ARTIST AND THE MACHINE: VIRTUAL BEINGS IN LA & NY TECHWEEK RECAP

Happy Thursday, Cyborgs.

What a monumental week it’s been with the unveiling of Apple Intelligence! Our jaws are on the floor.

NY Techweek was a hit (recap below) - and we have one more event coming up before a mini summer hiatus 😇: a Virtual Beings salon in LA on June 26th - RSVP below. By the way, if you don’t already - follow us on IG for first look at events & announcements.

JUNE 26TH: VIRTUAL BEINGS SALON AT NEUEHOUSE VENICE BEACH 👾

Join us for a summer rooftop salon on Wednesday June 26th at Neuehouse Venice Beach. We’ll feature a panel of artists, engineers and founders sharing their process of envisioning and creating virtual beings. We’ll explore the role of virtual beings in relation to humans, different types of AI-powered avatars, and sample use cases. Speakers announced soon! Secure your spot - this is going to be a juicy one.

RECAP: LAST WEEK’S NY TECHWEEK SALON 🚀

We’re still buzzing from last Thursday’s NY TECHWEEK event with Spice Capital. We had over 900 requests to join the event and featured a panel of founders at the forefront of the AI creative stack, including: Ben-Zion Benkhin (Founder, WOMBO an AI-powered avatar app), Jamie Wilkinson (Founder of GLIF, a no-code AI sandbox) Preeya Goenka (Founder of Beehiiv, a creator newsletter platform), Evan Kelman (Founder of Scriptgen, an AI toolset for filmmakers), Daisy Firke (Founder, dirt Media a next-gen media company) and co-host Maya Bakhai (Founder of Spice Capital, a leading early stage AI consumer fund). Some takeaways:

👽 AI tools should supplement & enhance humans, not replace them

😃 A lot of the joy in using new toolsets is around the joy in the magic of the creation, not just the output

👩‍🎨 AI tools have the opportunity to democratize creativity and unlock access for a whole new set of creators - spurring a creative renaissance of sorts

🤔 One of the biggest legal challenges in asset creation using AI surrounds IP ownership, as well as monetization and value accrual back to original sources of inspiration - who really owns what at the end of the day?

✍ As asset creation becomes a commodity, we see the increase in importance of curation, story, and brand, to stand out

CONNECT WITH FENWICK, THE MOST FOUNDER-FRIENDLY LEGAL FIRM 💡

A special shoutout to our NY Techweek event partner, Fenwick! Fenwick partner Vejay Lalla was featured in our fireside chat, and we were blown away by his extensive knowledge of the AI & entertainment/media legal landscape.

Fenwick is a leading law firm purpose-built to guide visionary tech and AI founders and their investors through every stage of growth. The Artist & the Machine team has worked closely with Fenwick over the years and can wholeheartedly say they have been incredible partners to us and our friends. If you are a founder seeking legal support, feel free to shoot me a note and I will intro you to the Fenwick team:

ANNOUNCING: LIVEPEER AI STARTUP GRANT PROGRAM 🚀

Livepeer is an open source video infrastructure network, providing infra for AI inference - specifically for video & media companies in the AI space. If you’re a founder or creator doing generative AI video or media, you might benefit from Livepeer’s $40K startup grant program and hands-on engineering support. Get int touch!

About the Author

Hello, and thanks for joining us! I’m Dani, and I was inspired to create Artist and The Machine from the belief that technology is about more than just utility - it has the power to unlock humanity’s fullest potential. I consider myself an artist without a medium, on a quest to uncover the power of AI and new toolsets (ie “the “machine”) to unlock my own, and everyone else’s, creative expression.

On the career front - I’ve been tinkering around with AI, spatial computing, experiential, blockchain, and growth marketing since 2013, and have had the privilege of helping global brands such as Snap Inc, Mars Inc, NARS/Shiseido, Chrome Hearts, Drake, Outside Media, Art Miami and many more navigate the future and reach next gen consumers and the next phase of the internet, with a current focus on AI education, insights, and implementation.

Get in touch —> Email, Twitter, Linkedin

xx Dani Van de Sande