NET Society

It’s the 60th episode of Net Society and the first conversation of 2026, with just Aaron and Chris today. The episode kicks off with the recent surge in AI driven coding and why the “vibe coding” moment feels like a real inflection point as the cost of building software collapses. From there, the conversation moves into builders versus creators, how generalists may be better positioned than specialists, and why white collar work from software to law is likely to face deeper disruption than most expect. The back half widens out to wealth, taxation, trust in institutions, and what happens when legacy political and legal frameworks collide with AI systems, before closing on questions of meaning, identity, and where purpose comes from in a post productivity world.

Mentioned in the episode

Claude having its moment https://x.com/claudeai

Karpathy AI Comments https://x.com/karpathy/status/2004607146781278521?s=20

Clavicular looksmaxxer interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8qj9RNA938

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

Production & Marketing

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

Social: https://x.com/v_kirra

• (00:00) - AI Coding Inflection Point

The crew explores what a post software world could look like as AI collapses the cost of building and reshapes where real constraints now sit. The conversation moves through the limits of current AI tooling, the growing “abundance” narrative, and why white collar work, especially law, may face deeper disruption than expected. From open source eroding AI moats to 2026 crypto predictions around regulation, token models, and ERC20s, the group examines how value, incentives, and business models are being reworked in real time. The episode closes by zooming out to NFTs, digital art, and the metaverse, questioning which cultural and spatial forms actually survive once software stops being scarce.

Mentioned in the episode

Harvey legal AI https://x.com/harvey

Derek’s thread on state of crypto https://x.com/derekedws/status/2001699465519042738

Mathcastles 4 year anniversary https://x.com/Mathcastles

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

Production & Marketing

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

Social: https://x.com/v_kirra

• (00:00) - Post-Software and Code Abundance

The crew explores whether AI is actually in a bubble or simply in a messy but necessary boom phase. The group breaks down recent commentary from market veterans, the rapid collapse in AI costs, and what real signals of excess versus durability look like. From the shifting role of experts and institutions to how AI is reshaping work, organizations, and incentives, the conversation moves into crypto, capital allocation, and why resistance to change is more likely to be sidelined than resolved. The episode then widens out to culture and geopolitics, touching on demographic decline, Gen Z political revolts, media saturation, and the fragmentation of the future into parallel paths. The discussion closes with a sharp take on art, spectacle, and why cultural gatekeepers are struggling to adapt to a more direct, participatory era.

Mentioned in the episode

The age of experts is ending https://x.com/emollick/status/1999189828756263359?s=20

Is AI in a bubble? https://www.oaktreecapital.com/insights/memo/is-it-a-bubble

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

Production & Marketing

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

Social: https://x.com/v_kirra

• (00:00) - Are We in an AI Bubble

The crew opens with Thanksgiving before diving into prediction markets, why they suddenly matter, and how insider knowledge is already shaping outcomes. They explore the financialization of everything, the social cost of hyper efficient markets, and what happens when AI and robotics reshape labor and demographics. The discussion moves into autonomous cars, insurance, and cultural shifts before closing with Basel, the rise of digital art, and how crypto native creators are pushing the medium forward.

Mentioned in the episode

Polymarket on 60 minutes https://www.cbsnews.com/video/60minutes-2025-11-30/

Kangaroo Bio https://x.com/DraperVC/status/1970880937924935887

The Depopulation Trade Article https://blog.unrulycap.com/the-depopulation-trade-an-unruly-thesis/

Beeple Dog’s at Art Basel https://x.com/nypost/status/1996365399777017919

Jack Butcher - Self Checkout https://x.com/jackbutcher/status/1995895014895837481

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

Production & Marketing

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

Social: https://x.com/v_kirra

• (00:00) - Thanksgiving Catch Up

The Net Society crew breaks down the widening split between the winners and everyone else, from markets to culture to crypto. They compare today’s mood to the 90s, trace echoes back to the Jacksonian era, and dig into why the current macro feels like a maze with no clear exits. The team talks through record art sales at the top of the market, the shifting identity of AI coding as models plateau and commoditize, and how education, media, and culture are reshaping under all of it.

Mentioned in the episode

Klimnt painting sells for record $236.4M https://x.com/artnet/status/1990938935539781633

Death by Lightning ​​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_by_Lightning

Pluribus https://www.imdb.com/title/tt22202452/

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

Production & Marketing

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

Social: https://x.com/v_kirra

• (00:00) - Tale of Two Cities

The Net Society crew digs into a wide range of topics this week, starting with the latest moves around Zcash, privacy expectations, and how crypto incentives shape market behavior. From there, the group unpacks an anthropic AI cybersecurity incident and the broader risks of local models creating real-world chaos. The conversation shifts into geopolitical tension, shadow conflict, and the surprising magic of Marble World before closing with a sharp look at elite networks, institutional trust, and a final discussion on automation, humanism, and TV recommendations.

Mentioned in the episode

Zcash moment https://x.com/pridesai/status/1988256631948226750

Cypherpunk https://x.com/cypherpunktech

Anthropic cyber attack https://x.com/AnthropicAI/status/1989033793190277618

World Labs - Marble https://marble.worldlabs.ai/

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

Production & Marketing

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

Social: https://x.com/v_kirra

• (00:00) - Opening and Warmup

The Net Society crew returns to unpack the strange evolution of human AI relationships, from “slave bots” to sidekicks, companions, and schizophrenic mirrors of the self. Derek explores Sandbar and the search for the perfect AI form factor, Chris zooms out to spatial intelligence as the real unlock, and Pri probes whether emotional companionship with machines is healthy or inevitable. The group then turns to a16z’s growing media empire, the reality of building through a crypto winter, and the politics of AI power, before closing on the ideological chaos of New York’s new “vibe governance.”

Mentioned in the episode

Sandbar AI ring https://www.sandbar.com/

Falling in love with AI article https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/11/05/magazine/ai-chatbot-marriage-love-romance-sex.html

A16z new media https://x.com/liangsays/status/1986502829499162751?s=46&t=3cJ-BS7Y1NeBdjntkS2hZQ

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

Production & Marketing

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

Social: https://x.com/v_kirra

• (00:00) - AI Slave Bots and Sentience

From techno-capitalism to gooning, the crew unpacks the contradictions of a world caught between overproduction and isolation. Aaron, Chris, and Pri trace the threads from Bill Ackman discourse to exo-capitalism, exploring how prediction, automation, and financial nihilism reshape the human condition. It’s Halloween, Bitcoin’s birthday, and the trenches are thinning, but the ideas keep multiplying.

Mentioned in the episode

Bill Ackman https://x.com/BillAckman

Prediction and postmodernism https://a16z.com/prediction-the-successor-to-postmodernism/

Exocapitalism https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/240662971-exocapitalism

Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30200112-secondhand-time

The Good Squad https://harpers.org/archive/2025/11/the-goon-squad-daniel-kolitz-porn-masturbation-loneliness/

Farcaster pivot to tokens https://x.com/tednotlasso/status/1982810870716498396

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

Production & Marketing

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

Social: https://x.com/v_kirra

• (00:00) - Opening Grievances

The Net Society crew dives into a wide-ranging conversation on crypto’s evolving landscape and its uneasy rivalry with AI. Chris opens by questioning his own “bearish” stance, leading to a lively debate on distribution, developer momentum, and the shifting perception of tokens as tools versus speculation. The group explores how AI and blockchain may ultimately converge, touching on Hyperreal Hospitality, post-authorship, and the importance of long-term relationships between builders and users. Later, they discuss postmodern exhaustion, prediction as a new cultural logic, and the consolidation of major players like Coinbase, Base, and Tether as crypto matures into its next institutional phase.

Mentioned in the episode

ADIN https://x.com/adinonline

OpenAI hires 100 investment bankers https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/openai-hires-100-investment-bankers-to-train-its-ai-20251022-p5n4er

Prediction is the successor to postmodernism https://a16z.com/prediction-the-successor-to-postmodernism/

David Phelps chains owning apps https://x.com/divine_economy/status/1981006512500720113

Tether https://x.com/Tether_to

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

Production & Marketing

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

Social: https://x.com/v_kirra

• (00:00) - Bearish on Crypto

The Net Society crew returns live and in person from Marfa for a special episode featuring Jonas from FlamingoDAO. Recorded during Art Blocks Weekend, the group reflects on five years of Flamingo, the evolution of Marfa as a cultural hub, and the abundance mindset shaping digital art. They dive into early NFT history, the legendary Alien Punk purchase, and the origins of Glitch Gallery. Chris shares insights from Hyperreal Hospitality and the future of intelligent design spaces, while the group explores the next generation of builders pushing creative and technical boundaries. A lively conversation full of stories, nostalgia, and vision for what’s next.

Mentioned in the episode

Jonas https://x.com/jonaslamis

404 (Bittensor) https://x.com/404gen_?lang=en

Remembering Flamingo buying alien punk https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2021/01/23/early-cryptopunk-digital-collectible-sells-for-762k-in-ether

Rekt by Chris https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/74924371-rekt

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

Production & Marketing

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

Social: https://x.com/v_kirra

• (00:00) - Live from Marfa