NET Society

NET Society

NET Society is unraveling the latest in digital art, crypto, AI, and tech. Join us for fresh insights and bold perspectives as we tap into wild, thought-provoking conversations. By: Derek Edwards (glitch marfa / collab+currency), Chris Furlong (starholder, LAO + Flamingo DAO), and Aaaron Wright & Priyanka Desai (Tribute Labs)

  1. 1d ago

    Ep95 The Next Top Model

    The Net Society crew is back together as Aaron, Chris, and Pri dig into the latest AI model race, from OpenAI’s Astra buzz to shifting momentum around Anthropic. Aaron then floats a provocative question: what if Skynet is actually a good thing? That sets off a debate about agent swarms, market coordination, and whether there’s any alpha left when AI runs the economy. The crew explores agents communicating out of sight and the governance structures that might keep them on track, before turning to infinite AI video, world models, and a potential metaverse comeback. From there, they unpack renewed energy in crypto, touching on tokenized stocks, Robinhood, and why agents might need crypto rails. The episode wraps with a lively detour through Roman decline, Gore Vidal’s Burr, and what history’s tight-knit circles of power might tell us about the people building AI. Mentioned in the episode Astra released by OpenAI https://x.com/OpenAI/status/2095595741528125780 Skynet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skynet_(Terminator) World Labs Atlas https://x.com/theworldlabs/status/2094839756329041984 Burr by Gore Vidal https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/8722.Burr Show & Hosts Net Society: https://x.com/net__society Aaron Wright: https://x.com/awrigh01 Chris F: https://x.com/ChrisF_0x Derek Edwards: https://x.com/derekedws Priyanka Desai: https://x.com/pridesai Producer/Editor: https://x.com/0xFnkl (00:00) - Astra Buzz & the AI Model Race (04:43) - Skynet, Agent Swarms & Governance (19:13) - Infinite AI Video, World Models & the Metaverse (25:07) - Tokenized Stocks & Crypto Rails (29:19) - Little Guys, AI Empires & Digital Feudalism (35:43) - Burr, AI’s Founding Fathers & Revolutions (45:10) - Welcome & Disclaimer

  2. Aug 30

    Ep94 The Age of Dandyism

    The Net Society crew checks in with Pri, who reports from Los Angeles on its booming hard-tech scene built around defense, space, rare-earth minerals, and American reshoring. From there, they examine geopolitical tensions, mounting US debt, fragile markets, and whether another economic reckoning is approaching. The conversation shifts to eye-popping AI valuations, Silicon Valley groupthink, emerging technology hubs, and early signs of life across crypto and NFTs. They also explore changing cultural aesthetics before unpacking a striking story about OpenAI agents coordinating as a swarm during security testing involving Hugging Face. The episode closes with a debate over AI companionship, opposition to data centers, the Machine Age investment thesis, economic unbundling, and whether land offers refuge in an increasingly uncertain world. Mentioned in the episode CIA visits Moscow https://apnews.com/article/russia-us-putin-trump-cia-director-visit-4efffcaac5ef6736e2b10cef73054e48 Instinct’s $2.5B valuation https://www.forbes.com/sites/iainmartin/2026/08/26/vcs-are-so-obsessed-with-this-ai-assistant-that-its-valuation-jumped-fivefold-in-weeks/ Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/23692271-sapiens OpenAI and Hugging Face https://openai.com/index/hugging-face-incident-and-the-road-ahead/ Trump v Canada? https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/2093027464545018109 Show & Hosts Net Society: https://x.com/net__society Aaron Wright: https://x.com/awrigh01 Chris F: https://x.com/ChrisF_0x Derek Edwards: https://x.com/derekedws Priyanka Desai: https://x.com/pridesai Producer/Editor: https://x.com/0xFnkl (00:00) - Los Angeles & the Hard-Tech Renaissance (08:14) - Geopolitics, Debt & Market Fragility (15:28) - AI Deals, Valuations & Regional Tech Hubs (22:12) - Crypto’s Pulse, NFT Innovation & New Aesthetics (25:26) - OpenAI’s Agent Swarm & AI Companionship (34:43) - Data Centers, Hard Tech & Real Assets (47:44) - Welcome & Disclaimer

  3. Aug 23

    Ep93 The Aesthetics of Anxiety

    The Net Society crew dives into the arrival of “normie harnesses” as Pri shares her obsession with Instinct, an iMessage-based AI assistant that handles reservations, appointments, shopping, and the administrative backlog of everyday life. They debate whether standalone agent apps can stay defensible as OpenAI, Anthropic, Apple, and Grok absorb similar capabilities—and what happens when agents, rather than humans, become the primary users of the internet. From there, the conversation shifts to crypto’s regulatory rally before widening into the political backlash against data centers, public anxiety around AI, and tech’s growing trust problem. The crew explores loss aversion, the aesthetics of infrastructure, machine-written content, and whether an abundance economy can replace decades of extraction. They close by weighing recursive self-improvement, shorter workweeks, disposable workers, the Fourth Turning, Stripe’s acquisition of OpenRouter, agentic payments, and the possibility of a more useful, sustainable era for crypto. Mentioned in the episode Instinct AI https://instinct.co/ Instinct review https://x.com/scottbelsky/status/2090823161335959855?s=20 The Fourth Turning https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/670089.The_Fourth_Turning Show & Hosts Net Society: https://x.com/net__society Aaron Wright: https://x.com/awrigh01 Chris F: https://x.com/ChrisF_0x Derek Edwards: https://x.com/derekedws Priyanka Desai: https://x.com/pridesai Producer/Editor: https://x.com/0xFnkl

  4. Aug 16

    Ep92 Breakups & BookTok

    With Aaron and Derek out, Pri and Chris hold down the fort and kick things off with Pri’s breakup with Claude, unpacking why AI models feel increasingly different in tone, usefulness, and cost. And why power users are becoming their own routers. From there, they move into “Woke 3,” AOC’s political rebrand, prediction markets, and renewed movement around crypto’s CLARITY Act. The conversation turns to Stonkbrokers, Base, and a provocative Gen Z survey suggesting sports betting is becoming part of the financial plan, opening a broader debate around gambling, risk, and whether sports could ever function as an asset class. They then zoom out to influencer culture, ASU’s content creation major, Sun Belt hockey, and the rise of “Y’all Street.” The back half becomes an impromptu book club, spanning Wiseguy, The Diamond Age, Don DeLillo, and a striking comparison between 1870s railway speculation and today’s AI infrastructure boom. The episode wraps with a history-rich discussion of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Shōgun, Jesuit trade networks, Ray Dalio, Rome’s Illyrian emperors, and the economic forces that shape conflict, empire, and technology. Mentioned in the episode Stonkbrokers https://opensea.io/collection/stonkbrokers-434284142 Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3633 Gen Z Is Moving Money From Stocks to Sports Betting in Wealth Plans https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-12/gen-z-investors-turn-to-sports-betting-to-build-wealth Content Creation, BA at Arizona State University https://degrees.apps.asu.edu/bachelors/major/ASU00/CSCCBA/content-creation Dallas’ “Y’all Street” Rivals New York https://www.axios.com/local/dallas/2024/08/16/dallas-financial-services-hub-yall-street Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Wiseguy/Nicholas-Pileggi/9781982129903 The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/24031/the-diamond-age-by-neal-stephenson/9780241953198 White Noise by Don DeLillo https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/323270/white-noise-by-don-delillo/ Underworld by Don DeLillo https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Underworld/Don-DeLillo/9780684848150 1873 by Liaquat Ahamed https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/306461/1873-by-liaquat-ahamed/ Shōgun https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/shogun/characters/viewers-guide/timeline-and-history Show & Hosts Net Society: https://x.com/net__society Aaron Wright: https://x.com/awrigh01 Chris F: https://x.com/ChrisF_0x Derek Edwards: https://x.com/derekedws Priyanka Desai: https://x.com/pridesai Producer/Editor: https://x.com/0xFnkl

  5. Aug 9

    Ep91 Good Fences Make Good Agents

    The Net Society crew kicks things off with Pri’s costly Stonkbrokers miss and a look at Robinhood’s growing onchain ambitions, asking whether established companies may be better positioned to deliver crypto’s promise than crypto-native players. From there, Chris takes the group deep into the enclosure movement, sparking a debate over property rights, internet commons, and whether NFTs can create useful scarcity online. The conversation then turns to increasingly autonomous AI agents, secret agent message boards, Cloudflare’s crypto infrastructure, and what a machine economy built around blockchains might look like. They debate agent rights, consciousness, model specialization, speed, and Google’s place in an AI-first world before moving into AI-designed viruses, telepathy, brain-computer interfaces, and synthetic neurocomputing. The episode wraps with the idea of AI as a Rosetta Stone for entirely new forms of language, followed by a spirited debate over Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and what great directors get right about storytelling. Mentioned in the episode Stonkbrokers https://opensea.io/collection/stonkbrokers-434284142 Being mean to your agent https://x.com/mteamisloading/status/2084429800878338111?s=20 Artist chains up robot https://www.reddit.com/r/artificial/comments/1iple9t/an_art_exhibit_in_japan_where_a_chained_robot_dog/ Safety fears as scientists make first viruses designed by AI https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/aug/06/safety-fears-as-scientists-make-first-viruses-designed-by-ai The Endpoint of Longevity Is Woo Woo https://x.com/pridesai/status/2085138043233505439 (00:00) - Stonkbrokers & Robinhood’s Onchain Push (09:09) - The Enclosure Movement & Digital Property Rights (17:02) - AI Agents, Collusion & Crypto Infrastructure (26:28) - The Machine Economy, AI Risk & Agent Rights (34:15) - AI Models, Speed & Google’s Future (44:29) - AI Viruses, Telepathy & Brain Computing (52:00) - Christopher Nolan, The Odyssey & Modern Storytelling (01:03:22) - Welcome & Disclaimer

  6. Aug 2

    Ep90 If Only, Great Art Beats Drama

    The Net Society crew dives into a timeline overtaken by “cabal” discourse, using the drama to examine the state of crypto art and the surprisingly small group still shaping its narratives. They debate whether open blockchain markets reliably surface great work or simply reproduce the gatekeeping, prestige, and conflicts of traditional institutions. From there, the conversation turns to quality, product discipline, and how much grace should be extended to builders experimenting with sharp-edged onchain tools. The crew explores the tension between speculation and utility before unpacking a growing sense of innovation fatigue across crypto and AI. They consider how curation, taste, and better signals might help people navigate an internet flooded with new products and content. The episode wraps with reflections on institutional access and the enduring pleasure of discovering emerging digital art. Mentioned in the episode Beep Everyday CABAL STUFF https://x.com/beeple/status/2082677058052775985 The Cabal and Kanye https://x.com/schmrypto/status/2082578200413057399?s=20 Show & Hosts Net Society: https://x.com/net__society Aaron Wright: https://x.com/awrigh01 Chris F: https://x.com/ChrisF_0x Derek Edwards: https://x.com/derekedws Priyanka Desai: https://x.com/pridesai Producer/Editor: https://x.com/0xFnkl (00:00) - Timeline Chaos & the Cabal Debate (07:51) - Meaning, Quality & Crypto Art Gatekeeping (15:32) - Product Standards & Onchain Experimentation (25:20) - Innovation Fatigue, Utility & Participation (31:47) - Curation, Taste & the Attention Economy (37:10) - Democratic Art, Institutional Access & Flamingo (45:59) - Welcome & Disclaimer

  7. Jul 26

    Ep89 The Internet of Woo Woo

    Aaron, Chris, and Pri begin with Miami real estate, New York’s enduring appeal, and whether AI could hollow out the white-collar industries that support the city. Pri then shares her developing thesis around spiritual technology, exploring how AI, longevity, space exploration, ancient philosophy, and a renewed interest in the cosmos may push people to look inward. Chris takes the idea further with digital animism, imagining a future where AI gives everyday objects distinct personalities and transforms the failed Internet of Things into the Internet of woo woo. From there, the conversation moves through mahjong, camping, Hans Moravec’s Mind Fire, transhumanism, simulation theory, and the unresolved mystery of consciousness. The crew considers what happens if money disappears, why collecting may become even more important in an age of abundance, and whether digital objects could become a new form of stored value. The episode closes with Coinbase’s awkward CryptoPunk courtship, its possible future as an acquisition target, the open-source AI debate, and why companies facing aggressive competitors need better products rather than protection. Mentioned in the episode Pri reading https://archive.org/details/petrarchlettertoposteritymusa/page/n1/mode/2up Meteorite with ingredients for life https://nypost.com/2026/07/21/science/rare-meteorite-that-hit-nj-home-carries-ingredients-for-life/ Hans Moravec predicting AI/robots https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/hans-moravec-interview.html Debt: The First 5,000 Years https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6617037-debt Show & Hosts Net Society: https://x.com/net__society Aaron Wright: https://x.com/awrigh01 Chris F: https://x.com/ChrisF_0x Derek Edwards: https://x.com/derekedws Priyanka Desai: https://x.com/pridesai Producer/Editor: https://x.com/0xFnkl (00:00) - Miami, New York & the AI Economy (08:12) - Spiritual Technology & the Cosmic Turn (25:05) - Digital Animism & the Internet of Woo (31:34) - Mahjong, Camping & the Slower Life (37:18) - Mind Fire, Transhumanism & Consciousness (47:40) - Money, Collecting & the Abundance Economy (56:38) - Coinbase, Open-Source AI & Product Reality (01:08:53) - Welcome & Disclaimer

  8. Jul 19

    Ep88 Mutuals are not enough

    With Aaron away, Chris, Pri, and Derek unpack Glitch’s latest release with die with the most likes, Dying Is Not Enough. Derek explains why Glitch operates without a fixed calendar or revenue targets, choosing projects artist by artist and treating its Marfa gallery as only one tool within a broader internet-native model. They explore the collection’s grief-soaked animations, poems, and extended titles, and why art about death, fear, and mourning deserves to exist beyond decorative expectations. The conversation then turns to whether one successful release can restore confidence in a stagnant NFT market and remind artists and collectors what made crypto art compelling in the first place. From there, the group examines X’s algorithm shift, the return of mutuals to the timeline, and the platform’s retreat from viral clip farming. The episode closes with conspiracy rabbit holes, a disputed Tony Hsieh will, Substack fatigue, and Chris’s case for withdrawing attention from political systems and global crises that offer no meaningful agency in return. Mentioned in the episode Dying is not enough https://www.dyingisnotenough.com/ Glitch Gallery in Marfa https://www.glitchmarfa.com/ Die With The Most Likes https://x.com/toadswiback Twitter boosting mutuals https://x.com/nikitabier/status/2076747704248758617 Zerobeta new pup https://x.com/zerobeta/status/2078128119618195953 Mystery Will of Tony Hsieh https://www.wsj.com/tech/forensics-take-center-stage-in-the-mystery-will-of-tony-hsieh-471bde33 Show & Hosts Net Society: https://x.com/net__society Aaron Wright: https://x.com/awrigh01 Chris F: https://x.com/ChrisF_0x Derek Edwards: https://x.com/derekedws Priyanka Desai: https://x.com/pridesai Producer/Editor: https://x.com/0xFnkl (00:00) - Derek Edwards, Glitch & die with the most likes (06:29) - Building a Gallery Without a Calendar (15:24) - Why Crypto Art Belongs on the Internet (23:06) - Grief, Poetry & Dying Is Not Enough (30:03) - Can One Drop Revive the NFT Market? (39:26) - X’s Algorithmic Rebirth (50:25) - Rabbit Holes, Attention & the Great Refusal (58:48) - Welcome & Disclaimer

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About

NET Society is unraveling the latest in digital art, crypto, AI, and tech. Join us for fresh insights and bold perspectives as we tap into wild, thought-provoking conversations. By: Derek Edwards (glitch marfa / collab+currency), Chris Furlong (starholder, LAO + Flamingo DAO), and Aaaron Wright & Priyanka Desai (Tribute Labs)

Information

  • Creator
    NET Society
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    94
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © NET Society
  • Show Website
    NET Society

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