Culture Without Constraints: The Death of the Creative Middle
VO3 launched last week, and I’ve been watching the reactions. Most people seem either hyped or freaking out. The usual debates about AI and creativity are back.
But the crazy pace of change got me thinking: what does this actually mean for how culture gets made and consumed?
We’re about to enter an era where content creation is completely frictionless. Everyone can make everything. But instead of “democratizing creativity,” I think we’re heading somewhere much weirder.
Let’s rewind.
Back in the late ‘90s, two economists, Tyler Cowen & Alexander Tavarock, predicted exactly this moment. They asked why some artists chase the mainstream while others make obscure experimental work nobody sees.
Their point?
Every creator faces a trade-off: make money, or make what they actually want.
But technology changes the equation.
When creation costs get close to zero, artists aren’t bound by market constraints. You don’t have to pick a lane. You can just make whatever weird, personal, niche thing you want.
So what happens when everyone can make everything?
We get more content, but not necessarily more value.
The market gets flooded. Most of it is NOISE.
Here’s where it gets interesting.
Cowen & Tavarock predicted CULTURE would split into three.
And watching VO3, I actually think they were right:
1️⃣ High-End Human Culture
The $300M movies, live concerts, handcraft – anything that screams “made by humans for humans.”
As AI gets better, this becomes more valuable precisely because it’s NOT AI.
2️⃣ Mass-Market AI Junk
We’re ALREADY drowning in it. Endless algorithm-optimized posts, shorts, AI storytime videos, infinite lo-fi playlists.
Not great, but it’s fast, cheap and “good enough” for most people most of the time.
3️⃣ Hyper-Personalized Niche Content
AI lets you create exactly what YOU want. A cartoon starring your kids. Podcasts in your own voice about your interests, etc.
Too specific to sell to anyone else. But that’s the point.
THE COLD, HARSH TRUTH?
👉 The middle ground –human-made, pretty good content– is about to get OBLITERATED.
Why?
Because the ECONOMICS don’t make sense anymore.
Think about it:
Why pay for “pretty good” when you can get “good enough” for free, or pay a premium for something TRULY different?
People like to quote “bad money drives out good.” But maybe, when everything is abundant, the middle just loses its meaning.
👉 Most creators are playing in that middle market. And it’s gonna be a bloodbath.
Now, I believe there’s a twist… a kind of “wealth paradox.”
When the cost of exploration drops to zero, some people will get weirder, not safer. We might see more experimental, not less.
Photography didn’t kill painting; it just made painters less interested in realism.
Maybe AI will do the same?
Push the best humans to get stranger, more personal, less predictable.
My take?
The middle’s gonna get boring pretty fast.
I’m counting on the edges to stay sharp.
To your new middle,
Gaetan Portaels
P.S: Somehow linked to that, check my other articles:
- Where Have Our Brains Gone!?
- Intelligence is The Ability to Find a Path [Quantum Thinking]
- [AI Satire] The year is 2026 (or 2027)
- The AI Overlords (A Contrarian Reflection)
- Before He Fell, Icarus Flew [AI, Business, and Outsourced Thinking]
Original publication date — June 6, 2025 (HERE)