Ruby Thelot on Internet Culture, AI, and the Future of Taste
Episode publishedPodcast: The a16z ShowThe a16z Show
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Americans don't like AI. Mhmm. AI is a very broad term. They all use chat. And, like, I love it. I love I love chat. But they don't like AI. There's the boogeyman of, like, I'm gonna lose my job.
Mhmm.
But when I talk to mothers and Brian tags, they're like, oh, yeah. Like, I had a leak in my in my faucet, whatever. I took a photo.
Mhmm.
And in about an hour or two, was able to fix that thing. I love that. There's a bit of a language issue here around what does this technology do for me versus what is the negative impact that's coming in a somewhat near potential future.
Today's episode comes from our list of recommended listening, where we feature standout conversations from people across our broader network. This one stuck with us for its thoughtful perspective on AI, Internet culture, and the ways technology is quietly reshaping how we communicate and relate to one another. MTS hosts Sofia Du and Sofia Puccini are joined by designer, cyber ethnographer, and NYU professor Ruby J. Tullow to discuss digital communities, online identity, taste, and what it means to live alongside rapidly evolving
Today, I'm joined by my cohost, as well as Ruby Justice Thurlow, who is a designer, artist, cyber ethnographer, and professor at the Integrated Design and Media at NYU. So he's written about everything from Internet full core to digital memory to AI companions, creativity, and the future of culture. And I think he has one of the most interesting perspectives on what it really means to live alongside this technology. So Ruby, I am so excited to have you on today.
The question on everyone's mind, what is a cyber ethnographer? And also how has the field evolved through the years?
So a cyber ethnographer is someone who studies groups of people online and how they behave and what they do. So my research ranges from studying furries all the way to now studying how people are using Instagram. Wow. I had a recent piece for protein where I asked people how they what they understood, what an Instagram story like meant to them. And so around 500 people, 20 sort of closer interviews to build lexicon, a glossary of what does this digital interaction mean to people. Is it content appreciation? Is it romantic affiliation? Or is it just, you know, friendship continuation, which are
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