As a leveraged creator - someone who follows the path of:

Create assets → scale them with free leverage → earn your freedom

it has become impossible to ignore how artificial intelligence can empower you - creators - to build whatever you want.

I’ve been playing with AI for a year now, mostly through ChatGPT. But with the release of their latest update, along with a new subscription to Runway, an AI video generator (who just signed a huge deal with Lionsgate, signaling this is the direction Hollywood is moving in), it feels like I can do things now that weren’t possible just a few months ago.

Here’s how I’m thinking of using this wild tech.

AI Is Permissionless Leverage To Access Gatekeepers.

I wrote a few weeks ago about how I’m using permissionless leverage to access permissioned leverage.

Put simply - I’m making stuff with the resources I have to capture the attention of gatekeepers with the power to give me more resources.

Well, AI is another tool to build permissionless leverage. It lets you unleash your creativity in directions that would otherwise be blocked by limited resources.

Here’s an example. When I saw the Lionsgate deal with Runway, I kind of “woke up” to the direction we are all headed. So I grabbed a Runway subscription and started playing.

Among the many strange images I created, one of them was this:

This is my plant… turning into spaghetti. Ridiculous? Yes. Awesome? Yes.

And it gave Tara and I an idea for a story…

In a world where everyone gets an awesome superpower at age 30, one woman's birthday gift is the power to turn anything she wants into... spaghetti.

So my wife and I are going to make this a comedic short film. We’ll build a team, shoot the concept, and then use Runway to create all the characters’ superpowers.

Before AI, there was no way we could tell this kind of story.

Here’s another example of how we’ll give a character the power to wield fire:

That’s my hand on fire. Pretty cool, right?

My point is that AI is another tool to help you build and scale assets to attract people who have the same taste you do. This includes both finding your audience online and getting the attention of gatekeepers who hold the key to more resources.

Play On The Edge Of Innovation.

Just like the iPhone democratized access to HD video cameras, Runway (and other AI software like it) will democratize access to digital effects and video tools kept under lock and key by Hollywood.

There’s a reason I spend a lot of time playing with new tools… because the biggest opportunities are found on the edge of technology.

I learned this from the late Felix Dennis (founder of Maxim magazine). He wrote:

“New or rapidly developing industries, whether glamorous or not, very often provide more opportunities to get rich than established sectors. The three reasons for this are availability of risk capital, ignorance and the power of a rising tide.”

If you can become an “expert” in a new industry or an emerging part of an established industry, this can be a ticket to money (aka permissioned leverage).

(you can read my detailed article on what I learned from Felix Dennis here.)

No matter what industry you’re in, I’m sure there are ways you can apply this technology to create assets that work for you after you’re done working on them.

You’ve just got to take some time to play around and find out.

Thanks for reading.

-Thomas