From Clay to Code: Building Worlds with Ancient Art and AI

Bernie Su is genuinely unique in that most of his creative projects have been the first of their kind. First YouTube series to win a Primetime Emmy Award. The most decorated scripted drama built for Twitch that won a Webby, a Peabody, and an Emmy Award. Now he's back with Whispers — a live, AI-driven detective series where theater audiences rewrite scenes in real time by messaging with their smartphones. In this conversation, Bernie explains the difference between giving an audience choices and making them an integral character in the drama itself. He walks us through what happens between a phone prompt from the audience ("a whisper") and an animated scene appearing on screen. Finally, Bernie details why closing the feedback loop between audience and story at AI speed is the most important shift happening in entertainment right now.

Adrienne Lahens has spent 15 years building the systems that connect creators, brands, and technology — from BuzzFeed's native advertising era, through scaling TikTok's creator marketplace across 24 markets, to launching TikTok Symphony and founding Infinite Studios, an AI-native content platform. In this conversation, Adrienne unpacks why "creative is the new targeting," how brands are misapplying AI by chasing tools instead of building systems, and what she means by a creative storytelling infrastructure powered by AI. Plus: the three human skills she believes will be most valuable over the next decade.

Tyler Hochman, CEO of Fore Enterprise and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, discusses how companies move beyond "motor swap" AI adoption to true transformation. Using examples from dubbing studios, sports analytics, and creative production, Tyler reveals what separates failed AI experiments from measurable ROI. Learn about the data cost problem, the emerging "prompt engineer" role, and why human-AI collaboration works best when we understand what AI actually does today vs. what we hope it will do tomorrow.

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.

Culture & Code speaks with Asa Bailey, founder of Bailey Creative Group and the architect behind the Digital Acquisition Verification Engine (DAVE). Specially designed for filmmakers bringing AI into their workflows, the DAVE system automatically tracks creative human inputs and AI inputs side by side, documenting provenance and providing an audit trail filmmakers need to turn creative ideas and performances into protected, monetizable IP. From live-action shoots to AI-generated scenes, Bailey shows how to use technology to lock in authorship and ownership in real time. We cover virtual production workflows, copyright life before and after Gen AI, plus the shift toward entertainment properties built as living, expandable worlds more than discrete titles or volumes. Essential listening for creators and technologists shaping the future of storytelling and intellectual property.

In August 2023, Culture & Code launched with a manifesto declaring AI as a new creative medium. Two years later, we examine what predictions came true and what surprised us. Drawing parallels between AI creativity and the underground music scenes that birthed hip-hop and electronic music, we explore why AI storytelling feels like punk rock—raw, accessible, hated by establishments, and unstoppable. We dive into the concept of "creative democracy," the hard truth that democratizing creation doesn't guarantee audiences, and why the real scarcity in AI media is taste, trust, and community. Plus insights on building creative scenes through the Seattle AI Film Festival and practical advice for creators and organizations navigating this technological shift.

How do you protect creative work when AI can perfectly replicate your artistic style? IP attorney Adam Philipp, founder of Aeon Law, reveals the legal blind spots emerging as AI reshapes creativity. This deep dive covers real cases like Anthropic's controversial book scanning, why Getty Images sued over AI-generated watermarks, and the Studio Ghibli avatar phenomenon that highlighted style protection gaps. Philipp introduces his concept of "derived style" as a new form of intellectual property and provides actionable advice for creators navigating this uncertain landscape. From copyright registration requirements for AI-assisted works to documentation best practices, this episode equips creators, entrepreneurs, and AI developers with frameworks for thinking about creative rights in 2025. Essential listening for anyone creating with—or competing against—AI tools.

Exploring the intersection of AI and creative storytelling with Jagger Waters of Escape.ai. From theater to AI filmmaking, we discuss how technology is democratizing creativity, the evolution of immersive experiences, and what the future holds for creators navigating between analog and digital worlds.