It’s no secret that Hollywood has been struggling lately. Between Q2 of 2022 and 2024, after the writers’ and actors’ guild strikes, US TV and film production declined 40%, leaving many industry creatives to worry about the sustainability of their careers.
Is the answer blockchain and AI? Rarely, but let’s consider it.
Incention…
… is a new blockchain storytelling platform backed by a16z crypto and hyped by screenwriter-director David S. Goyer (Blade, The Dark Knight, “Foundation”), who’s using it to debut his new sci-fi concept, “Emergence,” about a universe where mysterious relics magically appear via a white hole.
The idea is that other creators can contribute content — stories, podcasts, comics, music, art, etc. — that fits into the “Emergence” world, thus collaboratively building the IP.
This isn’t an entirely new concept
The SCP Foundation is a long-running online project in which hundreds of authors have penned stories about the objects and entities the foundation — a fictional organization that studies paranormal phenomena — investigates.
What’s the difference? Tech — and maybe money.
- Atlas, Incention’s generative AI tool, can help aggregate ideas, brainstorm stories, generate videos, and post to social media.
- Incention is built on blockchain to track who owns what content and how they should be compensated.
AI adoption was a key part of the Hollywood guild strikes, but Goyer told Variety he sees himself in between AI doomsayers and adopters, seeking useful applications that don’t “necessarily put people out of a job.”
Incention’s manifesto similarly decries outdated, sluggish Hollywood models that ignore creative communities, as well as AI slop. It envisions itself as a platform where people create while AI handles more mundane tasks.
OK, but will any of this work?
First, we’d want to know:
- How much creators will earn. It’s hard to imagine it’d be comparable to what an animator, composer, or other pro would make on a studio project.
- The extent of AI’s role in creation, including those videos Incention mentioned.
- How content will be curated.
Another barrier: Will anyone even take to these new franchises? Sure, people spend hours making fan fiction and art for free on websites like Archive of Our Own, but those are within beloved franchises or well-established communities, like SCP or Reddit’s r/nosleep.
Can a vague sandbox inspire — and reward — fresh creativity? Guess we’ll find out.
