On the Economics of Culture with Chris Best (Substack) x Andrew Mayne (OpenAI)

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What happens when the creator economy meets our AI moment?

Chris Best, co-founder and CEO of Substack, and Andrew Mayne, the first prompt engineer at OpenAI, join forces in a conversation that cuts across technology, media, and the future of art.

They trace the path from the birth of ChatGPT to the wave of “slop” that flooded the internet long before AI, asking what authenticity looks like in a world where creating has never been easier. Best explains why Substack’s product philosophy—“do everything but the hard part”—continues to empower independent writers, and Mayne reflects on the creative challenges that come with making machines capable of writing back.

It’s a fast-paced discussion about the economics of culture: how frictionless design changes behavior, the gravity of end-user trust, building products that people actually want, and why authenticity remains one of the best competitive advantages.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

1. The inside story of ChatGPT’s creation

2. Why frictionless product experiences matter more than technical breakthroughs

3. How Substack’s “do everything but the hard part” philosophy for building products empowers creators

4. What happens when business models consume products and how to resist that urge

5. How AI is accelerating Substack’s core bet: that authenticity will always outperform algorithms

6. Why AI-generated content won’t replace human stories

7. Why “all economics are downstream of culture”

8. Why Substack made subscribers portable and what that decision meant for trust

9. Why writers should see AI as an amplifier instead of a threat

10. The case for optimism: why artists, technologists, and media builders should embrace our emerging cultural renaissance.

Referenced in this episode:

• Brandon Sanderson’s record-breaking Kickstarter

• The Industrial Revolution

• India’s License Raj

• Avatar 2

• Reboot

• Mechanic’s Institute

• Mesopotamia and the invention of the plow

Where to find Andrew Mayne:

• Website: andrewmayne.com

• X (Twitter): @AndrewMayne

• Interdimensional: interdimensional.ai

Where to find Chris Best:

• Substack: cb.substack.com

• X (Twitter): @cjgbest