180. Crafting Ethical AI Worlds with Abigail Hing Wen
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About this episode
“I try to write worlds that I believe are attainable and that I think we can aspire towards.” - Abigail Hing Wen
In this future‑forward episode of How To Write The Future, host Beth Barany chats with author‑filmmaker Abigail Hing Wen about The Vale — a middle‑grade fantasy where a family builds a clean, AI‑generated virtual world. They get into why ethical AI matters for storytellers, what “clean AI” looks like, and the real‑world tradeoffs creators face as tech evolves.
- Why ethical AI matters for writers and readers
- What “clean AI” means: trained on your work and public‑domain classics
- Craft meets tech: worldbuilding across book, short film, and Roblox
- Practical questions around indemnification, settlements, and building responsibly
ABOUT ABIGAIL HING WEN
Abigail Hing Wen is an author, film producer and director as well as former tech executive. She is the New York Times best selling author of multiple novels for young people, including Loveboat, Taipei, which has been adapted as the movie Love in Taipei, now on Netflix. Abigail served as an executive producer and on set during production. Abigail is directing her first short film starring Lea Salonga, a prequel to her middle grade debut THE VALE, coming September 2025, and featuring an inventor family that builds an AI generated virtual world. She serves on the board of Harvardwood and as a judge for the 2025 Golden Trailer Awards recognizing the industry’s most outstanding film trailers.
Abigail is a frequent keynote speaker for young people, including Y’Allfest, US Presidential Scholars, and the Los Altos High Writer's Week, as well as libraries, colleges, schools and bookstores around the country. She’s also given keynotes and fireside chats for the National Conference of State Legislatures, Meta, Google, Paramount, Paypal and other companies, and spoken on panels at SDCC, LACC, LA Times Festival of Books and ALA.
Website: www.abigailhingwen.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abigailhingwen/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/search?q=abigailhingwen
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigailhingwen/
RESOURCES: GET HELP WITH YOUR WORLD BUILDING - START HERE
Free World Building Workbook for Fiction Writers: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/world-building-resources/
- SHOW PRODUCTION BY Beth Barany
- SHOW CO-PRODUCTION + NOTES by Kerry-Ann McDade
- EDITORIAL SUPPORT by Iman Llompart
c. 2025 BETH BARANY
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EDITED WITH DESCRIPT (Affiliate link)
MUSIC: Uppbeat.io
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