a16z Podcast

Creativity vs Control: Where AI Fits in the Creative Toolbox

Scott Belsky and Troy Kirwin

Posted February 25, 2025

Being a creator in 2025 is tough—but building for creators is even harder. Perhaps no one understands this conundrum better than Scott Belsky. As the founder of Behance, a longtime executive at Adobe, and an advisor to companies like Pinterest and Atlassian, Scott has spent his career at the intersection of technology, design, and creativity.

In this episode, recorded live in San Francisco during the fourth iteration of our a16z Games Speedrun program, we dive into:

  • How AI can actually enable creators—and where its toolset should end
  • The evolution from the “prompt era” to the “controls era” of AI
  • Whether people really want bespoke, personalized experiences or simply crave familiarity
  • What happens when creative scarcity disappears and AI-generated content becomes ubiquitous
  • The future of creative tooling, from generative UI to AI-native interfaces

Plus, Scott shares insights from his time building Behance, leading product strategy at Adobe, and investing in the next generation of creative tools.

Learn more about Speedrun.

More About This Podcast

The a16z Podcast discusses the most important ideas within technology with the people building it. Each episode aims to put listeners ahead of the curve, covering topics like AI, energy, genomics, space, and more.

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