Using AI to Mass‑Produce Content into IP Is a Doomed Enterprise

A new thesis: narrative over volume

It has been reported that independent studio A24 saw its valuation spike to $3.5 billion in 2025, and reportedly counts Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) among the Silicon Valley backers reshaping its strategy. The key angle is simple: as generative AI drives the marginal cost of content toward zero, the scarce asset is not more IP but the power to program meaning and assemble a loyal community — what some investors call “narrative” or “cognitive encoding.” Is mass‑produced short video and daily post churn a viable path to lasting personal IP? The evidence increasingly says no.

Why A24 matters as a model

A24’s films are intentionally uncomfortable, often polarizing. In an attention ecosystem optimized for algorithmic comfort — think Netflix‑style recommendation loops — that discomfort becomes a feature, not a bug. By creating “cognitive friction,” A24 filters audiences and forges identity signals: liking an A24 film is a form of cultural membership. It has been reported that a16z’s involvement is less about movies per se and more about testing how cultural brands can become platforms for durable, monetizable communities in an age when AI can instantly replicate content forms.

The larger AI and platform context

Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and image models can flood feeds with plausible text and visuals. Philosopher Han Byung‑Chul’s diagnosis — that information multiplies entropy while narrative reduces it — is often invoked here: endless content fragments fail to build shared meaning. In geopolitical terms, this shift matters amid an AI arms race between the U.S. and China; technological edge and compute capacity matter, but cultural influence and “what people care about” are harder to sanction, copy or commodify. Owning the story is a less exportable, more defensible asset than owning the algorithm that produces another boilerplate article or thumbnail.

What this means for creators and investors

For creators, the practical takeaway is stark: producing more frictionless content is increasingly a treadmill. For investors, the bet is on ventures that turn audience affinity into identity, not on firms that simply automate volume. Will more VCs follow a16z’s playbook and treat media as a means of “narrative capture”? Reportedly, that pivot is already underway — and it redefines what counts as IP in the AI era.