David Goyer produces a new science fiction concept on blockchain technology
Tech Crunch reports the film and comics writer David Goyer's developed a science fiction franchise using blockchain and AI technology, titled Emergence, which looks like another concept where readers can participate in story creation:
Variety also gave a report:
Here's more of his statements for Forbes:
Goyer was also interviewed by the Ankler, and while I can't read the whole thing, due to its being behind a paywall, the following is something to comment on:
Engadget says:
All that aside, Goyer as a comics writer was one of the most overrated back in the day, as noted before, recalling how pretentious the JSA series he co-wrote with Geoff Johns and James Robinson was, but even some of his films were pretty weak and overrated too, if we take Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice as an example. And Goyer's denigration of She-Hulk and Martian Manhunter was inexcusable, and led to much of the wokefests seen in the past decade. Why should anybody serious about working in storytelling want to contribute to his AI project if it turns out creative license isn't guaranteed? Engadget figures the Emergence project won't last much more than a month, and it will certainly remain to be seen how far it can get. If all Goyer cares about is money, that's got to be saying something.
While the adoption of IP (intellectual property) blockchain and tokenization of assets is still in its early stages, more creatives in the entertainment industry are embracing what is called “tokenized storytelling.” This approach enables fans to participate in story development, contributing elements — such as characters and plot — that can be tokenized and owned as digital assets.It might sound inventive on the surface, but there's something about this that makes me uncomfortable:
David S. Goyer — known for “Blade,” “The Dark Knight” trilogy, and “Foundation” — is the latest filmmaker and comic book writer to explore how blockchain technology can give his fans a voice in the creative process while also protecting IP.
Announced on Tuesday, Goyer (pictured above) teamed up with Incention, a new entertainment platform utilizing Story’s IP blockchain, to launch his new sci-fi franchise called “Emergence.”
Incention, backed by a16z crypto, aims to give IP holders a platform to protect their work and engage with their audiences. The company was founded by Chase Rosenblatt (CEO) and Spencer Marell (COO), two tech entrepreneurs who believe traditional IP development is flawed and new and rising creatives are being overlooked.
“I was intrigued with the idea of using the broader community and the tokenization of these ideas,” Goyer told TechCrunch. “What’s beautiful about these platforms is that if you create something, regardless of what it is, whether it’s a drawing, a short story, a t-shirt, it tracks your creation throughout all the subsequent mediums, and it creates a watermark, if you will, and it compensates you forever.”
In the future, Goyer mentioned that fans will have the opportunity to vote on certain aspects of the story, such as the fate of a character (whether they live or die) and the introduction of new characters into the universe. There will also be a leaderboard for tracking points, as well as the ability to invite and collaborate with others on the platform.This sounds eerily similar to how Jason Todd was brought down in Batman: A Death in the Family way back in 1988. Do they realize they're running the gauntlet of encouraging poor behavior on the part of the audience? That's the chilling part of the whole Todd affair back in the day, and no doubt, many of those who did favor offing Todd at the hands of the Joker were not people invested in the characters, let alone anything Batman-related. They likely only thought it was fun to see an innocent get knocked off. That's the pall that hangs over the whole tale in hindsight. And what if the "new" characters who could be introduced into the program turn out to be excuses for wokeness?
Variety also gave a report:
“There have been obviously the AI doomsayers and AI adopters, and I would say I fall somewhere in the middle,” Goyer told Variety. “A couple of years ago, I realized that it’s not going away, it’s going to completely embed itself within society. So I tried to learn as much about it as I could, whether it be ChatGPT or Midjourney or the various other tools, and I think those have useful applications that don’t necessarily put people out of a job — although there are a lot of potential AI applications that could. But in this instance, we’re not putting anyone out of a job. If anything, this is a tool to allow people that normally wouldn’t have an entry point into Hollywood or publishing houses or things like that. I think it’s a tool like anything else. I think it obviously can be misused. It needs significant guard rails. But with this, AI didn’t create any of this. We think of Atlas as a co-pilot for creators. And initially, it’s going to serve as a teaching tool for them, because it’s steeped in the canon. I felt comfortable enough with these guys to engage on this project and it was interesting. We asked the same challenging questions of ourselves. It has to be set up with guardrails, and it has to be used ethically, but it’s not going away. So we can stick our heads in the sand, or we can educate ourselves and try to use it.”Sure, maybe we can do just that, but what if there's certain topics we won't be allowed to add to the storylines if we want to, like freedom fighters warring against Islamic terrorism, or even opposition to bad leftist politics? Something tells me such ideas might be filtered out for real. That's something to wonder about.
Here's more of his statements for Forbes:
“I'm trying to reach back through the past to my 20-something self, when I was in high school, college. and an avid reader of all this stuff,” said Goyer, 59. “I’d come up with ideas and send them into comic books. The best you could hope for was maybe a free subscription to Spider-Man. There was no way for your ideas to filter back to canon. I found that really frustrating.”Oh please. Goyer is far from the "greatest" writer in the business. Even his comics were overrated, and today, I'm glad to say I no longer own any I once did over 2 decades ago. And if, as the above suggests, there's some kind of monitoring staff for the program, then again, how do we know they won't take out anything that doesn't align with the leftist politics they quite likely go by?
The flip side of that youthful frustration, he said, was his many writing and production projects that were straitjacketed within deep existing narrative universes such as Marvel, Star Wars, DC’s Batman and Superman, The Sandman, Blade, Terminator, Isaac Asimov’s Foundation books, and even Call of Duty games.
“They're working on basic (intellectual properties) they control based on a 100-year-old model, or you’re in a room with 20 people from different departments,” Goyer said. “That is just not a way to promote good innovation. It's the death of it.”
The Story platform is designed to allow innovative contributions, while tracking how well they sit inside the accepted canon. An oversight council will add the best stuff to the universe for use by all.
“The hardest thing for Hollywood to capture is attention,” said Rosenblatt. “How do you get the attention of the 13- to 18-year-old mind? The hard part is the content being created doesn't match the medium. Technology lets any creator spin up a TikTok channel, or make a podcast. Now we have a great creator like David Goyer. Once the IP gets big, the opportunities are endless.”
Goyer was also interviewed by the Ankler, and while I can't read the whole thing, due to its being behind a paywall, the following is something to comment on:
Erik Barmack: How much is Incention informed by what you said during the WGA strike?Gee, he sure is rude in his response, and I'm sure the studios don't really think they could replace human contribution without opposition. All that would do is provide all concerned with a case to make against buying their products. And Emergence, for all we know, may not be the best of its sort.
David S. Goyer: I still think that some people at studios — not everyone — are thinking, “Let’s use AI to generate scripts and shot lists and get rid of voice actors on all animation.” There are people absolutely thinking that, but there are also a lot of people who don’t have any idea what the fuck they’re talking about.
Engadget says:
The big problem Incention faces, though, is that it's not actually fixing anything in Hollywood. Similar to the short-lived Quibi, the entire impetus behind Incention is driven by technology, instead of genuine demands from creators or a franchise-hungry public. And unlike Quibi, Incention isn't launching with nearly $2 billion in funding (though it has raised an undisclosed amount from the a16z crypto fund) or the Hollywood bonafides of someone like DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg.I'm sure fans of fiction storytelling may not find it appealing if they don't get a share of the profits. Not to mention that, if their own creative freedom is sabotaged or curtailed, that's bound to be seen as dispiriting.
Incention also seems to fundamentally misunderstand how fan-produced content works. People aren't spending hours on their fanfic, fanart and cosplay simply because they want to get paid. They're doing it because someone created a story and characters that genuinely moved them. Good luck getting the same sort of support from a generic-sounding franchise like Emergence.
All that aside, Goyer as a comics writer was one of the most overrated back in the day, as noted before, recalling how pretentious the JSA series he co-wrote with Geoff Johns and James Robinson was, but even some of his films were pretty weak and overrated too, if we take Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice as an example. And Goyer's denigration of She-Hulk and Martian Manhunter was inexcusable, and led to much of the wokefests seen in the past decade. Why should anybody serious about working in storytelling want to contribute to his AI project if it turns out creative license isn't guaranteed? Engadget figures the Emergence project won't last much more than a month, and it will certainly remain to be seen how far it can get. If all Goyer cares about is money, that's got to be saying something.
Labels: dreadful writers, golden calf of death, msm propaganda, technology
