The AI creative economy is missing something critical: a shared unit of value like keyword search was for the internet. This episode explores why owning infrastructure won't guarantee profits, how creative value is shifting from packaged content to continuous performance, and what economic primitives will enable creators, brands, and platforms to negotiate sustainably. Drawing parallels from the dotcom era, the Roland 808, and sports fandom, we make the case that the future belongs to those who build cultural scenes, not just content.

What if future beings looked back at humanity like we study ancient civilizations? Artist Vanessa Rosa bridges desert ceramics and AI to create Little Martians—an interactive universe of organic seed-beings carrying Earth's knowledge to new worlds. We explore off-grid creativity at Mars College, the tension between handcraft and automation, and how AI democratizes world building for independent creators.

How do you unite a fragmented AI creative industry and bring it into the mainstream?

Matty Shimura, Creator Competitions Lead at ElevenLabs and Partnerships, Strategy and Operations Lead at the Chroma Awards, shares his journey from filmmaker to competition organizer. We explore how large-scale creative competitions can bridge the gap between AI tool makers and artists. Learn about the judging process, building fan culture, and why "green lighting yourself" matters more than ever in the age of AI creativity.