Mars

Some have questioned Elon's choice to invest heavily in Grok Imagine early (eg before coding models) It makes sense if you consider his love for the fundamental freedom of expression Hollywood and the streaming platforms have had a monopoly on production and distribution. They are, in all functional ways, a cultural propaganda engine. Every civilization needs one. But who owns it? Very soon, you will. You could say it was technically inevitable that AI video would get good enough to be enjoyable. But it only *felt* inevitable recently when I saw 1) the Spencer Pratt AI election ads which were actually funny and 2) the Sweet Land music video by @heavypulp which was actually poignant (enough so that I listened/watched 4x) AI images are already really good, but they aren't nearly as powerful. Movies are the most potent cultural propaganda tool of all time, but AI has sucked at them. Not anymore. Grok Imagine + a talented creator is now producing content good enough to enjoy without asterisks. The AI version of the Odyssey, no matter how long and expensive it is to produce, will be 3+ orders of magnitude (1000x) less expensive than Nolan's Which means that nearly everyone will be able to try. And based on this short clip, the output will actually be good. Frankly it doesn't even have to be perfect. As long as it is good, the damage to the existing power structure will be done. A solo creator with a vision will be able to singlehandedly put out work that is *actually enjoyable*, direct to the public, with literally no physical overhead. The cultural landscape will change really quickly. Individual people can express a vision in the most powerful medium yet discovered, unadulterated by tastemasters at the studios. We're at the rubicon, about to cross over. The propaganda engine will become distributed to the people, and the outcomes will be judged purely on resonance. This was Elon's point, in my opinion.