AI, Dinosaurs, and the Future of Entertainment

Andrew opens by demoing Replicate's Trellis model, which turns a 2D image into a 3D mesh. He uses a ChatGPT-generated Blade Runner-style car image, shows the model producing a 3D asset in a little over a minute for about seven cents, and the hosts discuss how accessible 3D asset generation could change creative workflows, games, and set design. The conversation moves into broader AI optimism and skepticism. Justin argues that AI development will keep accelerating and that productized value is still underbuilt, while Andrew and Brian criticize AI naysayers for relying on limited personal impressions rather than broad evidence. The episode also covers a speculative physics discussion about energy transmission and a paper on extracting small amounts of power from Earth's magnetic field, with the hosts emphasizing that interesting research can still be impractical or overhyped. Key topics AI image-to-3D generation and creative workflows: Trellis on Replicate is shown converting a 2D image into a 3D mesh, with discussion of uses for game assets, set design, and faster creative iteration. OpenAI image model for recreation and editing: Justin says the new image model can recreate photos, remove backgrounds, and make stunt doubles or movie-poster-style images. Codex / command-line app generation: Andrew mentions using Codex as a tool to build simple apps or assets from the command line with an OpenAI key. AI skepticism versus lived experience: The hosts argue that many AI skeptics ha