AI as a Utility

Investors don’t really need to invest in net new companies to get exposure to AI’s potential halo effect; If all your portfolio companies start to integrate with the right existing tools on the market, they could bloom too. It’s the promise of horizontal tech. Natasha Mascarenhas, TechCrunch In a previous post I used the games… Continue reading AI as a Utility

Generative AI and the Games Industry

This post looks at applications of generative AI in the context of the games industry, but much of the same logic can be applied elsewhere. Adapting to technological evolution With every new technology revolution – web3 most recently, and now AI – there follows a large herd of true believers. It can do all things,… Continue reading Generative AI and the Games Industry

Why venture capital should be consensus-averse

In The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, Keynes wrote about investment through the metaphor of a newspaper contest to select the six best looking people from a group of photos, with the prize being awarded to the contestant whose choice most closely corresponded to the average of all contestants. Keynes’ point was that,… Continue reading Why venture capital should be consensus-averse

The Negligible Cultural Impact of AI

Good art (including novels, games, movies) is defined by the humanity involved. Emotion, humour, tension. Even when AI attempts to mimic those attributes, we’ll still prefer human experiences over synthetic ones. We’re inclined to believe each new innovation is the ‘best’, and that the technology-driven approach is always superior. To overlook almost anything in pursuit… Continue reading The Negligible Cultural Impact of AI

Metaverse – Reinventing the wheel

Earlier this week, web3 Studios released their ‘Digital Identities Report‘, sharing a variety of opinions and predictions on the future of identity and social interaction in a ‘metaverse’ environment. There is more than fifteen years worth of fascinating sociological research on virtual worlds and digital identity. You would not know that from reading this report.… Continue reading Metaverse – Reinventing the wheel

Ticketing – the model for consumer tokens

I’ve been labelled a ‘Web3 skeptic’. If you’ve read any of my other content here, you’re probably just confused about how I feel. So, let me clarify: Much of the capital that has been poured into Web3, to date, has been wasted. Too many get-rich-quick schemes and half-baked ideas. We need to do better. Specifically… Continue reading Ticketing – the model for consumer tokens

Virtual Worlds – a social, not technological, phenomenon

To begin, a quote from Tom Boellstorff, Professor of Anthropology at UC Irvine: The metaverse’s history indicates that social immersion is the metaverse’s foundation. Tom Boellstorff Tom is a bona fide expert in virtual worlds, and I recommend reading the whole article. Through his work, he has spent a tremendous amount of time in Second… Continue reading Virtual Worlds – a social, not technological, phenomenon

Screening Pitches

There are five straight-forward questions with which you can quickly evaluate a startup pitch, combining the strength of a proposition with its delivery. These questions bear some some resemblance to the Scorecard Method of startup valuation, which focuses on qualitative measures for early-stage companies, but with an additional focus on quantifying the market need. I… Continue reading Screening Pitches

Metaverse – the hunger for digital industry

What is a metaverse? Is it a metaverse, or the Metaverse? Ask most people these questions and they’ll picture ‘Lawnmower Man’ style scenes of people strapped into virtual reality rigs, flying through digital 3D environments. That has very little to do with what a metaverse is. The term metaverse simply applies to the digital mirror… Continue reading Metaverse – the hunger for digital industry