G3nerative

To me, one of the more interesting elements of the sudden surge in “generative AI” startups and projects is how they feel almost like the inverse of the sudden surge in “web3” startups and projects over the past couple of years. To be clear, both were born out of cauldrons of immense hype. But whereas the web3 variety were hype around idealistic tech and the easy ability to make money, the generative AI versions are hype around slightly unsettling tech and questions if such tech can ever be harnessed to make money.

Web3 has largely been technology looking for problems to solve while generative AI has been about almost too many solutions created by technology which is evolving on a seemingly daily basis. As a result, web3 has thus far been evangelists trying to convince us to re-solve old problems with their new technology. Generative AI has thus far been users re-solving old problems in stunning new ways as the new technology evolves to the point where we come up with new use cases.

That sounds like a knock on web3 and, well, it is. The hype that surrounded web3 was obviously unhealthy — including, namely, crypto. There was always going to be a crash and subsequent shake out of actual tech to use. Tech which will likely not look like some new “web3” but instead will augment “Web 2” in interesting ways.

But it also doesn’t mean the hype around generative AI is the healthy variety either. Certainly, there will be a lot of bullshit here as well. Hype tends to attract charlatans as if moths to a flame. But again, the difference is that this is all starting off on very different footing. A stance where people actually really, really want to use this stuff. Or at least try it.

With the launch of Dall-E 2 in beta earlier this year, it felt like the first time in a long while where a new class of consumer product was taking off. That was quickly followed by Midjourney in a similar vein (despite having to jump through the Discord server hoops). And then a dozen other generative art projects. Perhaps culminating in the immense hype around Lensa, the generative AI self portrait project from Prisma Labs (a startup which has actually been going after this general space for quite a while). And now, this past week, ChatGPT in a tangential lane.

There’s a part of all of this which has a very “fake-it-til-you-make-it” vibe. That we’re giving all of these projects far more credit than they deserve as they tickle our minds with easy illusions. But there’s another part of all of this which is absolutely unlocking new forms of creativity. And a belief in new bounds for what is possible.

As an end-user, it’s all rather exhilarating to behold. This really feels like it’s just the beginning. These projects are not only fun to play around with, they’re evolving so fast that each week seemingly brings some new breakthrough. As an investor, it’s all happening so fast, with again, so much hype (not to mention some gnarly ethical and societal questions), that no one knows how this shakes out. But it won’t be the demand problem of web3. In fact, it might be a too-much-demand problem which leads to servers melting down with costs spiraling. Ultimately, it will be companies trying to pick the right mix of rapidly evolving tech to fulfill user demand and weld it all into actual businesses. Easier said than done.

Anyway, I just wanted an excuse to publish some fun Lensa pics of myself.

In all seriousness, these are so strange to take in. I obviously recognize them as me, or some version of me, but there’s no memory of any of them being taken — because, of course, they were not. So it’s this really surreal, out-of-body experience. Your own personal Uncanny Valley.