Severin Matusek

Robert Shiller coined narrative economics, arguing that stories drive economic behavior. I think we are in a new iteration of all of this where the stories aren't just influencing economic activity, they are the economic activity. Attention is a precursor to wealth (in many ways) and speculation drives it.

To me, it’s very important to think about speculative fiction and worldmaking as two approaches for better orienting ourselves to the present, rather than conjuring escapist utopian futures that will never arrive.

Coffee preferences are personal and abundant. The world is big enough for espresso machines and French presses. And which machine the barista uses depends on who they’re serving.

Art preferences are similar. So when I hear talk about how AI is going to replace artists, I think to myself, the world is big enough for both. Or when I see tweets about... See more

Is it the writer’s role to be strategic or truthful?

For Water & Music's inaugural collaborative research report, over 40 of our community members across industries, geographies, career stages and skill sets came together to try to make sense of the immense challenges and opportunities that lay ahead for music/Web3's future.

“The other day I was tinkering around in my garage and I decided to build a new ideology.”

There have been studies that suggest this AI-productivity hypothesis may check out. In 2024, researchers analysed the output of over 53,000 artists and 5,800 AI adopters on a major art-sharing platform and found that generative tools do, in fact, boost the number of works users post per month. Similar studies across other sectors have made... See more

It’s like eating macaroni and cheese every single night forever: it may be comfortable, but eventually you’re going to get scurvy.