Peter Csathy recently sat down with Character.AI CEO Karan Anand. While their conversation focused on the notorious chatbot pioneer’s surprising pivot to entertainment and its aggressive courtship of Hollywood IP, it sparked a related new phenomenon — we have now entered the era of the “Always On” celebrity.

In this episode -- based on Peter's recent article of the same name -- Peter's hosts explore the issues raised by Peter's article (and the opportunities it explores).

Imagine living — and even deceased — artists, athletes, and performers completely freed from the physical constraints of time, travel, and human exhaustion. Always available to “work,” and always collecting the scaling revenues that flow from it.

This new “Always On” celebrity opportunity dovetails perfectly with the related concept Peter and Anand previously discussed — “Living IP.” For the last century, Hollywood’s monetization model has essentially relied on a predictable, rigid formula — develop IP, control its distribution window, and charge a passive audience a fee to watch it. It’s a top-down experience controlled by the studio.

The evolution of interactive AI completely flips this script, giving the audience agency. Instead of waiting two years for the next movie featuring their favorite superhero character — or for their favorite musician’s next album — fans can now engage in ongoing, continuous, interactive, two-way experiences with that IP (characters, music).

It's a fascinating podcast, hosted by Google NotebookLM's co-hosts. Peter listened to the entirety of the episode and approves its content.

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