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This Week in XR Podcast
This Week In XR March 15th, 2024 ft. Laura Mingail, Advisor, and Matthew Niederhauser, director, SXSW
Charlie and Ted, having recovered from SXSW, are back in their respective man caves, while Rony is on cell, driving through Alabama. Our SXSW panel talk will be posted in three weeks but can be found right now on the SXSW site. After a brief overview of three AI funding stories, we turned our attention back to SXSW, but other topics intruded: the potential of a TikTok ban, social media algorithms, and the ongoing OpenAI copyright mess. Our guests this week are SXSW XR experience Jury Prize Winner, Matthew Niederhauser, co-director of The Golden Key. Also joining us is Laura Mingail, a former Entertainment One executive and consultant who has been advising SXSW on XR since its beginning.
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The AI/XR Podcast August 8th, 2025 ft. Brent Bushnell, Co-Founder and CBO of DreamPark Immersive
50:07|On this episode of the AI/XR Podcast, Charlie Fink, Ted Schilowitz, and Rony Abovitz welcome Brent Bushnell, co-founder of DreamPark, for an energizing conversation about the future of mixed reality entertainment. Brent shares how DreamPark turns public spaces into interactive theme parks using Meta Quest 3 headsets, enabling immersive gameplay on city streets, at malls, and even music festivals. The hosts reflect on the legacy of Magic Leap, the overlooked brilliance of the Magic Leap game Dr. Grordbort's Invaders, made exclusively for Magic Leap by New Zealand's WETA studio. Rony compares Brent’s vision to Walt Disney, and the brainstorm an entire Dream Park business plan, discussing everything from retrofitting dead malls to launching pop-ups at Buc-ee’s and Walmart. Along the way, they discuss the shortcomings of Apple Vision Pro, Magic Leap’s lost potential, and the promise of scalable location-based XR. Equal parts XR therapy session and founder love-fest, this episode captures what happens when tech dreamers like Brent Bushnell find a working prototype.Thank you to our sponsor, Zappar!Don't forget to like, share, and follow for more! Follow us on all socials @TheAIXRPodcasthttps://linktr.ee/thisweekinxrThe AI/XR Podcast August 1st, 2025 ft. Greg Shove, CEO of Section
58:23|On this episode, Charlie, Ted, and Rony are joined by longtime tech entrepreneur Greg Shove, who shares lessons from a career spanning seven startups and multiple pivots—including a missed opportunity to buy Amazon in 1996. Now CEO of Section, Shove has repositioned the company from an online business school to an enterprise AI transformation consultancy. He discusses the shift from pandemic-era digital learning to workforce upskilling for companies deploying large language models. The conversation covers AI’s “cut and create” phases, the moral imperative to retrain displaced workers, and the risk of becoming an AI “passenger” rather than a “driver.” Shove warns of cognitive offloading and the commodification of knowledge work, suggesting that skilled trades may prove more resilient in the age of automation. The hosts reflect on AI’s Orwellian dynamics and the widening education gap in America. Thank you to our sponsor, Zappar!Don't forget to like, share, and follow for more! Follow us on all socials @TheAIXRPodcasthttps://linktr.ee/thisweekinxrThe AI/XR Podcast July 25th, 2025 ft. Bilawal Sidhu, former Google Maps PM, TED AI curator, and generative AI media pioneer
50:15|In Episode 250 of the AI/XR Podcast, Charlie Fink, Ted Schilowitz, and Rony Abovitz are joined by Bilawal Sidhu, former Google Maps PM, TED AI curator, and generative AI media pioneer. The hosts discuss Trump’s executive orders on AI and censorship, South Park's viral Trump satire, and the emerging ethics of deep fakes. Sidhu shares his journey from Flash animations at age 7 to working on immersive Google Earth VR and launching Google Maps' Immersive View. He reflects on the future of agentic AI, spatial computing, and whether 3D interfaces will ever go mainstream. The conversation veers into synthetic media’s gray goo problem, TikTok addiction, and the possibility of personalized AI podcasts. With a mix of philosophy, tech nerdery, and cultural commentary, this episode marks a milestone with one of the most articulate voices in cinematic AI.Thank you to our sponsor, Zappar!Don't forget to like, share, and follow for more! Follow us on all socials @TheAIXRPodcasthttps://linktr.ee/thisweekinxrSpecial Digital Hollywood Episode, guest are director Rob Minkoff (The Lion King), filmmaker and AI specialist Ellenor Argyropoulos, and writer-director John MacInnes
57:22|On this special Digital Hollywood episode of The AI/XR Podcast, hosts Charlie Fink, Rony Abovitz, and Ted Schilowitz are joined by director Rob Minkoff (The Lion King), filmmaker and AI specialist Ellenor Argyropoulos, and writer-director John MacInnes for a candid discussion on the upheaval AI is bringing to Hollywood. The panelists agree that while generative tools are accelerating creativity and lowering the barrier to entry, they also threaten traditional production roles and economic structures. Minkoff stresses the enduring importance of storytelling and direction, while MacInnes predicts a future with fewer below-the-line jobs and a boom in creator-driven content. Argyropoulos shares how AI has actually made her work more profitable. The conversation also touches on IP theft, synthetic actors, and the risk of massive tech consolidation. As Minkoff puts it, “AI is a tool—but the vision is still human.”Thank you to our sponsor, Zappar!Don't forget to like, share, and follow for more! Follow us on all socials @TheAIXRPodcasthttps://linktr.ee/thisweekinxrThe AI/XR Podcast July 18th, 2025 ft. Christopher Summerfield, a researcher from Google DeepMind and author of 'These Strange New Minds.
46:45|In this episode of the AIXR podcast, Charlie Fink, Ted Schilowitz, and Roni Abovitz engage in a deep conversation with Christopher Summerfield, a researcher from Google DeepMind and author of 'These Strange New Minds.' They discuss the latest developments in AI, ethical considerations, the role of AI in society, and the implications of AGI. The conversation also touches on the impact of AI on education, the need for government regulation, and the balance of power in AI development. Summerfield emphasizes the importance of guardrails for AI deployment and the potential benefits of AI in various sectors, while also acknowledging the risks and challenges that come with it.Thank you to our sponsor, Zappar!Don't forget to like, share, and follow for more! Follow us on all socials @TheAIXRPodcasthttps://linktr.ee/thisweekinxrThe AI/XR Podcast July 11th, 2025 ft. Ananya Chadha, Founder of Quander.co
49:51|On this week’s AI/XR Podcast, Charlie Fink and Rony Abovitz welcome Ananya Chadha, founder of Quander.co, a startup building AI-powered marketing agents for businesses of all sizes. Chadha, a Stanford grad with experience at Neuralink and IBM, is betting that distribution—more than product—is the defining challenge for small and large businesses in an age of content overload. Quander’s tools scrape social platforms for niche conversations and automate personalized outreach, while also optimizing ad creative based on performance data. The hosts discuss AI’s growing role in media and marketing, Meta’s $3.5B investment in Luxottica, and the rise of “AI slop” across the internet. They also touch on Nvidia’s $4T valuation and XR news from Zoom, Mentra, and Sesame. Thank you to our sponsor, Zappar!Don't forget to like, share, and follow for more! Follow us on all socials @TheAIXRPodcasthttps://linktr.ee/thisweekinxrSpecial Episode - Charlie Fink with Artur Sychov recorded in Prague on June 4th
01:06:13|Recorded in Prague, this special episode of the AI/XR Podcast features Charlie Fink in conversation with Somnium Space founder and CEO Artur Sychov. Charlie test-drives the $3,500 Somnium VR1 headset—so sharp it out-resolves human vision—and the two dive into the future of immersive tech. Artur lays out his no-nonsense definition of the metaverse: it’s not the metaverse if it’s not in VR, not persistent, and not decentralized. He praises Apple’s Vision Pro as the best dev kit ever made and says VisionOS could be the foundation of spatial computing for the next 50 years. Meta, on the other hand, gets a reality check for spending $100 billion while still depending on Apple and Google’s platforms. Thank you to our sponsor, Zappar!Don't forget to like, share, and follow for more! Follow us on all socials @TheAIXRPodcasthttps://linktr.ee/thisweekinxrThe AI/XR Podcast June 27th, 2025 ft. Randy Marsden, former Apple exec and co-founder of Skidattl
51:04|This week’s AI/XR Podcast featured Randy Marsden, former Apple exec and co-founder of Skidattl, an AR platform for creating geo-anchored virtual signage. Charlie, Rony, and Ted discussed Apple’s AI strategy, Tim Cook criticism, and Skedaddle’s potential as a practical AR utility that doesn’t rely on headsets or complex tools. In the news: Anthropic scored a partial legal victory on fair use, though it still faces potential copyright penalties; Meta saw a major suit dismissed. Charlie recapped his Forbes story on Chronicle, a new studio using AI to analyze fandom data and grow YouTube-native IP into film and TV. He also reviewed new all-in-one video creation platforms—Arcana Labs, Electric Sheep, and MovieFlo—that simplify AI video production. The hosts debated AI “slop” and audience taste, defending the creative potential of emerging workflows despite concerns. Skidattl’s mission to “tag the real world” with lightweight AR won praise for its simplicity and real-world applicability.Thank you to our sponsor, Zappar!Don't forget to like, share, and follow for more! Follow us on all socials @TheAIXRPodcasthttps://linktr.ee/thisweekinxrThe AI/XR Podcast June 20th, 2025 ft. Scott Stein, contributing editor at CNET.
53:05|In this episode of The AI/XR Podcast, the hosts are joined by Scott Stein, contributing editor at CNET, to discuss the evolution of XR devices and the implications of spatial computing. In the news, Disney and Universal sued Midjourney, which has just released an AI image-to-video model to its subscribers. Google's Veo 3 excels at simulating AI vlogs, so the socials have been flooded with Star Troopers, Bigfoot, and Jesus meme videos. Guest Scott Stein reflects on his experience reviewing emerging tech for the past fifteen years, starting with computers and smartphones, which led to his coverage of XR. He emphasizes the challenges of evaluating early-stage products that promise future utility but may not yet deliver on their potential. The conversation explores the tension between immersive hardware aspirations and real-world practicality and the critical role of AI in resolving this tension. Throughout the episode, Stein expresses cautious optimism, acknowledging that while the path to mainstream adoption remains unclear, the intersection of AI and XR is undeniably reshaping computing’s next chapter.Thank you to our sponsor, Zappar!Don't forget to like, share, and follow for more! Follow us on all socials @TheAIXRPodcasthttps://linktr.ee/thisweekinxr