Generative AI tools like DALL-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion have taken the world by storm in recent months, wowing the masses with their uncanny ability to produce images via text prompts.
In this interview, we’ll chat with Karen Cheng about how she’s leveraged these tools among others, with a focus on how this new paradigm is reshaping the creator landscape. You’ll get to hear the behind the scenes of many of her viral works, including a video of her becoming a lawnmower, her AI-generated Cosmo magazine cover, her DALL-E fashion show, her transforming iconic art into 3D museums to explore, and much, much more. By the end of this episode, listeners should have a better understanding of the new tools at their fingertips (literally!), how AI can indeed enhance the creative process, and the second-order effects of these innovations, like how creators are paid.
Since we’re just at the beginning of the AI era, this is just the beginning of our coverage as well.
Topics Covered:
00:00 - Intro
02:45 - Karen’s journey to content creator
06:29 - Creative unlocks for viral content
09:30 - The changing social media landscape
12:21 - Innovating with AI
15:23 - Unique AI tools available today
18:27 - How AI tools might differentiate
22:03 - Cosmo’s first AI-generated magazine cover
25:53 - Inpainting, outpainting, and the fungibility of artists
34:06 - AI enhancing the creative process
34:53 - The virality of optimism vs pessimism
41:01 - Turning attention into business
46:23 - IP and ownership in the age of AI
49:54 - The downward pricing pressure of AI
51:07 - Is generative AI still a gimmick?
57:50 - The adaptiveness of humans
1:03:17 0 The importance of AI ethics
Resources:
- Karen’s Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/karenxcheng
- Karen’s website: https://www.karenx.com/
- Karen’s TEDx Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gh1d...
- Cosmo magazine cover: https://www.instagram.com/p/CfEpdJrLs49
- Cosmo magazine tutorial: https://twitter.com/karenxcheng/statu...
- DALL-E fashion show video: https://twitter.com/karenxcheng/statu...
- DALL-E fashion show tutorial: https://twitter.com/karenxcheng/statu...
- DALL-E outpainting announcement: https://twitter.com/OpenAI/status/156...
- "I spent $15 in DALL·E 2 credits": https://pub.towardsai.net/i-spent-15-...
Stay Updated:
- Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
- Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
- Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
- Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
In this interview, we’ll chat with Karen Cheng about how she’s leveraged these tools among others, with a focus on how this new paradigm is reshaping the creator landscape. You’ll get to hear the behind the scenes of many of her viral works, including a video of her becoming a lawnmower, her AI-generated Cosmo magazine cover, her DALL-E fashion show, her transforming iconic art into 3D museums to explore, and much, much more. By the end of this episode, listeners should have a better understanding of the new tools at their fingertips (literally!), how AI can indeed enhance the creative process, and the second-order effects of these innovations, like how creators are paid.
Since we’re just at the beginning of the AI era, this is just the beginning of our coverage as well.
Topics Covered:
00:00 - Intro
02:45 - Karen’s journey to content creator
06:29 - Creative unlocks for viral content
09:30 - The changing social media landscape
12:21 - Innovating with AI
15:23 - Unique AI tools available today
18:27 - How AI tools might differentiate
22:03 - Cosmo’s first AI-generated magazine cover
25:53 - Inpainting, outpainting, and the fungibility of artists
34:06 - AI enhancing the creative process
34:53 - The virality of optimism vs pessimism
41:01 - Turning attention into business
46:23 - IP and ownership in the age of AI
49:54 - The downward pricing pressure of AI
51:07 - Is generative AI still a gimmick?
57:50 - The adaptiveness of humans
1:03:17 0 The importance of AI ethics
Resources:
- Karen’s Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/karenxcheng
- Karen’s website: https://www.karenx.com/
- Karen’s TEDx Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gh1d...
- Cosmo magazine cover: https://www.instagram.com/p/CfEpdJrLs49
- Cosmo magazine tutorial: https://twitter.com/karenxcheng/statu...
- DALL-E fashion show video: https://twitter.com/karenxcheng/statu...
- DALL-E fashion show tutorial: https://twitter.com/karenxcheng/statu...
- DALL-E outpainting announcement: https://twitter.com/OpenAI/status/156...
- "I spent $15 in DALL·E 2 credits": https://pub.towardsai.net/i-spent-15-...
Stay Updated:
- Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
- Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
- Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
- Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.