Trying to Make a Nickel with Tech and Stories — Charlie Fink Pt. 2

The Glow Up - Fabulous conversations with innovative minds.

Part Two:

Charlie Fink is a veteran of the extended reality (XR) and tech media industries, known for his Forbes column, the AI/XR Podcast, having attended AWE (Augmented World Expo) nine times, written three books, and taught as a professor at Chapman University. His work now blends XR, AI, and storytelling, with a focus on what’s new and breaking in technology.

Key Takeaways:

• Shift to AI: Charlie’s focus has moved from XR to AI, which he believes represents a value creation opportunity on par with the internet and mobile revolutions.
• Wearables and the Future: He sees unlimited potential in wearables, envisioning a future where humans merge more closely with machines, although he remains skeptical about the need for displays in smart glasses.
• Unintended Consequences: While acknowledging the risks and unintended consequences of new technologies, Charlie is pragmatic about the industry’s trajectory, noting that developers and users will inevitably adopt new tools regardless of warnings.
• Teaching and Community: He is passionate about teaching students to use AI effectively and remains deeply engaged with the tech community, both as a consultant and as a speaker.
• Storytelling and Hollywood: Charlie is working on animated and AI-driven content in Hollywood, emphasizing the importance of balancing creative and business decisions to achieve transcendent experiences.
• Podcasting and Media: His podcast, recently rebranded to “The AI/XR Podcast,” has grown significantly, with 50,000 downloads per month, demonstrating the value of longevity and adaptability in media.

Charlie reflects on the evolution of technology, the importance of timing, and the inevitability of most ideas failing despite the brilliance of their creators. He continues to explore new opportunities in tech, media, and consulting, driven by a desire to remain relevant and make a positive impact.

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About Charlie Fink ---

Charlie Fink writes a weekly technology column for Forbes covering AI and XR, and co-hosts its companion show, The AI/XR Podcast. He is the author of the critically acclaimed AR-enabled books Charlie Fink’s Metaverse (2017) and Convergence: How the World Will Be Painted With Data (2019).

Fink teaches emerging media at Chapman University in Orange, CA, and at Arizona State University’s graduate program in Narrative and Emerging Media in Los Angeles. He is also CEO of Sprocketdyne, an AI animation studio he co-founded with film director Rob Minkoff.

Fink's forty-year career at the intersection of storytelling and technology began at Walt Disney Feature Animation, where he famously conceived the idea for The Lion King and subsequently became the studio’s youngest-ever vice president of creative affairs.

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