Creativity vs Control: Where AI Fits in the Creative Toolbox

a16z Podcast

a16z

Science, Innovation, Business, Entrepreneurship, Culture, Disruption, Software Eating The World, Technology

4.4 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 25 February 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Being a creator in 2025 is tough—but building for creators is even harder. Perhaps no one understands this conundrum better than Scott Belsky. As the founder of Behance, a longtime executive at Adobe, and an advisor to companies like Pinterest and Atlassian, Scott has spent his career at the intersection of technology, design, and creativity. In this speedrun episode, recorded live in San Francisco during the fourth iteration of our a16z Games Speedrun program, we dive into: How AI can actually enable creators—and where its toolset should end The evolution from the "prompt era" to the "controls era" of AI Whether people really want bespoke, personalized experiences or simply crave familiarity What happens when creative scarcity disappears and AI-generated content becomes ubiquitous The future of creative tooling, from generative UI to AI-native interfaces Plus, Scott shares insights from his time building Behance, leading product strategy at Adobe, and investing in the next generation of creative tools. If you want to learn more about A16Z Games Speedrun, visit a16z.com/games/speedrun.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	The learning curve has always been this great obstacle to people entering the space.
0:05.0	Resourcefulness is a far more powerful capability than resources.
0:12.0	We don't know exactly when, we don't know exactly how, but we do know that the ultimate interface is like an inch away from our retina.
0:20.0	My thesis for the next 10 years, it's going to be that tastes will outperform skill.
0:26.6	Being a creator in 2025 is tough, but building for creators is even harder.
0:33.6	Every creator is inherently creative, so their workflows are diverse, unpredictable, and highly
0:39.7	personal. But they also want magical, modern experiences. So few companies have been able to crack
0:45.5	that code, although many are trying now that AI is opening the aperture. Perhaps no better person
0:51.5	understands this conundrum than our guest today, Scott Belski.
0:55.7	Scott was the founder of Vihance, has now spent over a decade at Adobe after VHans was acquired,
1:01.5	and is now their chief strategy officer, and has also advised companies like Pinterest and Atlassian.
1:07.8	So how can AI enable creators, and where should that tool set end? What does an AI native
1:13.0	UI even look like? We're going from the prompt era to the controls era. Plus, do people really want
1:19.7	bespoke personalized experiences or do they desire familiarity? And what happens when something
1:25.3	rare becomes ubiquitous? Listen in to find out.
1:29.4	By the way, this podcast was recorded live in San Francisco
1:32.4	during our fourth iteration of our A16Z Games Speed Run program.
1:36.9	If you'd like to learn more about Speed Run,
1:38.7	head on over to A16Z.com slash games slash speedrun.
1:44.9	As a reminder, the content here is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as
1:49.4	legal, business, tax, or investment advice, or be used to evaluate any investment or security
1:54.0	and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any A16C fund.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from a16z, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of a16z and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.