in philanthropy and theatre. She is also a skilled and dynamic public speaker, offering audiences fresh, big-hearted, and courageous perspectives on a wide range of topics. Her lectures on the power of race and representation have been presented across the country. Bellamy is a founding member of the Twin Cities Theatres of Color Coalition and has served on the Board of Directors for Theatre Communications Group as a member of its executive committee. She has been widely recognized for her work and has received numerous honors, including a 2015 Bush Fellowship and the Hubert H. Humphrey Public Leadership Award. She currently serves on the board of The Jerome Foundation and is the proud mother of two beautiful children.

Elizabeth M. Adams: Responsible AI Strategist & Global Thought Leader
Dr. Elizabeth M. Adams is a global authority in responsible AI strategy, shaping how leaders implement artificial intelligence with purpose, integrity, and systemic impact. Her work spans global stages, translating ethical AI from theory into scalable, values-driven practice. A TEDx speaker and LinkedIn Top Voice, she has received numerous honors including the She Shapes AI Thought Leadership Award and recognition from Forbes as one of the “15 AI Ethics Leaders Showing the World the Way of the Future.” In 2025, she was appointed Visiting Scholar at Umeå University’s AI Policy Lab in Sweden, where she collaborates on global AI policy and research.

Fayola Jacobs: Urban Planning Scholar & Environmental Policy Expert
Dr. Fayola Jacobs is an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs, specializing in environmental planning, climate change, and urban policy. Her research examines disaster mitigation and planning through a Black feminist lens, centering equity, race, and systemic impact. Prior to her academic career, she facilitated anti-oppression workshops focused on migration, racism, and mental health. Her work bridges policy, community engagement, and critical frameworks for understanding how systems shape lived experience.

Miko Simmons: Multimedia Artist & Projection Designer
Miko Simmons is an internationally recognized multimedia artist and projection designer whose work spans theater, film, animation, and live performance. With over 25 years of experience, he has collaborated with leading institutions including the The Kennedy Center, Guthrie Theater, and Minnesota Opera. His work explores the convergence of media, music, and storytelling, creating immersive visual environments that expand the boundaries of performance. Simmons continues to innovate at the intersection of technology and artistic expression on both national and international stages.

Jazsalyn: Artist & Technologist, Ancestral Intelligence
Jazsalyn is an artist and technologist whose work explores Ancestral Intelligence, a framework that examines early knowledge systems, philosophies, and traditions passed through Indigenous and diasporic communities. Through immersive installations, game engines, and machine learning, her projects—including Natal Dimension and the RPX / REIMAGINE Prototype series—reimagine lost and fragmented histories. As the founder of Black Beyond, she creates experimental spaces where artists and cultural workers envision alternate realities for Black life, blending technology, memory, and speculative futures.