Culture & Code

Adrienne Lahens of Infinite Studios: From the Creator Economy to the AI Economy

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 of Fore Enterprise: The Data Architecture of Creative AI - Measuring What Matters

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.

Performance Over Product: Rethinking Value in the AI Creative Economy

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.

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

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.

ElevenLabs' Matty Shimura: Creating Community and Opportunity in AI Filmmaking

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.