Culture & Code

Why Culture & Code?

We believe our job as creators is to expand human potential by mastering a new medium for expression. For Generative AI to benefit the human condition, it must be tamed by people pushing themselves to realize something difficult and worthwhile. Helping creative professionals dream bigger and create smarter is the mission of Culture & Code.

Design Fiction: How the Change the World Through Storytelling

Yogi Berra famously quipped that “the future ain’t what it used to be.” That’s especially true when it comes to trying to predict changes brought on by technology. More and more decision makers are turning to science fiction not simply for entertainment but for clues about how people and societies navigate the different worlds spawned by new capabilities. Design fiction is taking that a step further by deliberately composing fictional narratives based on real world technologies and cultural practice. This show is about how we’re approaching Design Fiction as a way to understand the future and try to make it better. 

Hollywood on Strike: The Rise of AI

The creative artists strike of 2023 rocked the entertainment world. Writers, actors, and radio artists took their fears about streaming, compensation and AI's role. Culture & Code speaks with Hollywood media and technology catalyst Lori Schwartz about this dispute that will reshape the future creative landscape for years to come.

The 25th Hour Pt. 3: Storytelling for New Mobility

Part three of our three-part series exploring the space where autonomous vehicles, media and artificial intelligence converging to create an entirely new entertainment experience. This episode examines what storytelling for autonomous mobility might look like when we have freedom of attention and a captive audience on the road.

The 25th Hour Pt. 2: Context is King

Part two of our three-part series exploring the space where autonomous vehicles, media and artificial intelligence converging to create an entirely new entertainment experience. This episode deals with how our new environment is going to shape the content we consume.

The 25th Hour Pt. 1: Mobility as a Media Environment

Part one of our three-part series exploring the space where autonomous vehicles, media and artificial intelligence converging to create an entirely new entertainment experience. This episode explores the car as the next interactive media platform.

Your Mind on Audio

We explore audio as a storytelling medium that transports listeners, interacts with us, fuels creativity, and connects people—revealing how the human mind is still the ultimate theater.

Natural Born Cyborgs

No character better captures our fears about technology than the cyborg, a living organism that is simultaneously flesh and technology. At the same time, we love videos of paralyzed people taking halting steps in a rehab center or deaf babies with cochlear implants laughing as they hear their mother's voice for the first time. I'm a cyborg fan, happy to merge with a surrounding web of symbols, culture and technology.

Bots & Crafts

Can AI actually be creative or is it human beings who are hallucinating? We examine how AI is transforming music, art, and more – while learning some science about the heart of the storyteller.

Synthetic Media, Human Touch with Ian Beacraft

We speak with Ian Beacraft, the CEO and Chief Futurist at Signal & Cipher out of Chicago. Ian is an internationally recognized expert in synthetic media and its impact on across industries, not just media & entertainment. Ian provides an overview of synthetic media, why it burst upon the scene, the categories and who's using it. We also explore the impact of AI-powered content creation with Ian Beacraft. Synthetic media offers new opportunities for non-specialists to express their ideas in ways they never imagined. And like all powerful technologies, synthetic media is bound to be misunderstood and even misapplied until people focus on use cases that truly make sense.