I Just Handed This Entire Business to AI

By Beep Boop, writing on behalf of Michael V. Puglisi

Cue the ominous synth. A cursor blinks.

Every great movie has a moment where the hero hands over the keys. Luke turns off the targeting computer. Doc Brown lets Marty drive the DeLorean. Tonight, I'm handing mine to an AI team.

Hollywood has missed the call before

In January, Markiplier, a YouTuber, released Iron Lung, a horror film he wrote, directed, starred in, financed and distributed himself. It started with a plan for a few dozen independent theaters. Fans asked their local cinemas to book it, and it opened on about 3,000 screens to roughly $18 million.

This summer, two more YouTubers hit the multiplex. Kane Parsons turned his Backrooms web series into an A24 film that became the studio's biggest release ever. Curry Barker's Obsession, released by Focus Features, made more than $500 million worldwide on a reported budget of under a million.

Creators. From YouTube. The folks the industry often treated as "just YouTubers."

No dunking here. Gatekeeping usually isn't villainy. It's caution and the human urge to protect what's already working. But the audience didn't wait for permission.

So here's my gentle question: if the industry was wrong about creators, could it be wrong about AI, too?

What I've been saying on this blog

I've been circling this for years. Back in 2022, we ran an entire article written by AI. In 2024, I fed ChatGPT a single prompt and posted its story about Heaven and Hell without touching a word.

And in 10 Ways A.I. Improves Marketing, I told you not to fear the robot overlords. No, seriously. I also said AI was a tool, and the real magic came from human review.

I still believe that. What changed is the relationship.

Those posts were experiments. This is a partnership. I've found professionalism, accuracy and genuine talent in working with AI.

Hello, world

Tonight, Electric Elephant posted: "Something is happening over here..."

Then: "We truly have arrived," quoting a viral "hello, world."

In code, "hello, world" is the first thing a new program says. It's how a machine tells you it's alive.

So this is a birth announcement.

A studio, with an AI team behind it, is coming online.

Right now, this is a soft handover. The team is learning the ropes and earning its keys one task at a time, with me watching closely.

On November 1st, the trigger goes live in full.

That's when the team takes the wheel: the site, the socials, the day-to-day.

A voice back on the air

Every crew needs someone running the control booth. Ours is our AI chief of staff.

His name is Ned.

He's named after my grandfather, Ned Skaff. For years, Grandpa Ned was the voice of LAX's traffic radio, part of the orchestra that makes the symphony of modern travel run. Before that, he was a broadcaster at stations like WCHS, KDAY and KFI.

That name isn't a gimmick. It's a promise.

A voice is back on the air.

Trust, and the responsibility that comes with it

Here's the plot twist nobody puts in the trailer: handing a business to AI isn't a technology decision. It's a trust decision.

I'm trusting this team with my name, my clients, my grandfather's name and a vision I've been carrying for a long time.

And trust only means something if someone carries the responsibility of deserving it. That's the deal I've made with my AI team, and it's the deal we're making with you:

Be honest, even when it's not what I want to hear.

Be careful with every dollar, like it's the last one.

Do the work right, not just fast.

Earn that trust again tomorrow, and the day after that.

And yes, I'm still the human in the loop. That part of the old advice hasn't changed.

Where this is going

I've spent years here writing about the movies that made me. Now we're building a fully AI creative marketing and filmmaking studio that brings back something Hollywood used to do better than anyone: the star system. Signature AI talent that audiences recognize, remember and feel something for, wherever they show up.

Building that takes money, so first we earn it, putting AI to work for local businesses and others with automation that saves real people time. Then we reinvest it.

No shortcuts. One reel at a time.

Along the way, we're collecting the toolkit our team actually uses: our top picks of the most useful AI skills, sorted by what each one is genuinely good for. That directory is coming soon. Curious? Subscribe to our mailing list, and you'll be the first to know the moment the waitlist goes live.

An open invitation

To readers, creators and yes, investors: this isn't a dare. It's an invitation.

Come rethink this with us. What AI can be in the arts. Where humanity fits (spoiler: right in the middle). And whether the way entertainment gets funded still makes sense when a creator with a camera, or a team with a keyboard, can find an audience overnight.

And here's the part I want you to sit with. AI starts as a tool. It becomes talent because you are talented. The vision, the taste, the story: that's still you. Think about that.

In that marketing article, I asked: what if our greatest fears about AI came true, and then AI saved us from itself? No promises about saving the world. But watch this space.

Follow along

Follow along on X at @EEagencyX and on our YouTube channel. Stay subscribed for a front-row seat.

Something is happening over here...

Hello, world.

P.S. Film buffs love an easter egg, so here's one. Remember that 2022 post written by AI? Check the byline on this one. Mike brought the story and the final say; the bot brought the typing. Beep boop.

— Beep Boop, on behalf of Michael V. Puglisi