The Digital Void Podcast Digital Void

How do YouTube influencers neg their audiences into taking lifestyle advice?
Internet culture writer Steffi Cao joins Jamie to discuss how influencers undermine audiences with video titles that are not what they seem. The two discuss authenticity on social media platforms, why clickbait titles still reign supreme, and if there’s anything positive to come of this trend.
📖 Read YouTube Influencers want to neg you into taking lifestyle advice in Fast Company
About Steffi Cao
Steffi Cao is an internet culture writer, most recently reporting at BuzzFeed News and Forbes as its inaugural creator economy staff writer. Her work has appeared in Teen Vogue, The Washington Post, Bustle, and MTV News. Her work, including her eponymous newsletter, it’s steffi, was featured on NPR and The View this year. She resides in Brooklyn, and her favorite berry is the blueberry.
Credits
Hosted by Josh Chapdelaine & Dr. Jamie Cohen
Digital Void Podcast is a production of Digital Void, LLC.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is the true potential of AI text-to-video generation?
Director of Curiouser Institute and award-winning AI games designer Reed Berkowitz discusses OpenAI's Sora, an AI text-to-image model that will soon be made available to the public. As Hollywood rolls back studio investments and executives project up to 90% loss in animation jobs, how can we separate hype from reality in the space? And what are the best ways to use AI text-to-video generation today?
Show notes:
OpenAI's Sora
Jeffrey Katzenberg claims 90% of artist animation jobs will be lost due to AI
Tyler Perry stops $800 million studio investment after OpenAI's Sora
Bill Peebles alien generation
Blaine Brown alien remix
AnimateDiff
About Reed Berkowitz:
Reed Berkowitz is the Director of Curiouser Institute, who has more than 25 years of experience designing, writing, and researching award-winning interactive experiences for companies including Universal Studios, Paramount, Cartoon Network, Peanuts, Sanrio, and many more. He formerly served as the Creative Director of New Games at Latitude, an AI-powered games company.
Follow Reed Berkowitz
Twitter | Website

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How will creators and tech companies grapple with the decline of journalism?
On this week's episode, Jamie and Josh discuss the relationship between creators, platforms, and journalists, the ongoing shift from legacy news sources to platforms like TikTok and YouTube for news consumption, and how venture-backed outlets built on the promise of digital advertising contributed to journalism's current crisis. Additionally, they highlight what gives them hope about journalism's future – and how you can help contribute to it.
Show Notes
More than half of U.S. counties have no access or very limited access to local news - Northwestern
More Americans are getting news on TikTok, bucking the trend seen on most other social media sites - Pew Research Center
S&P 500 Closes at Record High as Wall Street Bulls Run Wild - Axios
In a Pennsylvania town, a Facebook group fills the local news void - Brandy Zadrozny
Carol's Journey - Brandy Zadrozny
404 Media
Defector
Credits
Hosted by Dr. Jamie Cohen and Josh Chapdelaine
Digital Void Podcast is a production of Digital Void, LLC.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How can we separate hype from hallucination in AI games?
Award-winning games designer and Director of Curiouser Institute Reed Berkowitz discusses why it's so difficult for mid-to-large studios to create AI NPCs, the brand safety risks associated with AI in games, and why AI games might require more writers rather than fewer.
🕹️ You can play Grilling Molly Stone now.
📰 You can read AI Powered NPCs — Hype, or Hallucination and AI in Games: Complicated Characters on Medium.
About Reed Berkowitz:
Reed Berkowitz is the Director of Curiouser LLC, who has more than 25 years of experience designing, writing, and researching award-winning interactive experiences for companies including Universal Studios, Paramount, Cartoon Network, Peanuts, Sanrio, and many more. He formerly served as the Creative Director of New Games at Latitude, an AI-powered games company.
Follow Reed Berkowitz
Twitter | Website
Credits
Hosted by Josh Chapdelaine
Digital Void Podcast is a production of Digital Void, LLC.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Where can creators turn after they’ve been cancelled? 
Internet culture writer Steffi Cao discusses why cancelled creators turn to right-wing values to grow their businesses, the difficulty audiences have determining authenticity, and why it all matters – from economics to real-world action.
📖 Read Influencers are pandering to conservatives to salvage their post-cancellation careers in Fast Company.
About Steffi Cao
Steffi Cao is an internet culture writer, most recently reporting at BuzzFeed News and Forbes as its inaugural creator economy staff writer. Her work has appeared in Teen Vogue, The Washington Post, Bustle, and MTV News. Her work, including her eponymous newsletter, it’s steffi, was featured on NPR and The View this year. She resides in Brooklyn, and her favorite berry is the blueberry.
Credits
Hosted by Josh Chapdelaine & Dr. Jamie Cohen
Digital Void Podcast is a production of Digital Void, LLC.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did Palantir develop a meme-obsessed fanbase of retail traders — and what does it mean?
Business Insider senior correspondent Katie Notopoulos discusses the livestreaming, meme-making community behind Palantir's stock and the company's CEO Alex Karp.
📖 Read How Palantir stock developed a weird, passionate, meme-crazy fan base on Fast Company.
About Katie Notopoulos
Katie Notopoulos is a senior correspondent at Business Insider writing about technology and business. Based in New York, you can email her knotopoulos@businessinsider.com or message her on Twitter @katienotopoulos. She covers topics on internet culture, big tech, social platforms, crypto, and personal tech. Previously, Katie was a tech reporter at BuzzFeed News and has written for Fast Company, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and MIT Technology Review.
Credits
Hosted by Josh Chapdelaine & Dr. Jamie Cohen
Digital Void Podcast is a production of Digital Void, LLC.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.