In this episode, host Peter Bauman (Le Random's editor in chief) speaks with Macy Gettles, Quasimatt and Kevin Esherick about the community around the AI Psychosis Summit that took place in Downtown NYC, April 30, 2026.
They cover the origins of the community, from a memey, joke tweet to a packed Chinatown DIY community gathering. It's a scene where devs make art and artists ship products, where the point is the community rather than any individual art object. They also discuss managing AI euphoria with backlash, slop discourse and whether New York is over as Josh Kline's October article suggested.
Read Kevin's Monday Editorial with us, What Was the AI Psychosis Summit??
Chapters 📖:
00:00 What was the AI Psychosis Summit?
05:04 How AI showed up in the work
11:30 Facing the anti-AI backlash
16:58 Cottagecore, aesthetics and slop
25:08 The image in 2026. Process vs. concept
28:03 AI psychosis, defined
36:36 Founding myth: a joke tweet
38:23 The Kline essay: is New York art over?
46:50 Scene tech and the Shake app
53:07 'What's next' and where to find everyone
