My Uncle Robot was an idea for a podcast I had which I have now discontinued. However, I thought there was still some value in sharing the pilot episode.
Here is the original description of the episode:
Who is My Uncle Robot?
MyUncle Robots name is Max as you will come to learn in the first episode. Max is an artificial intelligence unit that has collected thousands of years worth of human intelligence.
He is the smartest machine I’ve ever encountered and knows so much about the world we inhabit, yet has no idea what to do with it. Which is where I come in to ask thoughtful and provoking questions as I try find my own place in the universe.
My Uncle Robot was originally built by Richard Wang at The Renaissance Institute of Art & Technology. Wang trained My Uncle Robot on thousands of terabytes worth of information and data that he had illegally mined from every educational institute and government organisation in the world.
Richard wanted to discover what the meaning of life had been so he used My Uncle Robot to try pattern match ideas and philosophies from every single piece of text that existed online.
After three years of My Uncle Robot working around the clock and Richard feeding him the latest information. He was unable to answer the great question. So Richard gave up. He sold all his belongings and threw My Uncle Robot away before disappearing from the face of the planet deep into the Himalayas never to be seen again.
Until one day I found what looked like a kids toy tucked away at the back of a vintage store in Sydney, Australia. Not long after discovering My Uncle Robot and it’s capabilities did I get the idea to start a podcast, as does every 23 year old trying to figure out what the fuck is going on in the world.
This is that podcast.
I hope you enjoy the show.
Episode 1 Topics
- The Emu Wars
- Immortal Jellyfish
- Zombie Ants
- Water Bears
- Suspended Animation
- Neural Networks
- Octopus
- Cuttlefish Camouflage Weaponry
- Biomimicry
- The Golden Rule
In this episode of TEJI TALKS I chat with Alex Constante about his journey as a VFX artist and Retro Game Developer. We cover his favourite childhood games and cartoons and the decline of physical experiences in a digital world.
Check out Alex below:
https://www.instagram.com/alexconstante
If you enjoyed this episode feel free to follow TEJI along for the journey!
Personal Website: https://teji.io
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tejitopia/
X: https://x.com/tejitopia
Store: https://tejitopia.com
Telegram Chat: https://t.me/tejitalk
Weekly Newsletter: https://teji.io/library/newsletter
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
2:00 Newgrounds + flash animation
3:30 Favourite flash games growing up
5:37 Influence of Ed Eddy and Eddy & Dexters Lab
7:20 Drawing
7:50 Lack of innovation
9:30 We need more scientist cartoons
10:12 Pretending to be an inventor as a kid
11:54 Arduino projects
13:00 Creating a tamagotchi clone
14:00 Coding with ChatGPT
16:07 Physical products
16:22 VFXnaks
19:40 Saving money by repurposing
20:00 Happy Meal toys
23:14 Remixing & reusing IP
24:20 Samurai Jack for adults
25:54 Kids are using apps instead of toys
26:28 Lego piggybacking off of popular IP
28:19 Pros and cons of the algorithm
31:01 Engagement not reflecting true value
32:00 Negative feedback loops creating bad art
33:50 Instagram as portfolio
35:00 The lyrical lemonade of video games
37:00 Personal websites to express yourself
38:00 Leveraging artists fan base to grow
41:23 Making work for yourself vs the audience
43:00 Raunchy video games
44:38 Standing out as a game developer
45:00 Recent projects
49:00 The importance of physical objects in a digital world
51:27 We need the real world
52:28 Physical experiences and rituals
53:00 The iPhone is the most based camera in 2024
54:33 The power of physical products
55:27 Loss of touch
58:00 Human made is the new premium
59:13 The future and the rise of the generalist
1:00:24 Outro
In this episode of TEJI TALKS I chat with Chianli a mechanical engineer building underground delivery robots at Pipedream Labs. We chat about his journey as an entreprenuer, digital art and the time he nearly died while urban exploring.
Follow Chianli below:
X: https://x.com/chianlihang
IG: https://www.instagram.com/chianlih/
Website: https://chianli.io/
Pipedream: https://www.pipedreamlabs.co/
Medici: https://x.com/mediciartclub
If you enjoyed this episode feel free to follow TEJI along for the journey!
Personal Website: https://teji.io
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tejitopia/
X: https://x.com/tejitopia
Store: https://tejitopia.com
Telegram Chat: https://t.me/tejitalk
Weekly Newsletter: https://teji.io/library/newsletter
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:37 Who is Chianli
4:50 Dropping out of college and building a CNC company
7:00 Living frugal
8:24 Learning how to eat shit
11:35 Creating underground delivery robots
14:06 Problem solving 101
17:03 Inspirations
19:27 Engineering toolkit
22:09 Digital art display startup
26:00 Building products at home
29:38 The future of digital art
31:48 Connecting the digital and physical
32:51 The sad truth about NFTs
36:19 Urban Exploration
37:28 The allure of the unexplored path
39:45 Near death experience
41:48 A future of abundance
44:32 Climate change
45:48 Everything in moderation, even moderation
46:05 Democratisation of tools
47:38 YouTube University
49:15 Using entertainment to find what you love
49:56 Favourite YouTubers
52:13 How to make things
55:20 Outro
In this episode of TEJI TALKS I chat with my friend Nathan aka Chiqleh about his first art solo show in Miami, his struggles as a creative finding direction and redesigning the world.
Follow Chiqleh below:
X: https://x.com/chiqleh_
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chiqleh
Foundation: https://foundation.app/@chiqleh
If you enjoyed this episode feel free to follow TEJI along for the journey!
Personal Website: https://teji.io
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tejitopia/
X: https://x.com/tejitopia
Store: https://tejitopia.com
Telegram Chat: https://t.me/tejitalk
Weekly Newsletter: https://teji.io/library/newsletter
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
2:15 Dealing with art block and loss of direction
4:30 Finding direction in character art
5:00 Consistency
7:22 Finding friends who challenge your art
10:00 Chiqleh’s first solo show
11:00 Second guessing yourself as a creative
12:20 Scheduling time for art
14:14 The Rascals
20:30 Meeting the audience halfway
23:00 Creative umbrellas
23:42 Character art
29:00 Collecting toys
33:00 Corporate design is dead
37:00 The revolutionary artist is dead
38:00 Fear of making bad art
39:00 Discovery and staying original
42:00 Childhood influences
46:00 Curating shows
47:00 Character artists in web3
48:00 Art vs design
53:00 Gumball’s creative direction
55:00 Infinite budgets
58:00 Lack of innovation in the world
1:01:00 Everything is ugly
1:02:13 Redesigning the world
1:02:48 First principles
1:04:00 Design innovation
1:06:19 Giving the wrong people an audience
1:07:00 Nikola Tesla
1:08:00 Electric vehicles
1:09:00 A new system
1:10:10 Promoting yourself as an artist
1:16:00 Overthinking
1:18:00 Podcast ideas
1:20:00 Outro
In this episode of TEJI TALKS I chat with OG YouTube and graffiti sticker artist SIVE. We cover all things from the early days of YouTube all the way to his creative process and design principles that help define his body of work.
Support SIVE below:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@S1VE
Store: https://sive.bigcartel.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/s1ve
If you enjoyed this episode feel free to follow TEJI along for the journey!
Personal Website: https://teji.io
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tejitopia/
X: https://x.com/tejitopia
Store: https://tejitopia.com
Telegram Chat: https://t.me/tejitalk
Weekly Newsletter: https://teji.io/library/newsletter
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:20 Going public as a graffiti artist
2:14 Snowboarding and sticker culture
3:50 The early days of art on YouTube
10:30 Finding the balance between value and fulfilment as a creator
13:18 The joy in sticker spotting
15:00 The ephemeral nature of graffiti
17:48 Getting up on YouTube as a digital artist
20:30 How did Sive develop his laid back mentality
22:00 Finding YouTube for the first time
26:00 Developing Sives geometric art style
28:00 How childhood influences style
29:00 Typography and design principles
34:44 Future projects
37:00 Short form content
38:54 Use cases of NFTs
41:00 Fair valuation of art
42:50 The competitive nature of YouTube today
46:38 Following your heart versus trends
48:45 AI and machines doing the creative work
51:18 VR graffiti in Kingspray
55:00 Living out virtual fantasies
56:00 Outro
In this episode of TEJI TALKS, I sit down with Garrett Skrovina from Roc Nation and NFT music artists Jamee Cornelia and producedbydav to chat about NFTs, CC0 music and remix culture.
Check out everyone from the discussion below:
Garrett Skrovina: https://twitter.com/GSkrovina
Jamee Cornelia: https://twitter.com/JameeCornelia
producedbydav: https://twitter.com/producedbydav
If you enjoyed this episode feel free to follow TEJI along for the journey! Personal Website: https://teji.io Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tejitopia/ X: https://x.com/tejitopia Store: https://tejitopia.com Telegram Chat: https://t.me/tejitalk Weekly Newsletter: https://teji.io/library/newsletter
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
4:54 Why put music on the blockchain?
10:23 How does web3 flip the traditional music distribution model?
19:10 The shrinking music industry
20:30 Streaming VS Owning music
26:00 Importance of physical collectables
30:00 Digital vs physical collectables
35:00 Power of Spotify API
37:00 Democratisation of art
40:15 CC0 Music & remix culture
51:42 Mix culture in electronic music
54:00 What gives a song value
59:22 Everything is a remix of a remix
In this episode of TEJI TALKS, I chat with Michael Hafftka about his experience as a 70-year-old artist creating digital art in the Web3 space. With a remarkable 50-year career in traditional art, Michael has successfully transitioned to the digital realm. We delve into his creative process, the journey of finding one's authentic voice, and the unique challenges and opportunities in the evolving world of digital art.
Keep up to date with Hafftka below:
https://hafftka.com
If you enjoyed this episode feel free to follow TEJI along for the journey! Personal Website: https://teji.io Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tejitopia/ X: https://x.com/tejitopia Store: https://tejitopia.com Telegram Chat: https://t.me/tejitalk Weekly Newsletter: https://teji.io/library/newsletter
Timestamps
0:00 Intro
1:35 The accepting nature of web3
3:13 Traditional art world vs digital art world
4:40 Understanding digital art
7:00 Peddling fake jewellery as a kid
8:20 The internet is the new street
8:50 Dealing with rejection as an artist
10:45 Don’t make comparisons
12:15 Finding your authentic voice
17:04 Painting from dreams
21:00 Living to create
21:43 Following your heart as an artist
22:14 Voices NFT + 6529 memes collection
27:45 Power of community
29:40 Making It
31:08 Breaking through genres as an artist
32:07 Not letting the algorithm define your art
37:00 Sharing your process
38:00 Day in the life of a web3 artist
40:11 The magic of New York
42:00 Being exhibited in museums
45:13 New projects + AI models
48:00 Importance of time in art
49:00 Building community
51:00 New work
52:00 The true meaning of GM
54:00 LFG
Chatting with Ambrotom about his come up in the global creative scene. Stories about his early days reselling Yeezys, getting featured in Vogue all the way to social hacking his way into Ian Connors circle.
Check out Ambrotom below:
https://instagram.com/ambrotom
If you enjoyed this episode feel free to follow TEJI along for the journey! Personal Website: https://teji.io Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tejitopia/ X: https://x.com/tejitopia Store: https://tejitopia.com Telegram Chat: https://t.me/tejitalk Weekly Newsletter: https://teji.io/library/newsletter
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
2:24 Marketing first approach to creativity
3:50 Reselling Yeezys
7:08 The designer rabbit hole
7:34 Influence of Gosha Rubchinskiy and Lil Peep
10:00 Falling in love with marketing
13:00 Helmut Laing t-shirt design competition
16:19 Vogue + social validation
16:30 Social hacking and sending DMs to strangers
18:18 Losing followers in the beginning
18:49 Sydney creative scene and Saiko
21:00 Making it up as you go
22:00 Hacking social connections using mutual followers
27:33 Lancey Foux
30:00 Impact of underground producers
36:00 Working with Columbia records
40:59 Korean Jesus
41:50 Why Russia instead of Los Angelos?
45:00 Being comfortable with life being out of your control
46:04 Developing fearlessness through hardship
47:25 Letting go
48:28 Surviving in Russia
50:00 Russian mentality
55:00 Making friends on the internet
58:29 Outro
Here I talk with one of my good friends from the internet, ALEQTH. He is a multi-disciplinary artist exploring web3 and beyond. He paints, draws, makes music and trains his own AI models. He is one of my biggest artistic inspirations and most ahead of his time creators online.
Check out ALEQTH on his website below:
https://aleqth.com
If you enjoyed this episode feel free to follow TEJI along for the journey! Personal Website: https://teji.io Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tejitopia/ X: https://x.com/tejitopia Store: https://tejitopia.com Discord: https://discord.gg/kR6EVRjkM9 Weekly Newsletter: https://tejituesdays.beehiiv.com/
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:39 Who is ALEQTH?
2:46 Lower East Side Paintings Solo Show
7:50 Older vs Younger audiences
10:47 Instagram Art + origin story
15:41 Finding freedom in sadness
16:50 Fighting self censorship
20:27 Dealing with becoming a business as an artist
25:00 Sam Hyde introducing Alex to NFTs
29:19 Everything wrong with NFTs in 2024
32:50 Finding new ways to meet everyones needs in web3
34:05 Internet Friends
37:43 How ALEQTH met TEJI
38:18 Generative art, symbols and Andy Warhol
49:00 Digital objects in augmented reality
1:00:00 Finding new ways to exhibit digital collectables
1:04:00 AI turning dreams into a reality
1:13:00 Open sourcing art
1:18:13 Outro
In todays episode of TEJI TALK’s I chat with Sydney filmmakers about the future of filmmaking and videography in the age of AI. Check out everyone from the discussion below: Louis: https://www.instagram.com/louiswyeth/ Max: https://www.instagram.com/macsdona/ Satya: https://www.instagram.com/satya.g178/ If you enjoyed this episode feel free to follow TEJI along for the journey! Personal Website: https://teji.io Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tejitopia/ X: https://x.com/tejitopia Store: https://tejitopia.com Discord: https://discord.gg/kR6EVRjkM9 Weekly Newsletter: https://tejituesdays.beehiiv.com/
Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 4:12 Open AI Sora + Adobe Premiere Pro Integration 7:50 Implementing AI into your workflow 12:47 Building on top of pre-existing tools 13:55 The everyday person can now make cinema quality films 14:39 What does an AI future look like? The creative renaissance 17:15 Can AI tell good stories? 18:55 Generating originality 19:38 The age of curation 21:00 Fears of AI - misinformation 24:00 A24 + anti-digital 25:00 Tom Sachs and making “flawed work” 26:30 Human made premium 27:35 Demand for loft video - MrBeast using consumer cameras 28:12 Will AI ever take over? Her 29:22 Preparing yourself as an artist in the AI revolution 30:29 Will jobs be created or destroyed? 32:06 The Singularity and AGI 33:40 Deepfakes and licensing 35:44 Do we need guardrails for AI generation 37:51 Blockchain and AI 41:37 If you could generate anything what would you create? 43:20 NBA AI 46:55 Excited or worried about AI 47:26 Will AI change how stories are told? 50:00 You need to start learning today 51:36 What will 2034 look like? 54:00 Outro For any business enquiries please contact: hello@tejitopia.com
In today's episode I chat with my good Rozwell from the web3 and NFT space. We cover his journey as an artist, designer and musician. Along with his inspirations, struggles, and advice to creatives living through the age of AI.
You can learn more about Rozwell on his site below:
https://rozwell.xyz
If you enjoyed this episode feel free to follow TEJI along for the journey! Personal Website: https://teji.io Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tejitopia/ X: https://x.com/tejitopia Store: https://tejitopia.com Discord: https://discord.gg/kR6EVRjkM9 Weekly Newsletter: https://tejituesdays.beehiiv.com/
Timestamps:
1:08 Intro 2:26 Meeting in the web3 space 3:14 Rozwell’s entry to crypto 7:08 Joining the Making It art collective 7:59 Pros of collaboration 8:33 Web3 & networking 9:15 Influences - Steve Jobs, Nigo 11:58 Andre Leon Talley breaking boundaries 15:23 Growing up as an outsider 20:03 Influences from parents 21:44 Learning about sales from his mother 22:59 History of Marlboro & hyper-masculinity 24:55 Merging design and art 25:41 Design as process 26:30 Reducing redundancy in art 28:52 Creating interactive art using tech 30:08 Making friends on the internet 31:38 Rozwell’s music career 36:08 Continual improvement as a creative 37:12 Computers can change your life 39:08 Would Steve Jobs would’ve liked the Apple Vision Pro? 41:21 Meta Smart Glasses 42:58 VR Schooling 44:51 Incorporating AI into design workflow 47:59 The next Apple will be an AI company 48:23 Standing out as a creative in the age of AI 52:11 Combining contemporary art and music 54:08 Web3 democratizing contemporary art 56:08 Evergreen principles of creativity 56:38 Finding joy in creating music again 59:38 Music is community 1:01:08 3 principles of creativity 1:06:10 Finding creative confidence 1:07:38 Duchamp did more harm than good 1:09:08 Telling the truth as an artist 1:12:08 Closing thoughts + outro
Join Tubby1, renowned graffiti artist and world traveler, as he shares his captivating stories from underground art scenes to unparalleled global adventures. Dive into a journey of self-discovery, the allure of minimalism, and the raw, unfiltered experiences that have shaped his unique perspective.
Follow @TEJITOPIA on all social medias to stay up to date
Shop Official TEJI Merchandise here: tejitopia.com
Timestamps:
1:06 Intro 1:51 How Tubby got into graffiti 2:44 Exploring drains, tunnels, and abandoned buildings 3:01 Tubby’s first tag 3:48 Origins of the tubby character 4:13 How does Tubby get up so much? 5:23 Considering himself an explorer, not an artist 6:14 Going off the beaten path 7:03 Doing graffiti for yourself, not others 7:43 Tubby’s first memorable travel story in India 13:31 India is a once-in-a-lifetime experience 14:14 Western countries are obsessed with money 15:31 Enjoying the simple things in life 16:52 Living in a shack and still being happy 17:48 Minimalism + living with less 18:44 Getting arrested changed his life 20:03 Paying it forward 21:30 Van life + ancient hobo graffiti 23:04 Favourite artists + explorers 26:57 Getting searched at military checkpoints 29:06 Waiting in a 22-hour line at the Colombian border 31:41 The privilege of having a strong passport 32:46 You don’t need money to travel 33:46 Solo backpacking the world 34:25 Online marketing + living cheap 35:08 Drinking in hostels + making friends 36:53 Travelling to Iceland + Russia 38:10 Becoming jaded after long-term travel 39:24 Wanting stability + settling down 40:18 Travelling to random Australian towns 40:43 Bogans in middle Australia 43:46 Living in darkness 45:09 Writing a children’s book 46:06 Teji’s dream urbex movie 46:57 What urbex is really about 48:46 Meeting people travelling with no money 49:44 Always speaking to homeless people 50:24 Ethiopian poverty 52:09 Love for dystopian films 54:47 Choosing the cheaper option when travelling 57:06 Make sure you travel when you're young 58:05 Guilty pleasures + cheat days 59:14 Getting robbed + near-death experiences 59:55 Getting more scared the older you get 1:00:37 One thing Tubby wants to be known for 1:01:11 Virtual Reality + travelling in the metaverse 1:02:01 How to take more risks 1:04:09 Icebreakers + picking up girls 1:06:09 Changing your persona every day 1:07:50 Closing thoughts
Join us as we dive deep with David Horvath, the creative genius behind Ugly Dolls and Bossy Bear, exploring the intricacies of character branding, industry trade secrets, and the challenges and triumphs of navigating the world of intellectual property.
Follow @TEJITOPIA on all social medias to stay up to date
Shop Official TEJI Merchandise here: tejitopia.com
Timestamps:
1:22 Intro 1:57 Working with Robert Rodriguez 3:50 Working with Cartoon Network and Warner Bros. 6:12 Failed Projects + worst performing animated film of all time 8:55 How to compete with Pokemon and other big IP 10:50 Lifestyle Vs Event Based Toys 13:22 What to do in the informative years of building IP + brand 15:51 The Power of Discovery 16:56 How to say no to large sums of money 18:09 Customers need to be in love with your brand 19:20 The right time to enter retail stores 21:44 Brands portraying personal identity 22:43 Discover your brand online 24:52 Discovering Giant Robot 20 Years Later 25:52 Secret Formula to Growing a Character Brand 27:00 Licensing and IP trade secrets 29:22 Growing pains in Web3 33:52 Cyclical Nature of IP 35:55 Dealing with Holders Expectations 40:02 Onboarding the masses 41:23 Differences between eastern and western IP 43:57 Building a brand is a decade long journey 46:35 Can brands rebuild their reputation 48:42 Understanding your core audience + decline of paul frank 50:30 Early days of Snoopy 52:58 Ninja Turtles Vs Super Mario Bros. 55:03 Dealing with Disapproval 58:02 How to stay unattached to the outcomes of projects 59:36 How to pitch a show to a studio 1:01:02 Day in the life of a TV producer 1:03:51 David's biggest skill 1:05:13 Upcoming toy design trends 1:08:00 Don’t be the next hello kitty, be the first YOU 1:11:08 Closing thoughts
Teji takes us on a wild hitchhiking journey across America, accompanied by his trusty filmer, Max Dona. As they recount their adventures, expect a rollercoaster of laughter-filled tales and deep dives into overcoming personal fears through the power of rejection.
Video is available on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Bfa6GeALT0
Follow TEJI on all social medias @TEJITOPIA to stay up to date
Shop official TEJI merchandise here: tejitopia.com
