Medium Energy Evan Helda

This is a live recording of a panel we did with Artist & the Machine during a 'Spatial Computing Salon' in LA.
Artist & The Machine is an awesome new event series put on by my friend Dani Van De Sande. She's pulling together an amazing community of builders, brands, and investors to connect in-real life to share ideas, co-create, and meld minds; all with a similar focus as Medium Energy: to champion the elements of tech that make us more human, not less.
This panel featured a very diverse and awesome line up of entrepreneurs within spatial computing.
We had Neha Singh, the founder & CEO of ObsessAR. Obsess is building the future of e-commerce via immersive, virtual retail environments. They’re effectively giving brands a digital 'come inside' button, helping customers better interact with and understand products.
We also had Reza Ali, CEO and Founder of Valence 3D: a 3D modeling app for iPhone, iPad, and eventually VisionPro. Check it out… it’s a really slick 3D creation tool for non-3D experts.
And lastly, Don Allen Stevenson, a prominent influence & creator in this space, educating people on all the ways to use AI and spatial. He also has one of the best nick names I've heard in the content creation realm — “the Bob Ross of the metaverse’...
If you don't know who Bob Ross is, your probably a Gen Z’er… *sigh- Just look him up on YouTube. A true gem of the 80's and 90's public TV era..
During the panel, we hit on all kinds of juicy topics at the heart of Spatial Computing and AI, including:
How to address people’s fear & skeptcisim about this brave new worldThe impact we’re all seeing from this tech on both business & creativityAnd of course, we wax poetic and get philosophical about the long term implications of this interface for society writ large...
Alright enough preamble, let's dive into the show, and if you enjoy, please do subsribe, give us a rating on Apple/Spotify, and perhaps share with a friend or two!


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Welcome to Part II of our conversation with Vince Kadlubek, co-founder of Meow Wolf, aka the ‘next-gen’ Disney, or what I like to call the ‘real-world metaverse’.
If you haven't listened to Part I, trust me… Press pause and check out that episode via this link here.
It’s garnered the best + most feedback of any piece of Medium Energy content to date. It also sets important context and provides ideas that underpin this conversation, such as…
The future of storytellingHow to tap into/harness imaginationBalancing spontaneity with controlPricesless lesson in entrepreneurshipHow to bring a dream & vision to life out of thin air (e.g. ‘believing the unbelievable’)
Here in Part II, we dive into the future of Meow Wolf and how they’re integrating spatial computing, AI, and crypto.
We also discuss the challenges of leading a company, dealing with failure, and adapting to your own weaknesses.
In the end, we bring things home by getting deep. We discuss…
Vince’s experience with love and deathHow to incorporate these parts of the human experience into our daily work and lives.What questions we need to be asking ourselves as we face this moment of exponential change
I came away from this conversation feeling really optimistic about where technology is taking us… Confident you’ll feel the same… So, let's get started.
Here’s Part II of our talk with Vince Kadlubek.

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This was my favorite conversation of the past year (both on and outside of Medium Energy). It’s a chat with entrepreneur, dreamer, and dear friend: Vince Kadlubek.
Vince is one of the most compelling thinkers I know. He's also the co-founder of Meow Wolf: one of the world's most original and exciting ventures within arts and entertainment.
For those unfamiliar, Meow Wolf is akin to a next-generation Disney, but with a unique twist… catapulting visitors into a vortex of childlike wonder & awe.
More concretely, they transform huge physical spaces into a kaleidoscope of immersive experiences that blur the lines between art gallery, amusement park, and interactive museum.
With locations flourishing in Santa Fe, Denver, and Las Vegas—and with more on the horizon—the realms they build look & feel like a real-world ‘metaverse’, transporting visitors into narratives brimming with digital art, sculpture, and an evolving array of technologies like AI, augmented reality, and spatial audio. We also discuss the potential to use cryptocurrency and NFTs… which in my opinion, is where things start to get really interesting…
This convo was too rich and expansive for just one episode, so we’re dividing it into two parts.
In this first installment, we cover:
The ethos driving Meow Wolf, tracing its origins and exploring a concept that resonates deeply with me: the ability to believe in the unbelievable.The evolution of storytelling and its impact on our species, considering how such experiences not only offer healing and growth but can also usher in new avenues for finding purpose and meaning in our lives.This idea of ‘religion without religion’, as we navigate a world where traditional religious structures have left a void (of community & places with inspiration + hope)These themes are not just intellectually stimulating; they touch on something elemental to the human experience… something we’ll explore further into in Part II.
For now, let’s dive into Part I!
I find these topics endlessly fascinating, and upon hearing Vince’s perspective, I think you will too. So without further adieu, I bring you, Vince Kadlubek…

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Welcome back to another episode of Medium Energy! We have a fun and enlightening episode for you all today: a chat with Dani Loftus, the founder and CEO of DRAUP.
Draup is one of the leading platforms and marketplaces out there for digital fashion and accessories. Think of them as a blend between E-Bay and Etsy, but for digital luxury goods. You can also liken them to a ‘digital fashion house’ of sorts, designing their own items while cultivating discussion & community around the latest trends.
This might seem like a rather esoteric topic, but think again… The level of adoption and revenue from digital fashion and self expression in virtual worlds is eye popping.
It’s one of the largest, if not the largest way to make money today in 'the metaverse'. Look no further than Fortnite, who’s made billions of $$ from digital cosmetic items (aka ‘skins).
Even if you’re not into fashion, stay tuned… This conversation expands into a variety of compelling & fundamental topics. To name a few:
* NFTs: We dive more broadly into the topic of NFTs, discussing how to extract real value and utility, and how shes navigated these various bull & bear cycles
* Identity & Self Expression: We get philosophical and discuss the the future of identity and cultural expression, in this next generation of the internet
* GenAI: Of course, we’d be remiss to not hit on how AI is going to play a role in both building her business and digital fashion writ large
* Entrepreneurship: And for the aspiring entrepreneurs out there, we also cover some of Dani's personal experiences in building her first business. Her story holds valuable lessons in having a bias for action, how to just get started, and how to learn by doing.
I had a blast in this convo with Dani. Confident y'all will enjoy it as well! So without further adieu, I bring you... Dani Loftus.
Oh! And and if you do indeed enjoy this episode… would beyond appreciate a quick rating of this podcast. Really helps us spread the message and grow :-)
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mediumenergy.io

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“We’re bringing digital things into our world for the first time. That’s going to be incredibly radical. And I think there are very few things you can work on as a technologist that are more meaningful than spatial computing. Because spatial computing is ultimately the eyes and ears and the proprioception, the physical understanding of the world, for AI. When you’re building spatial computing, you’re building the sensory apparatus of our future AI companions. And that’s a really meaningful thing to do.”- Nils Phil, CEO Auki Labs
Today's episode is with Nils Pihl, the CEO of Auki Labs.
Auki Labs is one of the most fascinating startups I've come across in a while, largely because they represent the complete trifecta we focus on here at Medium Energy: spatial computing, AI, and blockchain
They’re also fascinating due to their approach to building out one of the more important, yet under discussed frontiers in technology: the ‘AR Cloud’, or Augmented Reality Cloud.
You can think of the AR Cloud as shared 3D scans (or digital reconstructions) of the physical world.
These scans act as 3D maps (or digital twins) of physical environments, acting in turn as a digital fabric upon which augmented reality devices can synchronize and overlay digital content on the real world. This will allow multiple people to see/interact with the same content all in the same location, all while giving devices an understanding of the real world.
In short, the AR Cloud is the foundation for allowing the internet to fully fuse with the real world, producing what is now being called ‘the spatial web’.
The AR Cloud won’t only be critical for AR glasses. It can also power other computer vision based systems like self driving cars, robots, drones, etc.
As for the blockchain & crypto element… No this is not about just visualizing NFTs in a virtual world. It’s being used for something much more compelling and consequential.
Excited for you to listen to this one. It’ll really get the wheels spinning, while also providing valuable insights into:
* The technology powering spatial computing
* Some of it's more philosophical implications
* How we can earn an income with Spatial + Crypto
* How spatial computing can help us thrive in a world of AI and complete automation
Alright, without further adieu, I bring you: Nils Pihl.
If you enjoy this episode, please consider sharing with a friend or three! Oh, and would greatly appreciate a review + some stars. Really helps us grow & spread the good word.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mediumenergy.io

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On today’s episode, we’re flipping the script. This time I’m in the hot seat, interviewed by David Mattin on Real Vision’s new segment ‘The Exponential Age’.
You can check out their show/channel via this link here. (I have a few other interviews with them coming down the pipe, so stay tuned!)
We cover a range of topics under the spatial computing umbrella, including:
* Why the metaverse needs a reckoning, and how it should be defined (per my essay: How to Defend the Metaverse)
* The key unlocks for spatial computing to go mainstream
* How enterprises need to prepare for a ‘spatial first’ future
* How to communicate the value of spatial computing internally at your business
* The primary intersections between AI & spatial computing
* How/why humanoid robotics = spatial computing
* The long term implications of humanoids (per my essay: The Humanoid Race)
If interested in diving deeper into these topics & ideas, check out the essays below!
How to Defend the Metaverse
Finding Solace in the Age of AI
The Humanoid Race




This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mediumenergy.io
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