Harnessing AI for Creative Projects

Anish Acharya is an entrepreneur and general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, focusing on consumer investing and AI-native products. In this episode, he demonstrates how AI can be used for creative and personal projects beyond typical work applications. He walks through creating an AI-generated Tiny Desk Concert for Notorious B.I.G. and Kurt Cobain, building a book cataloging app using video analysis, and using browser automation for personal finance insights. Anish shares how these technologies allow anyone to bring creative ideas to life with minimal technical expertise, transforming what would have been impossible projects just a few years ago into accessible weekend activities.

What you’ll learn:

1. A step-by-step workflow for creating AI-generated music videos featuring artists like Kurt Cobain and Notorious B.I.G.

2. How to extract vocals from existing tracks to create unique audio combinations for your AI-generated videos

3. A simple method for cataloging your book or record collection using video analysis and Gemini Flash

4. How to use Comet to analyze personal finances and get investment recommendations without manual data analysis

5. Ways AI is transforming childhood learning and play by enabling interactive storytelling and creative exploration

—

Brought to you by:

Notion—The best AI tools for work

Lenny’s List on Maven—Hands-on AI education curated by Lenny and Claire

—

Where to find Anish Acharya:

• Andreessen Horowitz: https://a16z.com/author/anish-acharya/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anishacharya/

• X: https://x.com/illscience

—

Where to find Claire Vo:

ChatPRD: https://www.chatprd.ai/

Website: https://clairevo.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairevo/

X: https://x.com/clairevo

—

In this episode, we cover:

(⁠00:00⁠) Introduction to Anish Acharya

(⁠03:05⁠) How AI transforms creative constraints in music and video

(⁠06:00⁠) Creating an AI-generated Notorious B.I.G. Tiny Desk Concert

(⁠07:36⁠) Using GPT-4o to generate still images

(⁠09:27⁠) Using Hedra to animate still frame images

(⁠10:40⁠) Adding custom audio to video

(⁠11:30⁠) Using Adobe Audition to clip and sync audio

(⁠15:42⁠) How to use Demucs to extract vocals from any song

(⁠16:36⁠) Using Hedra to generate a Tiny Desk Concert featuring Kurt Cobain

(⁠19:40⁠) Creating a ’90s-style Nirvana music video with Veo 3

(⁠27:40⁠) Building a book collection cataloging tool with Gemini Flash

(⁠35:35⁠) Using the Comet browser for personal finance analysis

(⁠37:20⁠) How AI is transforming childhood learning and play

(⁠41:23⁠) Tips for getting better results from AI tools

—

Tools referenced:

• GPT-4o: https://openai.com/index/hello-gpt-4o/

• Hedra: https://www.hedra.com/

• Adobe Audition: https://www.adobe.com/products/audition.html

• Demucs: https://github.com/facebookresearch/demucs

• Perplexity: https://www.perplexity.ai/

• Veo 3: https://deepmind.google/models/veo/

• Kapwing: https://www.kapwing.com/

• Cursor: https://cursor.com/

• Google AI Studio: https://makersuite.google.com/

• Gemini Flash: https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api

• Comet: https://www.perplexity.ai/comet

—

Other references:

• Anish’s Notorious B.I.G. AI-generated Tiny Desk Concert: https://x.com/illscience/status/1935721063876550939

• NPR Tiny Desk Concerts: https://www.npr.org/series/tiny-desk-concerts/

• Notorious B.I.G.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Notorious_B.I.G.

• Kurt Cobain: https://www.kurtcobain.com/

• Robinhood: https://robinhood.com

—

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email jordan@penname.co.