The AI XR Podcast

• Why Physical Reality Is the Only Thing That Still Matters - Vince Kadlubek

  Vince Kadlubek, co-founder of Meow Wolf, joins Charlie and Ted for a deep dive into the future of immersive entertainment, arguing that in an age of infinite AI-generated digital content, "physical reality is the only place novelty still exists." From Meow Wolf’s origins as a scrappy art collective dumpster-diving for materials in Santa Fe to becoming a global location-based entertainment juggernaut with new sites planned for Los Angeles and New York, Vince reveals the philosophy behind building "maximalist" worlds that don't just tell stories but allow audiences to inhabit them.In the news segment, Charlie and Ted discuss Netflix's $83B acquisition of Warner Bros (HBO/IP assets only), Meta cutting 30% of Reality Labs to fund AI while poaching Apple's top designer, and the looming battle for 2026 as Android XR prepares to launch.Vince breaks down Meow Wolf's evolution from static walkthrough experiences to "animated spatial storytelling" where environments and characters respond to user actions—a vision of "XR RPGs" (Extended Reality Role Playing Games) that bridge the gap between video games and theme parks. He explains why the "monoculture" of Game of Thrones is gone forever, why Netflix's acquisition power signals the end of traditional scarcity models, and why the future of storytelling isn't on a screen—it's cross-reality, persistent, and physically grounded.Guest HighlightsOrigins of the Multiverse: How a Santa Fe art collective turned a bowling alley into the "House of Eternal Return" with George R.R. Martin as landlord.The "Cross-Reality" Future: Why physical locations alone aren't enough—Meow Wolf is building a "mechanically connected transmedia universe" where your actions in the park affect your digital profile and vice versa.Hollywood 2.0: New LA location takes over a movie theater to "honor cinema" while deconstructing it into spatial storytelling.Novelty Theory: "I don't care about photorealistic AI gorillas anymore." Why digital content has zero value and physical presence is the new premium.Questing & Agency: New "XR RPG" mechanics in Dallas/Houston allow visitors to level up, solve puzzles, and impact the world—gamifying reality without headsets.News HighlightsNetflix acquires Warner Bros assets ($83B)—Streaming wars end with tech giants vacuuming up legacy IP; theaters face the "nail in the coffin."Meta cuts 30% of Reality Labs—Pivot to AI funding while hiring Apple's former design chief signals a shift from brute-force VR to refined wearables.Android XR & Samsung 2026—Google and Samsung prepare to challenge Vision Pro with a new ecosystem launch next year.Alibaba launches Quark AI Glasses—China enters the smart glasses race with multimodal AI assistants.Thanks to our sponsor Zappar!Subscribe for weekly insider perspectives from veterans who aren't afraid to challenge Big Tech. New episodes every Tuesday.Watch full episodes on YouTube. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Why Gamers Are Adopting Smart Glasses First & The Android XR Future - David Jiang, Viture

  David Jiang, CEO of VITURE, joins Charlie, Ted, and Rony for a special Black Friday episode to discuss the breakout year for "display glasses" and why his company is betting on gamers, not just enterprise, to drive mass adoption. With VITURE now hitting shelves at Best Buy and flashing on billboards along Silicon Valley’s Highway 101, Jiang reveals the data behind the device’s surprising "stickiness"—average daily users are logging nearly three hours a day, often to play console games in bed or on the couch to avoid "social pressure" from family over occupying the main TV.The conversation dives deep into the hardware reality check: why David believes "smart glasses" (like Meta Ray-Bans) and high-fidelity "display glasses" (like VITURE/XREAL) won’t merge into a single device for another decade. He breaks down the physics of weight thresholds—40g for all-day wear, 80g for session-based viewing, and 200g for full headsets—and explains why trying to force high-end compute into a Ray-Ban form factor today is a fool’s errand. David also unpacks VITURE’s new real-time 2D-to-3D AI conversion and why he views Android XR as the inevitable "destiny" for the open ecosystem.In the news segment, the hosts debate Casio’s $600 AI hamster "Moflin" (cute but annoying), analyze why Snapchat can't monetize despite hitting 1 billion users, and discuss Disney's new autonomous robots roaming the parks.Guest Highlights VITURE enters mainstream retail: Now available at Best Buy, marking a shift from niche tech to consumer electronics. "Secretly sticky" usage data: Active users average 2 hours 50 minutes daily; top 5% users hit 10+ hours/day replacing monitors. The "At-Home Mobility" Insight: Gamers aren't just using glasses on planes—they use them to play Steam Deck/Switch in bed while partners watch TV. Real-time AI 2D-to-3D: New feature converts legacy content (YouTube, photos, retro games) into 3D on the fly. Weight Philosophy: Defines strict form-factor limits: 40g (glasses), 80g (media visor), 200g (VR headset). News Highlights Casio's Moflin AI Pet—Charlie reviews the $600 emotional support robot; cute, but drives the dog crazy. Snapchat hits 1 Billion Users—massive reach milestone, yet the hosts debate why they still can't monetize like Meta. Disney's AI Robotics—autonomous characters like the "frozen snowman" begin roaming parks. Android XR & Samsung—Google Maps AR updates and the "Gear VR" revival signal a major ecosystem shift for 2026. Subscribe for weekly insider perspectives from veterans who aren't afraid to challenge Big Tech. New episodes every Tuesday. Watch full episodes on YouTube. Thanks to our sponsor Zappar! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• VR Art, Immersive Storytelling, and Festival Culture Matter More Than Hype—Kent Bye, Voices of VR

  Kent Bye—host of the Voices of VR podcast and one of XR's most prolific journalists with over 1,680 published interviews—joins Charlie and Ted for a wide ranging conversation on the state of immersive storytelling, the ethics of AI, and why XR's future might be less about consumer headsets and more about embodied presence and human connection. Kent's decade-long commitment to documenting artists, creators, and developers at the ground level offers a counterpoint to hype-driven tech coverage, revealing the messy, vital ecosystem sustaining VR through festival circuits, location-based entertainment, and government-funded experimental projects that rarely make headlines.The conversation opens with Jeff Bezos's new AI robotics company Prometheus, Amazon's one-to-one human-robot workforce parity, and the implications of industrial AI automation. Ted shares his recent appearance on cinematographer Roger Deakins's podcast, where they discussed AI as a creative tool rather than a threat—a perspective Kent echoes when discussing artists who use AI to critique AI's "colonizing force." Kent explains his philosophy of "boots on the ground" journalism inspired by Knight Ridder's Iraq War reporting, focusing on developers and creators closest to the work rather than corporate press releases.Kent reveals why he's been lukewarm on smart glasses despite industry excitement—monocular displays give him headaches, his prescription is too strong for current hardware, and most importantly, there's no compelling narrative content yet. He contrasts this with VR's rich immersive storytelling at festivals like Venice Immersive, Sundance New Frontier, IDFA DocLab, and Tribeca, where government-funded European projects push the medium's boundaries in ways U.S. startups can't afford to explore. The discussion touches on Meta's Ray-Ban AI glasses, the impracticality of Meta's neural band input, and why Snap's developer platform remains the most interesting AR ecosystem despite limited consumer traction.Guest Highlights Published 1,682 VR interviews with 1,000+ unpublished; focused on artists, creators, and developers over corporate narratives. Covers 30+ hours of immersive content per festival at Venice, Sundance, IDFA DocLab—documenting ephemeral art that may never distribute widely. Started in 2014 after buying Oculus DK1; began by capturing oral history at Silicon Valley VR Conference's first gathering. Background as F-22 Raptor radar systems engineer turned documentary filmmaker—blends hardcore technical knowledge with artistic sensibility. Advocates for XR as antidote to smartphone addiction—technologies that foster embodied presence rather than infinite distraction. News Highlights Jeff Bezos launches Prometheus AI robotics company—focusing on industrial applications where enterprise adoption will drive innovation faster than consumer markets. Amazon hits one-to-one human-robot workforce parity—roughly 1 million humans, 1 million robots, with plans to shed 100K+ workers over five years. Warner Brothers settles with AI music company Udio—following Axel Springer, AP, and Fox licensing deals as New York Times litigation drags on. Enterprise AI startups raise massive rounds—Stut (collections automation, $29.5M from Andreessen), Albatross (real-time personalization, $12.5M), signaling vertical-specific AI SaaS wave. HaptX acquired by Ohio manufacturer—haptic glove company pivots to industrial training applications after years targeting consumer VR. Thanks to our sponsors Zappar and VitureNew episodes every Tuesday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• Creator Economies, Blockchain, AI & the Open Metaverse – Neal Stephenson & Rebecca Barkin, Lamina1 ​

  Neal Stephenson—legendary sci-fi author who coined "metaverse" in his 1992 novel Snow Crash—and Rebecca Barkin, co-founder of Lamina1, return to the AI XR Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation about building a decentralized creator economy, launching their dystopian AI world-building project Artifact, and why blockchain might finally free creators from Big Tech's chokehold. Joined by Charlie, Ted, and Rony, the discussion spans Neal's lost Magic Leap project, the resurrection of the open metaverse dream, and how decentralized platforms could flip Hollywood's power structure on its head.Rebecca details Lamina1's journey from blockchain currency for the open metaverse to Spaces, a multimedia creator platform built on Ethereum that allows IP owners to retain control, set royalties, and build direct relationships with fans. Think YouTube meets Discord, but on decentralized rails. The goal isn't socialism—it's a creative meritocracy where artists get equity in platforms they help build, instead of just one-time payouts while Netflix captures all the value.Neal unpacks Artifact, Lamina1's first creative test case: a post-Singularity world where 12 competing mega-AIs fight over energy, copper, water, and GPUs while humans live in the interstices. Co-created with Weta Workshop using AI tools like World Labs' marble splats, the project invites fans to co-create lore, not just consume it. It's a living experiment in collaborative IP development—and proof that small teams with AI amplifiers can build Grand Theft Auto-scale worlds.Guest Highlights Neal Stephenson coined "metaverse" in Snow Crash; former Magic Leap creative lead with lost IP still trapped at the company. Rebecca Barkin pivoted Lamina1 from metaverse currency to Spaces: a decentralized platform for multimedia creators retaining IP rights and earning equity. Artifact launches as Lamina1's test case—collaborative world-building in a dystopian post-AI Singularity where fans shape the narrative. Built on Ethereum with Consensus Network backing; uses blockchain to solve micro-transaction volatility and give creators sustainable economics. Signed Bob's Burgers team (Ghosted Media) and other Hollywood refugees seeking autonomy from studio gatekeepers. News Highlights Valve launches PC cube + wireless Index headset—sub-$1000 system to compete with Xbox/PlayStation and revive PCVR market, but will enthusiasts bite? Meta adds real-time computer vision to AI glasses—Ray-Ban smart glasses gain live AI interpretation, pushing toward inflection point for wearables. Google Maps integrates Gemini AI—natural language directions and real-world context awareness transform navigation into conversational copilot. 11 Labs launches voice marketplace—Michael Caine licenses voice cloning; Matthew McConaughey invests but won't sell his own likeness. Disney announces AI user-generated content strategy—Bob Iger teases platforms for fans to create with Disney IP, following Lego's remix culture playbook. Big thanks to our sponsor Zappar. Subscribe for weekly insider perspectives from veterans who aren't afraid to challenge Big Tech. New episodes every Tuesday. Watch full episodes on YouTube. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• The Grandfather of VR, Who Built Super Cockpits for the Air Force & 27+ XR Startups, Wants to Augment Your Brain - Dr. Tom Furness

  Dr. Tom Furness—esteemed as the “Grandfather of VR”—brings seven decades of breakthrough invention, untold stories, and rare wisdom to the AI XR Podcast. In this episode, Tom traces the thread from making rocket fuel as a kid in North Carolina to pioneering the “Super Cockpit” for the Air Force, founding the HIT Lab, and launching 27+ spatial computing startups. His journey reminds us that big shifts in XR and AI are really about one thing: boosting the bandwidth between the brain and information.Listen as Charlie and Ted tease out practical lessons from Tom’s career—how head-mounted displays and real-time simulation grew from a Pentagon skunkworks project to tools for pilots, surgeons, first responders, and kids who learn differently. Tom reveals how the “cockpit problem” was never about adding more gadgets, but about human-centered design—and why the next revolution in XR depends on soft skills, not just hardware. He shares how XR can teach memory, empathy, and “open the aperture” of the mind.Guest Highlights Invented the Super Cockpit: the first immersive, wearable pilot interface, inspiring modern VR/AR. Founded the University of Washington HIT Lab; mentored a generation of XR founders and researchers. Championed headsets, tracking, spatial sound, and haptics in military, medical, education, humanitarian, and entertainment fields. Built VR tools for everything from the F-35 to “light schools” that boost learning and emotional intelligence. Advocates for XR’s potential to unlock new forms of human growth and creativity—beyond the screen. News Highlights Stability AI and Anthropic win landmark copyright cases—courts rule AI model training as legal “fair use,” with distinctions for retaining source material. AI data centers drive up public power bills—the debate over who pays for tech’s massive energy appetite heats up. Magic Leap alumni debut no-code AR platform—pushing toward mainstream AR creation, but will intent and timing finally align? Google adds Gemini to Maps—AI-powered natural language search changes real-world navigation and travel. Subscribe for weekly insider perspectives from veterans who aren’t afraid to challenge Big Tech. New episodes every Tuesday. Watch full episodes on YouTube. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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