NET Society

For their 50th episode, the Net Society crew marks the milestone with a timely conversation that captures the pulse of digital art and crypto innovation. They kick things off reacting live to Lava Labs’ Quine drop on Art Blocks, then look ahead to Marfa Weekend and what its growing scale means for the culture. The discussion moves through reflections on Burning Man, the evolution of creative communities, and parallels to crypto’s own cycles of growth. From there, they unpack Zcash’s resurgence, explore store-of-value narratives across assets and networks, and close with thoughts on the return of old ideas like decentralized storage and the rise of prediction markets.

Mentioned in the episode

Quine by Larva Labs on Art Blocks https://www.artblocks.io/collection/quine-by-larva-labs

Burning Man https://burningman.org/

Geeks, MOPs, and sociopaths https://meaningness.com/geeks-mops-sociopaths

Zero-knowledge proof https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-knowledge_proof

$2 Billion investment in Polymarket https://finance.yahoo.com/news/york-stock-exchange-parent-company-135836830.html

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) - Quine Drop and Lava Labs

The Net Society crew talks about gearing up for Marfa with a look at the upcoming programming at Glitch, live coding competitions, and Chris’ upcoming book and apps. The conversation turns to the rise of Sora and Meta’s AI social experiments, and what new feed mechanics could mean for personalized algorithms. They dive into the risks of post-literacy, media evolution, and shifting cultural power, drawing parallels from Gutenberg to TikTok to memes as political weapons. The episode closes with a discussion on AI in Hollywood and the creative industries, and what comes next as adaptive media systems reshape how stories are told.

Mentioned in the episode

Meta Vibes AI video feed https://x.com/alexandr_wang/status/1971295156411433228

Sora 2 https://x.com/OpenAI/status/1973075422058623274

The age of books and brainrot https://resobscura.substack.com/p/the-age-of-books-and-the-age-of-brainrot

Tilly Norwood https://x.com/Variety/status/1972792784752193553

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) - Marfa Countdown and Vibe Coding

The Net Society crew returns with a lively mix of culture, tech, and markets. They kick off with coffee rituals and the rise of the “performative male,” before turning to the resurgence of old tech titans and massive AI cross-investments that feel like the early stages of Skynet. The conversation shifts to media consolidation and empire building, then dives into TikTok’s valuation, the end of the attention economy, and the rise of the token economy. The group explores new NFT Strategy experiments aimed at Squiggles/generative art liquidity, before unpacking Kraken’s IPO path and what scaling does to company culture. They close with a speculative look at AI agents, robot futures, and how media might be reshaped in the years to come.

Mentioned in the episode

Female popstars and mediocre men https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/09/08/why-female-pop-stars-are-lambasting-mediocre-men

Eric Schmidt AI and tech innovation in the US https://www.rdworldonline.com/dont-screw-it-up-eric-schmidts-warning-on-u-s-innovation-as-new-data-shows-china-on-track-to-take-rd-lead/

Cloudflare and NET Dollar https://x.com/Cloudflare/status/1971212556011196859

TokenWorks releases new projects (SquiggleStrategy) https://x.com/token_works/status/1971590630762856910

Rizzbot https://www.instagram.com/p/DOQ0TuADYEh/

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) - Coffee, Blank Street, and Performative Male Aesthetics

The Net Society crew gears up for Marfa while unpacking the latest waves of on-chain experimentation. They dive into the launch of $PNKSTR and its protocol mechanics, weighing the lessons from early hiccups and the potential for new NFT-ERC20 hybrids. From there, the conversation broadens into questions of utility and adoption, tracing connections to low-risk DeFi and Vitalik’s vision for Ethereum’s future. The group considers the mounting pressure stablecoins place on global banking and the trillions waiting in money markets, before shifting to AI’s recent milestones and the media power plays shaping culture. The episode closes with a deep appreciation of Eric De Giuli’s Zero and reflections on the evolving role of collectors.

Mentioned in the episode

$PNKSTR and NFTStrategy https://x.com/token_works/status/1968361945226166754

Low-risk defi from Vitalik https://x.com/VitalikButerin/status/1969522612750672132

Aave https://x.com/aave/status/1969036780151169064

Bank of England stablecoin caps https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bank-england-plan-cap-stablecoin-064322101.html

Eric De Giuli - Zero (Broken Symmetry) https://x.com/eeedg__/status/1966175168142913979

Ask Aaron about getting link to open ai winning coding competition

Poet Engineer https://x.com/poetengineer__

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

• (00:16) - Marfa Anticipation and Event Planning

The Net Society crew returns with a sweeping conversation that spans regulation, culture, and technology. Derek kicks things off with a recap of his recent trip to Washington, where he led an SEC workshop on AI and crypto. From there, the group dives into the rise of custom AI stacks, the tension between open source models and tokenized services, and what it means for the future of software. Talk shifts toward escapism in an age of surveillance, touching on music, bunkers, and Marfa as a much-needed oasis. The crew wrestles with algorithms, radicalization, and the illusion of control, before zooming out to consider global unrest, institutional turnover, and generational frustration. They close with a forward look at AI agents, video models, and the seismic changes barreling toward media, advertising, and education.

Mentioned in the episode

Derek visits the SEC in DC https://x.com/derekedws/status/1965272290548920610

Palantir https://x.com/PalantirTech

Exit Society Meme https://conceptbureau.substack.com/p/exit-society?r=xww4p&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true

Nepal chooses next PM on Discord https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/gen-z-protestors-have-chosen-next-nepal-pm-via-vote-on-discord-what-is-discord-and-how-it-is-used-2786279-2025-09-12

Albania’s new AI ‘minister’ https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/albanias-leader-new-cabinet-includes-ai-minister-fight-125504401

AI generated podcasts https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/ai-podcast-start-up-plan-shows-1236361367/

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 and Crypto at the SEC

This week on Net Society we’re joined by special guest Seth Goldstein, who brings his perspective on building creative AI agents and the future of digital culture. The crew dives into the growing backlash against AI and fears around jobs, then explores the thrill of coding benders and the new sense of empowerment they bring. From there, the group wrestles with psyops, rabbit holes, and how cultural memory shapes our adoption of technology, before tracing historical parallels in how innovations diffuse over time. The conversation shifts to vibe coding, creativity, and the contrasting energies of East and West Coast approaches, then into on-chain experiments, autonomous agents, and the emerging religion of AI. The episode closes with reflections on entropy, weirdness, and the collective need to loosen up.

Mentioned in the episode

Special Guest Seth Goldstein https://x.com/Seth

Coinbase Brian Armstrong 40% code is AI generated  https://x.com/brian_armstrong/status/1963315806248604035

Eden Art https://x.com/Eden_Art_

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 Backlash and Job Fears

Aaron and Derek are both out this week, leaving Chris and Pri to hold down the fort for Net Society’s first ever two-person episode. Things get a little unhinged as they wander into the woods of digital culture, comparing fairy tales and existential plays to the state of crypto. The conversation turns to Kanye’s short-lived token and the meme coin churn, then drifts through waterparks, slang, and the curious emergence of “clanker” as an AI slur. From there they unpack the world of AI boyfriends and what it says about loneliness in 2025, before diving into Jerome Powell’s latest remarks and the Fed’s shifting policy stance. The back half of the episode revisits radicalizing moments from the Iraq war to the 2008 bailouts, connecting them to Bitcoin’s origins, and closes with a hopeful turn as the pair find themselves excited again about generative art.

Mentioned in the episode

Kanye launches $YZY memecoin https://x.com/WatcherGuru/status/1958708989576806714

American Dream Mall Waterpark https://www.americandream.com/venue/dreamworks-water-park

My Boyfriend is AI Subreddit https://www.reddit.com/r/MyBoyfriendIsAI/

Fed Chair Jerome Powell announcement https://x.com/WatcherGuru/status/1958893683299717477

Quantizer by Harm van den Dorpel https://verse.works/series/quantizer-by-harm-van-den-dorpel

Scribbs by Fingacode https://verse.works/series/scribbs-by-fingacode

Dominoes in Fluxus by Ivona Tau https://braindrops.cloud/projects/24

Zach Lieberman https://x.com/zachlieberman

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) - Hansel & Gretel Opener

The Net Society crew returns without Derek this week, diving into a caffeine-fueled opener that spirals into musings on Ayn Rand, Objectivism, and strange hotel lobby encounters. From there, they pivot to Moonbirds’ unexpected resurgence, the shifting middle tier of the NFT market, and how squiggles and character IP are competing for cultural relevance. The conversation widens to explore NFT IP as Hollywood’s new frontier, from Pudgy Penguin backpacks to hypothetical Pete Davidson cameos. A detour into Washington’s mixed signals on Bitcoin reserves morphs into satirical pitches for a Milady movie, before the group digs into the risks of LLM overuse, school phone bans, and how AI could reshape education. They close with thoughts on the SEC’s sudden pro-crypto tone, Solana’s place in the market cycle, and a timeline takeover of Howard Stern-era media nostalgia.

Mentioned in the episode

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fountainhead

Moonbirds https://x.com/moonbirds

Milady Maker https://x.com/MiladyMaker333

WSJ Autism and LLMs article https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-autism-risks-openai-chatgpt-2311254d

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

The Net Society crew is back with a packed conversation spanning immersive tech, AI breakthroughs, and the evolving art market. They open with the latest in metaverse development, exploring how new world models could reshape interfaces, AR adoption, and virtual environments. From there, the discussion shifts to robotics, asking how close we are to shaking hands with machines and the societal quirks that might come with it. The release of GPT-5 takes center stage next, with early impressions on its programming capabilities and what it means for the future of software creation. A spirited debate follows on the role of Figma and other design tools in an AI-driven workflow, before turning to the announcement of the Art Blocks 500 and what it signals for generative art’s legacy. The crew closes with thoughts on renewed NFT market energy, the missing middle in on-chain culture, and how future communities might thrive without falling into old tokenized traps.

Mentioned in the episode

Genie 3 AI model release https://x.com/GoogleDeepMind/status/1952732150928724043

GPT-5 release from OpenAI https://x.com/OpenAI/status/1953504357821165774

Art Blocks 500 https://x.com/artblocks_io/status/1953120356945842542

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) - Is the Metaverse Back?

The Net Society crew returns with a wide-ranging conversation on digital art, crypto markets, and shifting policy winds. They kick things off with market sentiment and recent activity in the Art Blocks Discord, then dive into a discussion about what’s due for a comeback in the space. The group unpacks the consumer crypto playbook and shares thoughts on the potential of projects like Rekt. A deep dive into the SEC’s evolving stance on tokens and a new White House crypto report sparks a thoughtful look at tokenized equity, ICOs, and regulatory timelines. The episode closes with a celebration of artist conviction, spotlighting the work of Eric De Giuli, Kim Asendorf, and others.

Mentioned in the episode

Art Blocks acquires Trame Paris https://x.com/artblocks_io/status/1950239952773795963

Digital Assets White House market report https://x.com/derekedws/status/1950629069189771398

Eric De Giuli (EDG) https://x.com/eeedg__

Kim Asendorf https://x.com/kimasendorf

Andreas Gysin https://x.com/andreasgysin

Noper https://x.com/bagdelete

INFINITEYAY https://x.com/infiniteyay

Claire Silver https://x.com/ClaireSilver12

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) - Off-Chain Summer and Market Sentiment