Tech leaders keep saying it’s “not too late” to build in AI yet anxiety among Gen Z engineers, creators, and early-career professionals keeps rising. If access to powerful tools is more widespread than ever, why does opportunity still feel scarce?

In this Hot Bytes episode of culturally/INCOMPETENT, Nicholas Clements-Lindsey unpacks the disconnect between industry optimism and lived reality. By examining centralized AI infrastructure, comparison culture, and the pressure to move fast, this episode reframes “falling behind” as a systems problem not a personal failure.

Driving question: If everyone has access to the same technology, why does the future still feel like a race you’re already losing?

LLM wrappers are everywhere right now and they feel like startups. Fast demos, clean interfaces, and instant traction have convinced a generation of builders that shipping quickly equals ownership. But when most AI tools rely on the same underlying models, what actually creates leverage?

In this Hot Bytes episode of culturally/INCOMPETENT, Nicholas Clements-Lindsey slows down the hype around AI startups to unpack why building on top of large language models feels entrepreneurial and where that feeling can become misleading. This isn’t a takedown of builders. It’s an examination of momentum culture, platform dependency, and how power really works in the current AI economy.

Driving question: If one clever UX and an API key can look like a company, where does real ownership actually live?

“If AI can simulate connection without vulnerability, what does that mean for relationships and who is that data really being built for?”

In this Hot Bytes episode of culturally/INCOMPETENT, Nicholas Clements-Lindsey looks past the shock value to examine what AI companionship signals about the current AI race, emotional data collection, and the evolving relationship habits of Gen Z men. Rather than treating AI girlfriends as a novelty, this episode explores them as a potential data test one designed to study validation, dependency, and intimacy in a digitized era.

This isn’t a judgment piece. It’s a sociological pause button on what happens when connection becomes automated, emotional labor becomes scalable, and vulnerability is no longer required.

If creativity is measured by data, who gets to make the art?

Allegedly, Netflix is rumored to be in conversations to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery and while the deal itself is not confirmed, the implications are already worth examining.

In this Hot Bytes breakdown, Nicholas Clements-Lindsey steps back from the headlines to explore what platform consolidation could mean for the future of creative careers. From filmmakers and writers to artists and production teams, this episode looks at how streaming dominance, data-driven green lights, and global scale may reshape how Gen Z and Millennial creatives break in, get paid, and stay sustainable.

This isn’t a panic take it’s a cultural and career conversation about access, adaptability, and what it means to build a creative life in an algorithmic entertainment economy.

If you’ve ever looked at your life and thought, “What the f#ck am I doing?”* this episode is for you.

In the trailer of culturally/INCOMPETENT, host Nicholas Clements-Lindsey opens up about the messy, unexpected, very human journey that took him from fashion design… to hospitality… to healthcare… and finally into the world of tech, AI, and digital culture. As a Millennial navigating a second or third act in real time, Nicholas explores what it means to start over, to learn publicly, and to embrace being “incompetent” on purpose.

This episode dives into why creativity rarely follows a straight path, how culture and technology collide in unpredictable ways, and what it means to grow alongside Gen Z in a rapidly shifting digital landscape. You’ll hear the origin story behind the podcast, why Nicholas created a space for curious, multi-hyphenate creatives, and how he plans to learn, unlearn, and evolve with you.

If you love tech, culture, identity, and honest conversations about starting again, this is your invitation. Welcome to culturally/INCOMPETENT — the podcast where not knowing is the point, but learning is the key.

What if the sounds you trust the most your favorite song, a familiar voice, even your own instincts aren’t as “real” as you think?

In this episode of culturally/INCOMPETENT, Nicholas sits down with sound artist and technologist Carlos Bravo to explore the invisible ways AI is reshaping what we hear… and what we feel.

If you’ve ever wondered why certain voices feel comforting, why some audio instantly feels “fake,” or how AI decides which sounds matter, this conversation will completely shift how you understand listening. Carlos breaks down the emotional science behind sound, the cultural biases embedded in audio algorithms, and why the future of music, storytelling, and trust will live inside our headphones.

By the end of this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why humans emotionally respond to sound in ways AI can’t replicate
• How AI interprets audio and who it overlooks
• The cultural and identity-driven biases hiding in AI-generated voices
• What it means when technology controls the atmosphere of our feelings
• How to become a more conscious listener in a world where audio is engineered

This isn’t just an episode about sound. It’s about awareness how the things we hear shape the realities we believe.

If you’re curious about tech, creativity, identity, or the emotional power of audio, this conversation will give you the “one up” you didn’t know you needed.

Starts with a question, delivers the value, and positions the episode clearly for search and discovery.

What does it really take to stay authentic as a beauty creator in a world built by algorithms, AI, and nonstop digital performance? In this episode of culturally/INCOMPETENT, Nicholas Clements-Lindsey sits down with beauty creator and digital storyteller Brittany Elliott to explore how technology, aesthetics, and authenticity collide in 2025.

Listeners will learn how creators navigate algorithm pressure, automation, platform shifts, and the increasing expectation to “show up” online with polished storytelling while still keeping the humanity and honesty that audiences crave. Brittany breaks down the business of beauty, why authenticity is a strategy (not a trend), and how emerging AI tools are reshaping content creation, partnerships, and influence itself.

This episode blends beauty, culture, and cutting-edge technology, offering creators, strategists, and curious listeners a transparent look at what it really means to build digital influence today.

You’ll learn:

• How beauty creators maintain authenticity in an AI-driven landscape
• The real expectations behind brand partnerships in 2025
• Why algorithms shape what we post—and how to push back
• How to use tech tools without losing your voice or vision
• The future of creative influence and what audiences now demand

If you care about beauty, culture, technology, authenticity, or digital storytelling, this is the episode you cannot skip.

In this premiere episode, Nicholas Clements-Lindsey sits down with Dr. Craig Kaplan, an AI researcher and technology ethicist, to explore the evolution of artificial intelligence and the idea of superintelligence - a future in which machines surpass human reasoning.

They discuss the collaboration between AI and humans, the moral framework guiding AI development, and the cultural consequences of teaching machines to think. The conversation moves between philosophy, technology, and human empathy — asking not only what AI can do, but what it should do.

What Are We About To Learn?

• Defining “superintelligence” and AI safety
• The ethical tension between innovation and responsibility
• How culture interprets rapid technological change
• Collaboration > competition: humans + machines
• The emotional cost of outsourcing human thought

Theme Music By: Brandon Gillespie

Welcome to culturally/INCOMPETENT a podcast about curiosity, culture, and the messy ways we learn through it all. Hosted by Nicholas Clements-Lindsey, a creative strategist and technology and culture journalist, the show explores how innovation, identity, and humanity collide in our digital world.

From AI to fashion, social media to politics, culturally/INCOMPETENT dives into the questions everyone’s asking but no one fully knows how to answer. Because the truth is, being culturally incompetent might just be the most human thing we can be.

Curiosity is the strategy.