The Monday Media Diet with Isabelle Levent

Isabelle Levant (IL) was introduced to us by MMD alum Sari Azout. I thought her studies and background were fascinating and I am delighted to welcome her to WITI. -Colin (CJN)

Tell us about yourself.

I’m a senior at Stanford studying Symbolic Systems, a combination of computer science, philosophy, psychology, and linguistics. My focus is human-centered AI. In college, I fell into the world of tech and startups. I’ve done AI ethics research and run a working group exploring the impact of generative AI on creative fields. Before this, I directed/produced short films, mainly documentaries, one of which was an investigation of minimalism in Gen Z and premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Most recently, my focus has been on understanding how generative AI is changing the way we create and consume culture through an interview series, and I just started as a product intern at Evvy. 

I ask a lot of questions, speed walk, and own two typewriters. I believe story is at the core of everything and that museums are sacred spaces. The most unusual job I’ve had is working on large TV sets as a production assistant—among other things, I directed traffic.

I’m currently asking myself what creative work looks like to me (building products? making films? writing?).  Am I a creative in the tech world? A technologist in the creative? Figuring it out. 

Describe your media diet. 

My media consumption volleys between focused (topic-based deep dives or excavations of one author/ researcher) and arbitrary (whatever interesting I happen to come across). I have a few themes and big questions in the back of my mind—when I see something relevant, it goes to the top of my reading list. 

Longform is my go-to podcast. I’m obsessed with rituals and craft, and love hearing about writers’ journeys. I also listen to the Ezra Klein Show, Odd Lots, RadioLab, More Perfect. I discovered Normal Gossip a few months ago—the format is clever and the content is hilarious. I’m subscribed to a ton of newsletters, many compilations of other interesting links. Some I read weekly or biweekly; others I comb through when I’m looking for inspiration. A few highlights: Flux Review, Reboot, Startupy, Naive Weekly, Aeon. 

I love short films. Every so often I peruse Short of the Week and New York Times Op Docs. If you’re an Everywhere Everything All At Once fan, Short of the Week has a fascinating history of the directors’ work. 

I also read a lot of AI and human-computer interaction research, especially when I’m preparing for an interview with someone in the field. I have a few researchers I follow and then I fall down a citation rabbit hole.  

What’s the last great book you read? The Immortal King Rao by Vauhini Vara. 

What are you reading now? I’m perpetually between several books. I’m making my way through Nonrequired Reading by Wisława Szymborska a few essays at a time, and I just started The Empathy Diaries: A Memoir by Sherry Turkle. 

What’s your reading strategy when you pick up a print copy of your favorite publication?

In the New Yorker I immediately turn to Tables for Two. Food first! In middle school, I ran a dessert blog, which was mostly an excuse to try every bakery and sweet shop in NYC.  

Who should everyone be reading that they’re not?

In AI, I would read Rishi Bosammini’s research and writing—I met him at the Stanford Center for Research on Foundation Models and hugely admire the work he does around the societal impact of AI. Generally, I think we should all be reading more about friendship: Big Friendship and this NYT article on texting friends come to mind.

What is the best non-famous app you love on your phone? 

Robin Sloan’s “Fish: A Tap Essay.” Technically, it’s an essay/ book/text, but it exists as an <10 minute app experience, depending on how long you linger. At the heart of the piece is the question: what does it mean to love something (on the internet)?

Plane or train?

Planes for practical reasons and because after multiple trips between New York and Stanford they’ve become a liminal space, perfect for untethered thinking. 

What is one place everyone should visit? 

Yukon, Canada. Robert Service describes the land beautifully in his poem “The Spell of the Yukon”: 

“It’s the great, big, broad land ’way up yonder,/It’s the forests where silence has lease;/It’s the beauty that thrills me with wonder,/It’s the stillness that fills me with peace.”

Tell us the story of a rabbit hole you fell deep into. 

Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the Los Altos laboratory during World War II. I was writing a character who regretted her invention and was looking for a reference text or voice. I also discovered Thomas Midgley who developed Freon-12 and leaded gasoline, but didn’t live long enough to see the devastating impact of his work. (IL)

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