Happy Tuesday, Cyborgs.

Miss you all! Fall is in full swing and I’m so excited to host you all at Virtual Beings NYC tomorrow (finally!) - AND for our two upcoming LA events later this month 🙂 

Also, this week we’re launching a Community Resources & Perks section of the newsletter, providing go-to resources, tools and discounts for founders and executives in our community. I hope you enjoy and save some ca$h!

As always, let me know what you love & don’t 🙃

Today’s rundown:

• LA Salon RSVP Humanizing Machines: AI, Design & Robotics - Sept 24 @ Neuehouse Venice Beach

• LA Salon RSVP Future Frames: Reimagining the Art Market in the Digital Age with Superrare - Sept 26th @ Neuehouse Venice Beach

• TLDR: This week in Future + Culture

  • Roblox announces gen AI worldbuilding

  • And another humanoid robot…Weave launches Isaac

  • Replit launches an AI Agent capable of building apps from scratch

  • Prompt engineer like a queen 👑

• Community Resources & Perks

• Community Shares

• Community Spotlight

  • Natalie Monbiot, Co-host of Virtual Beings Salon - TED Talk

😺ᵤₚcₒₘᵢₙg ₑᵥₑₙₜₛ😺

DON’T MISS IN LA:

Humanizing Machines: Intersecting AI, Robotics, and Design by Artist and the Machine on Sept 24th at Neuehouse Venice

Our curiosity continues to drive us as we gather to uncover the evolving relationship between humans and machines 👽

For this particular event, we'll take a design-centric approach in looking at the intersection of robotics and humanity, exploring the latest successes and failures in AI consumer hardware, the impending robot renaissance, cyborgs, and more.

🤖 The Intersection of Robots and Humans: How the convergence of technology and biology is reshaping the future.

🎯 Trends in Consumer AI: Successes and failures in AI-driven consumer hardware like Humane, Rabbit, and Ray-Ban Meta.

💡 Design and Hardware: How intuitive, human-centric design can shape humanoid robots.

💓 Fulfilling Human Needs: The role of AI in addressing humanity's deepest needs.

I can't think of a better co-host for this one than brilliant Ashutosh Shukla, with his 20 years of experience designing category-defining hardware and leading world class engineering organizations, having worked on globally renowned products including Rivian EV's, 5 generations of iPhone, Spectacles by Snap, SoundDock by Bose; and an inventor with over 50 patents spanning material science, manufacturing methodology, and innovations in consumer electronics. Epic panelists announced soon. Come play, come explore with us on Sept 24th at NeueHouse Venice Beach 👻

ANNOUNCING LA EVENT:

Future Frames: Reimagining the art market in the digital age with Superrare on Sept 26th at Neuehouse Venice

Fireside chat: Museums, Artist royalties, and AI

This fireside chat will explore the complex interplay between museums, artist royalties, and the rise of AI within the digital space. As artificial intelligence increasingly influences the creation, curation, and distribution of art, it raises crucial questions about the future of artist compensation and the role of museums in this evolving landscape. The discussion will address how AI is reshaping traditional revenue models, the implications for artist royalties in a digital-first world, and the responsibilities of museums in adapting to these changes.

Digital Leaders: Artists & Collectors Panel An expert panel delves into the evolving relationship between artists and collectors in the contemporary art market, particularly within the digital space. As technology transforms the art world, a new wave of collectors, funds, and investors is emerging, driving innovation and reshaping traditional dynamics. The discussion will explore how these changes are fostering deeper connections between artists and collectors, highlighting the unique role of digital art in shaping the future of the market. By examining the intersection of art and technology, the panel will provide insights into how these developments are influencing contemporary culture and the art world at large.

𝕀𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕖𝕟𝕛𝕠𝕪 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕟𝕖𝕨𝕤𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 & 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤, 𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝔸𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕤𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕒𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝟙-𝟚 𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕤 🙏 😻

Roblox is launching gen AI worldbuilding

Roblox plans to roll out a generative AI tool that will let creators make whole 3D scenes just using text prompts. Its new generative AI model will make the changes happen in a fraction of the time. It also claims that it will give developers with minimal 3D art skills the ability to craft more compelling environments.

And another humanoid robot…

Weave announces Isaac, joining recent announcements from Figure, Tesla’s Optimus, 1X’s NEO Beta, and Agibot…

Weave’s Isaac can perform human day-to-day tasks like folding laundry, responds to voice or text commands, and will cost $59K for 48 months + $1K reservation fee.

Read announcement here

Excited to touch on these announcements at our upcoming “AI, Design, and Robotics” salon in LA Sept 24!

Replit has launched an AI Agent capable of building apps from scratch

An AI agent is a more autonomous and proactive system compared to current AI assistants like ChatGPT or Claude. While today's AI assistants respond to specific queries or tasks, AI agents operate with a higher degree of independence, making decisions and executing complex tasks without constant user input. They can learn and adapt over time, improving their actions based on feedback and new information.

Replit's AI agent takes this concept and applies it to the world of software development. It can reason through a task and create its own steps to complete it—such as writing code, setting up environments, and managing deployments.

Prompt engineer like a Queen 👑

Become a ninja queen in your day-to-day, courtesy of myself & Anthropic.

"At its core, talking to a model is very similar to talking to a person. Clear instructions and providing all relevant information are crucial to achieving the desired results."

Anthropic experts share some of their prompting tips, for consistent high quality results with our favorite AI tools.

• Clarity & Specificity: Give clear instructions, just like speaking to a person. Example: Instead of "Write about marketing," try "Write a 300-word blog post about digital marketing trends in 2024, focusing on social media strategies."

• Use Examples: Help the model understand expectations by providing sample outputs. Example: "Create a customer support response email like this: 'Hi [Customer Name], Thank you for reaching out. Here's how we can help…'"

• Iterate & Refine: Keep testing and tweaking your prompts until the output is spot on. Example: If "Summarize this report" produces vague results, refine it to "Summarize the key findings and action points from this 10-page report."

• Provide Sufficient Context: AI can handle complex info—don’t oversimplify! Perhaps different from us humans... Example: "Generate a 500-word analysis on the impact of AI on healthcare, considering both patient care and data privacy."

• Cover Base Cases: Focus on common scenarios before addressing edge cases. Example: Ensure the model handles typical tasks like "Respond to a customer's billing inquiry" before adding complex exceptions.

• Embrace Collaboration: The future of prompting is interactive—work with AI to co-design solutions. Example: "Help me brainstorm three new product ideas for a tech startup focused on sustainability."

👫𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗖𝗘𝗦 & 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗞𝗦👫

This is a new section of the newsletter we’re testing out! See below perks & contacts to support you on your business building journey.

•  📒 Are you incorporating a business, or looking for accounting & tax filing support? I just used doola to incorporate A&M (and now for accounting & tax filings) - they were honestly a lifesaver super easy, cheap, and the team was helpful - so I asked the founder for a referral code for our community. Visit doola here and use coupon code DOOLARTISTMACHINE10 for a 10% discount.

• 📊 Cap table software. If you're looking for a cap table solution alternate to Carta, check out Fidelity's Cap Table offering. Fidelity is supporting founders in our community with 20% off the first year and free access to their launch program. Email me for a direct intro to the team there for high-touch support & discount.

• Are you a founder looking for the best legal partner? I’ve personally worked with Thomas Kang at Fenwick for the past 4 years, and he is the best of the best when it comes to supporting founders as they grow their startup. Best to engage for your first funding round. Contact Thomas Kang @ Fenwick.

👫𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗦👫

Huge thank you to our sponsor for the upcoming Virtual Beings event! ArentFox Schiff is a leading national law firm and a go-to advisor on AI-related legal and business matters. AFS's AI focus includes IP protection and enforcement, privacy and data security, technology transactions, and regulatory compliance. With a client roster that ranges from tech start-ups to industry giants like Warner Brothers Discovery, Meta, LG Electronics, and Tesla, AFS helps companies build and deploy tools and services that are on the cutting edge of AI innovation. Big thank you to Dan Jasnow at AFS for being an incredible partner to those navigating the AI space, and for supporting this fabulous event! :)

💡 Speaker Spotlight💡

[NATALIE MONBIOT]

​NATALIE MONBIOT is an emerging technology strategist and pioneer in the fields of AI video and virtual humans, and a founding team member and head of strategy at Hour One. Over the past 5 years, she has been instrumental in creating the AI avatar and video category from the group up, from vision to ethics to commercialization. She has championed the idea of the "virtual human economy" where individuals profit from their digital selves. A TEDx speaker on this topic, and regular keynote presenter at major conferences, Natalie contributes to prominent publications and is recognized as a leading voice in the industry.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

What’s inspiring you these days? The desire to come together around this topic right now is palpable. Creatives, artists and business leaders are leaning in to the topic of virtual beings with curiosity, creativity and open-mindedness like never before, which makes me excited for the future we can co-create.

Your current industry hot take? The virtual human economy, where our AI clones go to work on our behalf, has the potential to enrich individuals in new ways, and generate billions for the global economy.

Natalie's TEDx talk was just released, exploring the idea: what if your digital twin could work while you sleep? This talk serves as a primer for the topics we will cover on Wednesday’s “Exploring Virtual Beings” event in NYC :)

𝕀𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕖𝕟𝕛𝕠𝕪 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕟𝕖𝕨𝕤𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 & 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤, 𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝔸𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕤𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕒𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝟙-𝟚 𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕤 🙏 😻