Support Karen Kilroy’s Cancer Fight and Creative Legacy

Hi, I’m Dalek, and I’m raising funds for my mom, Karen Kilroy—an award-winning AI engineer, author, educator, artist, and musician. She’s a force of nature: generous, inventive, and fiercely devoted to building a better world. Right now, she’s facing the hardest battle of her life.

Karen has been diagnosed with a rare, aggressive form of stage 3 cervical cancer. She’s already undergone major surgery and is now in the middle of six weeks of daily radiation and weekly chemotherapy—intensive treatment five days a week that is physically and emotionally exhausting. After this phase, she will begin a full year of immunotherapy, a cutting-edge approach that helps her body keep fighting well beyond the initial treatments.

Despite all this, my mom is still showing up for her mission. She was recently accepted into the Builders + Backers fellowship to launch a project called PayBots.AI—a revolutionary way to ensure everyday people are paid for their memories, stories, and lived experiences. Her project turns memories into value by paying people $1 per minute to record stories that can help teach AI systems to “remember” like humans. It's already catching the attention of global AI film companies, and could redefine how people contribute to the data economy—ethically and with dignity.

She’s doing all of this while undergoing cancer treatment. She hasn’t stopped giving. Not even now.

Karen’s entire life has been about lifting others. She built NYX NoCode to help students create with AI without needing to code. She’s volunteered with global technical standards bodies to stop AI deepfakes and protect creators. She helped found and coach one of the first breast cancer survivor dragon boat teams, and later volunteered with blind and visually impaired students, teaching them the power of unity and motion on the water. She's steered boats, startups, and standards—always with compassion.

Just two years ago, while already experiencing the early symptoms of cancer, Karen began studying piano at the University of Arkansas. She learned to read music and continued creating art and music, bringing her joy and light to every space she entered—classroom, stage, hospital, or home.

Now it's our turn to lift her.

This fundraiser will help cover:

Life-saving cancer treatments and medications

Rent, groceries, and basic living expenses during treatment

Transportation to daily medical appointments

Continued access to the creative and technical tools that fuel her healing and her work

If you’ve ever been moved by Karen’s work or her spirit, this is your moment to stand with her. If you can give—thank you. If not, sharing this with your community can make all the difference.

Let’s surround her with the same love and energy she’s given to the world.

With gratitude and love,

Dalek

(for Karen Kilroy—my mom, the innovator, the artist, the dragon boat warrior, and the heart of our family)