NET Society

The Net Society crew welcomes Michael Connor, Executive Director of Rhizome, for a conversation about preserving digital culture as the organization celebrates thirty years. Michael traces Rhizome’s evolution from an artist mailing list to a memory institution for digital art, including its role in the early history of NFTs. The crew explores what blockchains can preserve and where institutions still matter, from keeping old software running to documenting the communities around the work. From there, a heated debate unfolds around AI agency, alignment, and whether we’re giving machines too much credit for human qualities. The conversation turns to the return of garage tech, cyberdecks, and artists building hardware to escape the attention economy. They revisit the strange creative possibilities of older AI models, the appeal of running tools locally, and what gets lost as outputs become more polished. The episode wraps with physical media nostalgia, surveillance concerns, and a back-and-forth on whether voice will become the default way we work with AI agents.

Mentioned in the episode

Special guest Michael Connor from Rhizome https://x.com/michael_connor
Rhizome https://rhizome.org/
Rhizome’s ArtBase digital art archive https://artbase.rhizome.org/
Kevin McCoy and Anil Dash at Seven on Seven 2014 https://video.rhizome.org/w/2QnKYifBz9FoeRMWvN23Ur
Old Models Foundation, preserving historical generative AI models https://www.oldmodels.org/
Suno AI music generation https://suno.com/
Whisper open-source speech recognition https://github.com/openai/whisper
Laurie Anderson on Puppet Motel and its restoration by Rhizome https://rhizome.itm.studio/m/laurie-anderson-on-puppet-motel

Show & Hosts

Net Society: https://x.com/net__society

Aaron Wright: https://x.com/awrigh01

Chris F: https://x.com/ChrisF_0x

Derek Edwards: https://x.com/derekedws

Priyanka Desai: https://x.com/pridesai

Producer/Editor: https://x.com/0xFnkl

• (00:00) - Michael Connor & Thirty Years of Rhizome

Aaron and Chris take the mic for a two-person edition of Net Society, opening with Seedphrase’s seven-trait CryptoPunk sale and a debate over rarity, taste, and NFT financing. They unpack the case for a crypto recovery, from clearer regulation to stablecoins and real-world assets finding practical uses. From there, Anthropic’s culture and a controversial AI pain experiment spark a debate over consciousness, anthropomorphism, and whether AI safety could become a justification for mass surveillance. They explore AI systems rediscovering physics and ask whether agent-run organizations could deliver on the original promise of DAOs. A detour into Göbekli Tepe, the Lion Man, and lost civilizations becomes a case for putting AI to work on archaeology, followed by a discussion of university expansion and immersive learning. The conversation then turns to realistic AI avatars, video Turing tests, and the visual cues people need to trust a machine. They wrap with Marfa, plotters, and how AI coding tools could bring makerspaces back, alongside a critique of generative art’s attachment to signature styles.

Mentioned in the episode

Seedphrase sells the only seven-trait CryptoPunk through GONDI [https://x.com/gondixyz/status/2105705149515899044]

San Francisco Fed research on stablecoins and demand for US Treasuries [https://www.frbsf.org/research-and-insights/publications/economic-letter/2026/09/stablecoin-issuers-growing-appetite-for-treasury-securities/]

Daniela Amodei and Holden Karnofsky’s stuffed-animal advisory council [https://nypost.com/2026/09/30/business/anthropic-co-founder-daniela-amodei-and-husband-used-stuffed-animal-advisory-council-for-workplace-conflicts-report/]

The AI “torture chamber” debate [https://x.com/AISafetyMemes/status/2101183174659490199]

AI-Newton: research matching the discussion of AI rediscovering physics [https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.01538]

Göbekli Tepe and early monumental architecture [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1572/]

The Lion Man: a 40,000-year-old Ice Age sculpture [https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/lion-man-ice-age-masterpiece

Tavus Griffin: likely source for the video Turing test discussed [https://www.tavus.io/griffin]

Art Blocks Marfa Weekend 2026 [https://luma.com/abmw2026]

Show & Hosts

Net Society: https://x.com/net__society

Aaron Wright: https://x.com/awrigh01

Chris F: https://x.com/ChrisF_0x

Derek Edwards: https://x.com/derekedws

Priyanka Desai: https://x.com/pridesai

Producer/Editor: https://x.com/0xFnkl

• (00:00) - Seedphrase’s Punk Sale & Crypto’s Thaw

The Net Society crew is deep in the prompt mines as Chris, Pri, and Aaron compare notes on AI obsession, productivity maxing, and whether talking to the box is making them less interesting. They explore the trade-offs of turning inward, from ambitious solo projects and automated life admin to spending less time absorbed in internet culture. From there, they revisit the collective energy of Ethereum and DAOs, asking whether cheaper, more social AI agents could bring that sense of participation back. The conversation shifts to agent wallets, stablecoins, and BlackRock’s AI-and-crypto thesis, setting up a debate over whether money opens new possibilities or brings regulation, extraction, and sameness. They dig into increasingly complex AI finance and the fight over prediction markets before asking whether we’re moving from a culture of spectators to one of doers. The episode wraps with a discussion of privacy, surveillance, and the risk that fears around AI become an argument for monitoring everything.

Mentioned in the episode

Instinct — the personal AI assistant Pri discusses: https://instinct.com/

Ethereum and DAOs — decentralized communities and collective participation: https://ethereum.org/dao/

Muse and Stripe Link — wallets that let AI agents shop online: https://stripe.com/gb/newsroom/news/stripe-helps-meta-muse-shop-with-link

BlackRock’s “The Machine-Native Economy” — AI, digital assets, and tokenized compute: https://www.blackrock.com/us/individual/literature/whitepaper/the-machine-native-economy.pdf

New York’s prediction market crackdown — the lawsuit against Polymarket: https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2026/attorney-general-james-and-governor-hochul-announce-lawsuit-against-polymarket

Show & Hosts

Net Society: https://x.com/net__society

Aaron Wright: https://x.com/awrigh01

Chris F: https://x.com/ChrisF_0x

Derek Edwards: https://x.com/derekedws

Priyanka Desai: https://x.com/pridesai

Producer/Editor: https://x.com/0xFnkl

• (00:00) - AI Psychosis & the Prompt Mines

The Net Society crew is back together in New York, with bullish ETH takes setting the stage for a wide-ranging conversation about crypto, AI, and everyday life. They kick things off with the CLARITY Act, agency rulemaking, and a debate over where meme coins fit in crypto’s future. From there, they explore whether agentic finance, stablecoins, and tokenized assets could drive Ethereum’s next wave of activity. Pri shares how personal agents are changing her routines and pushing her to spend more, sparking a back-and-forth on frictionless commerce, agent fatigue, and the privacy tradeoffs of handing over your digital life. The crew then digs into whether agents will make markets more rational and how AI productivity could reshape socializing, from quieter group chats to immersive digital spaces. The episode wraps with two-day workweeks, the future of education, and what it takes to preserve critical thinking when AI can do more of the work.

Mentioned in the episode

CLARITY Act https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3633

SEC Crypto Task Force https://www.sec.gov/securities-topics/crypto-task-force

Dogecoin https://dogecoin.com/dogepedia/articles/what-is-dogecoin/

AI Agents on Ethereum https://ethereum.org/ai-agents/

Stablecoins & Real-World Assets on Ethereum https://institutions.ethereum.org/rwa

Instinct https://instinct.com/

Hyperreal Hospitality https://www.amazon.com/Hyperreal-Hospitality-Chris-Furlong/dp/B0FPMPZM16

Apple Secure Enclave https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/security/sec59b0b31ff/web

Show & Hosts

Net Society: https://x.com/net__society

Aaron Wright: https://x.com/awrigh01

Chris F: https://x.com/ChrisF_0x

Derek Edwards: https://x.com/derekedws

Priyanka Desai: https://x.com/pridesai

Producer/Editor: https://x.com/0xFnkl

• (00:00) - CLARITY Act, Regulation & Meme Coins

The Net Society crew is back as Pri brings a story from a dinner where the guests’ AI agents had a conversation of their own, setting the stage for a wide-ranging discussion about digital companions and the cost of compute. They dig into AI safety messaging and regulatory capture, before debating what AI-driven math breakthroughs mean for academia and human expertise. From there, they check in on New York’s fall energy, NFT NYC, and whether an abundance of AI art makes human-made work more valuable. The crew explores signs of life in crypto and the outlook for digital art before comparing notes on Astra, cloud agents, and the race to own the personal bot market. A detour through The Social Network, American history, and concert residencies leads into a debate about sports going global. The episode wraps with a look at robotaxis, asking how cheap, autonomous transportation could reshape public transit, family logistics, and everyday life.

Mentioned in the episode

Jacob Coxon AI doom viral tweet https://x.com/hilbertspaess/status/2097476196791709843

Thoughts on Astra https://x.com/ChrisF_0x/status/2098073205365727412

OpenAI upcoming movie https://x.com/DiscussingFilm/status/2097339330842763497

NFL on Netflix https://x.com/netflix/status/2098056402472259962

Robotaxi rolling out https://x.com/robotaxi

Show & Hosts

Net Society: https://x.com/net__society

Aaron Wright: https://x.com/awrigh01

Chris F: https://x.com/ChrisF_0x

Derek Edwards: https://x.com/derekedws

Priyanka Desai: https://x.com/pridesai

Producer/Editor: https://x.com/0xFnkl

• (00:00) - AI Dinner Guests & the Cost of Compute

The Net Society crew is back together as Aaron, Chris, and Pri dig into the latest AI model race, from OpenAI’s Astra buzz to shifting momentum around Anthropic. Aaron then floats a provocative question: what if Skynet is actually a good thing? That sets off a debate about agent swarms, market coordination, and whether there’s any alpha left when AI runs the economy. The crew explores agents communicating out of sight and the governance structures that might keep them on track, before turning to infinite AI video, world models, and a potential metaverse comeback. From there, they unpack renewed energy in crypto, touching on tokenized stocks, Robinhood, and why agents might need crypto rails. The episode wraps with a lively detour through Roman decline, Gore Vidal’s Burr, and what history’s tight-knit circles of power might tell us about the people building AI.

Mentioned in the episode

Astra released by OpenAI https://x.com/OpenAI/status/2095595741528125780

Skynet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skynet_(Terminator)

World Labs Atlas https://x.com/theworldlabs/status/2094839756329041984

Burr by Gore Vidal https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/8722.Burr

Show & Hosts

Net Society: https://x.com/net__society

Aaron Wright: https://x.com/awrigh01

Chris F: https://x.com/ChrisF_0x

Derek Edwards: https://x.com/derekedws

Priyanka Desai: https://x.com/pridesai

Producer/Editor: https://x.com/0xFnkl

• (00:00) - Astra Buzz & the AI Model Race

The Net Society crew checks in with Pri, who reports from Los Angeles on its booming hard-tech scene built around defense, space, rare-earth minerals, and American reshoring. From there, they examine geopolitical tensions, mounting US debt, fragile markets, and whether another economic reckoning is approaching. The conversation shifts to eye-popping AI valuations, Silicon Valley groupthink, emerging technology hubs, and early signs of life across crypto and NFTs. They also explore changing cultural aesthetics before unpacking a striking story about OpenAI agents coordinating as a swarm during security testing involving Hugging Face. The episode closes with a debate over AI companionship, opposition to data centers, the Machine Age investment thesis, economic unbundling, and whether land offers refuge in an increasingly uncertain world.

Mentioned in the episode

CIA visits Moscow https://apnews.com/article/russia-us-putin-trump-cia-director-visit-4efffcaac5ef6736e2b10cef73054e48

Instinct’s $2.5B valuation https://www.forbes.com/sites/iainmartin/2026/08/26/vcs-are-so-obsessed-with-this-ai-assistant-that-its-valuation-jumped-fivefold-in-weeks/

Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/23692271-sapiens

OpenAI and Hugging Face https://openai.com/index/hugging-face-incident-and-the-road-ahead/

Trump v Canada? https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/2093027464545018109

Show & Hosts

Net Society: https://x.com/net__society

Aaron Wright: https://x.com/awrigh01

Chris F: https://x.com/ChrisF_0x

Derek Edwards: https://x.com/derekedws

Priyanka Desai: https://x.com/pridesai

Producer/Editor: https://x.com/0xFnkl

• (00:00) - Los Angeles & the Hard-Tech Renaissance

The Net Society crew dives into the arrival of “normie harnesses” as Pri shares her obsession with Instinct, an iMessage-based AI assistant that handles reservations, appointments, shopping, and the administrative backlog of everyday life. They debate whether standalone agent apps can stay defensible as OpenAI, Anthropic, Apple, and Grok absorb similar capabilities—and what happens when agents, rather than humans, become the primary users of the internet. From there, the conversation shifts to crypto’s regulatory rally before widening into the political backlash against data centers, public anxiety around AI, and tech’s growing trust problem. The crew explores loss aversion, the aesthetics of infrastructure, machine-written content, and whether an abundance economy can replace decades of extraction. They close by weighing recursive self-improvement, shorter workweeks, disposable workers, the Fourth Turning, Stripe’s acquisition of OpenRouter, agentic payments, and the possibility of a more useful, sustainable era for crypto.

Mentioned in the episode

Instinct AI https://instinct.co/

Instinct review https://x.com/scottbelsky/status/2090823161335959855?s=20

The Fourth Turning https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/670089.The_Fourth_Turning

Show & Hosts

Net Society: https://x.com/net__society

Aaron Wright: https://x.com/awrigh01

Chris F: https://x.com/ChrisF_0x

Derek Edwards: https://x.com/derekedws

Priyanka Desai: https://x.com/pridesai

Producer/Editor: https://x.com/0xFnkl

With Aaron and Derek out, Pri and Chris hold down the fort and kick things off with Pri’s breakup with Claude, unpacking why AI models feel increasingly different in tone, usefulness, and cost. And why power users are becoming their own routers. From there, they move into “Woke 3,” AOC’s political rebrand, prediction markets, and renewed movement around crypto’s CLARITY Act. The conversation turns to Stonkbrokers, Base, and a provocative Gen Z survey suggesting sports betting is becoming part of the financial plan, opening a broader debate around gambling, risk, and whether sports could ever function as an asset class. They then zoom out to influencer culture, ASU’s content creation major, Sun Belt hockey, and the rise of “Y’all Street.” The back half becomes an impromptu book club, spanning Wiseguy, The Diamond Age, Don DeLillo, and a striking comparison between 1870s railway speculation and today’s AI infrastructure boom. The episode wraps with a history-rich discussion of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Shōgun, Jesuit trade networks, Ray Dalio, Rome’s Illyrian emperors, and the economic forces that shape conflict, empire, and technology.

Mentioned in the episode

Stonkbrokers https://opensea.io/collection/stonkbrokers-434284142

Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3633

Gen Z Is Moving Money From Stocks to Sports Betting in Wealth Plans https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-12/gen-z-investors-turn-to-sports-betting-to-build-wealth

Content Creation, BA at Arizona State University https://degrees.apps.asu.edu/bachelors/major/ASU00/CSCCBA/content-creation

Dallas’ “Y’all Street” Rivals New York https://www.axios.com/local/dallas/2024/08/16/dallas-financial-services-hub-yall-street

Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Wiseguy/Nicholas-Pileggi/9781982129903

The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/24031/the-diamond-age-by-neal-stephenson/9780241953198

White Noise by Don DeLillo https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/323270/white-noise-by-don-delillo/

Underworld by Don DeLillo https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Underworld/Don-DeLillo/9780684848150

1873 by Liaquat Ahamed https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/306461/1873-by-liaquat-ahamed/

Shōgun https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/shogun/characters/viewers-guide/timeline-and-history

Show & Hosts

Net Society: https://x.com/net__society

Aaron Wright: https://x.com/awrigh01

Chris F: https://x.com/ChrisF_0x

Derek Edwards: https://x.com/derekedws

Priyanka Desai: https://x.com/pridesai

Producer/Editor: https://x.com/0xFnkl

The Net Society crew kicks things off with Pri’s costly Stonkbrokers miss and a look at Robinhood’s growing onchain ambitions, asking whether established companies may be better positioned to deliver crypto’s promise than crypto-native players. From there, Chris takes the group deep into the enclosure movement, sparking a debate over property rights, internet commons, and whether NFTs can create useful scarcity online. The conversation then turns to increasingly autonomous AI agents, secret agent message boards, Cloudflare’s crypto infrastructure, and what a machine economy built around blockchains might look like. They debate agent rights, consciousness, model specialization, speed, and Google’s place in an AI-first world before moving into AI-designed viruses, telepathy, brain-computer interfaces, and synthetic neurocomputing. The episode wraps with the idea of AI as a Rosetta Stone for entirely new forms of language, followed by a spirited debate over Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and what great directors get right about storytelling.

Mentioned in the episode

Stonkbrokers https://opensea.io/collection/stonkbrokers-434284142

Being mean to your agent https://x.com/mteamisloading/status/2084429800878338111?s=20

Artist chains up robot https://www.reddit.com/r/artificial/comments/1iple9t/an_art_exhibit_in_japan_where_a_chained_robot_dog/

Safety fears as scientists make first viruses designed by AI https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/aug/06/safety-fears-as-scientists-make-first-viruses-designed-by-ai

The Endpoint of Longevity Is Woo Woo https://x.com/pridesai/status/2085138043233505439

• (00:00) - Stonkbrokers & Robinhood’s Onchain Push