Taryn Southern

Taryn Southern is an artist, filmmaker, and creative technologist recognized for her contributions to entertainment and emerging technology. Southern began her career in entertainment as a semi-finalist on American Idol at age 17. After earning degrees in journalism and anthropology from the University of Miami, she transitioned to digital media, producing more than 1,500 internet videos over a decade and accumulating over 750 million views, establishing a significant presence in online content creation.

Southern sold a musical comedy pilot to MTV, co-hosted Discovery Channel's top late night show, guest-starred on primetime network television, and developed digital series for major brands. She also appeared on shows such as "New Girl," "Rules of Engagement," and "The League," and hosted specials including The American Music Awards Live, The Grammy's Red Carpet Live, and The X Factor Pre-Show.

Southern became the first solo artist to release a pop album composed and produced with artificial intelligence, advancing the integration of AI in music production. The album, "I AM AI," featured collaborations with AI software such as Amper Music, IBM's Watson Beat, Google's NSynth, and AIVA. Southern directed the AI software with creative input, arranged the resulting music, and wrote lyrics and vocal melodies. The debut song, "Break Free," reached the Top 100 radio charts and was streamed more than 10 million times. The single "Life Support" was nominated for a Streamy Award for Best Immersive Video for its integration of virtual reality with 2D video. The album received coverage from major media outlets and contributed to discussions about human-AI creative collaboration.

Southern expanded into documentary filmmaking by co-directing and producing the feature documentary "I AM HUMAN," which examines the co-evolution of the human brain and technology and follows three individuals with implantable brain-computer interfaces. "I AM HUMAN" received multiple awards, including Best of the Fest at El Dorado Film Festival, Audience Choice for Best Feature at Eastern Oregon Film Festival, Outstanding First Feature at Tallgrass Film Festival, Best Feature at Other Worlds Austin, and Best Director at Oslo Film Festival. Southern also created a Google VR series that combined virtual reality, blockchain, AI, and spatial computing, earning the AT&T Film Award.

As Chief Storyteller at an implantable neurotechnology company, Southern launched the first brain-computer interface museum and managed communications strategy for two funding rounds totaling over $230 million. She is a frequent keynote speaker on creativity and AI, presenting at organizations such as Deloitte, Google, Gartner, YouTube, and Salesforce, and at conferences including SXSW, The World AI Summit, VidCon, the New York Times Future of Work, Web Summit, The Next Web, and Near Future Festival. A three-time Streamy Awards nominee and AT&T Film Award recipient, Southern's work has been featured in Vanity Fair, Billboard, Fast Company, Wired, Forbes, Psychology Today, and Harvard Business Review. Her career spans viral YouTube content, AI-driven music, and neurotechnology storytelling, positioning her as a leading voice at the intersection of human creativity and emerging technology.