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Today we will dive into worldbuilding driven by AI with Adam Lavine and look at a tool that allows you to procedurally build a wide variety of assets ready to be used for your game or app.
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Interview with Adam Lavine
In this issue, we dive into the world of Blockade Labs and Skybox AI with co-founder Adam Lavine. Learn about the evolution of this 3D gean AI for full environments, the role of open source in generative AI, and the future impact of AI on the creative industry.
Can you guide us through the journey of Blockade Labs from the initial idea to what Skybox AI is now?
Adam Lavine: At the very beginning, we had this conversation about text to game. It was this idea that you could start with a simple premise, like “A Victorian zombie shooter with mice characters” This would be an insane prototype to make in real life because it would take 6 to 12 months. But if you just write that sentence, put it into a cascading process, three hours later you have a playable prototype. This changes everything. That's where it started. It started with the vision of turning text into a game.
Can you tell us about the new features like accurate depth maps and how they allow molding images into 3D environments?
Adam Lavine: We've explored several ways of going from 2D to 3D. Building a 3D scene is challenging. Our process starts with creation in 2D, then moves to an edit mode with large format inpainting. Once you're happy with the 2D, you press the 3D button. This pulls the depth map and applies it to a sphere's inside, deforming it. We then use mesh completion to fill in the gaps, allowing you to move around and see behind objects as if you were in a 3D environment.
The NEXT GENERATION of 3D meshes from epic 360° AI worlds!
How is generating an environment from a skybox different from generating directly a 3D model or an image?
Adam Lavine: The difference really isn't that significant. We knew we could create very large high quality 6K or 8K images with AI in a short period of time. This unlocked the use case for us to do skyboxes in a way nobody else could. We do use open source components, but most of our system is built around highly optimizing those components in every possible way. Companies like Google or OpenAI show what's possible, then open source reinvents it almost as efficiently but with fewer resources. We take inspiration from these open source components and build our own version that uses insights from both closed and open source, layered with our own work.
What is your take on the role of open source in the generative AI race?
Adam Lavine: Open source has been complicated for a long time. It accelerates the pace of technology significantly and prevents lock-in to closed-source players. It allows a dynamic where the big closed-source companies have all the resources, but the open-source community, with fewer resources, still makes it work in weird and effective ways. Companies in the middle, like us, face challenges because we want the accolades of open source but need to remain competitive. If you embrace open source too early, you risk sacrificing valuable assets that differentiate you. It's challenging, but open source is critically important.
How do you see AI impacting the creative industry? Do you see it more empowering professionals or making “everyone a creator”?
Adam Lavine: In the medium term, both are true. In the short term, making everyone a creator is more realistic. When we started with Skybox, we targeted the game industry. However, our most prominent customers turned out to be from diverse fields like R&D, or healthcare. Lowering the bar made our tools valuable to many unexpected users. Game studios have the most demanding use cases, but the broader adoption comes from individual and business users finding new ways to use our tools. In the long run, professionals will use AI to enhance their work, but everyone will have access to powerful creative tools.
You once said “Most of the tools today are about how AI can help humans, we should instead focus on AI executing under the human guidance” Does this mean we will lose agency over the creative process?
Adam Lavine: The question isn't whether we'll lose agency, but what the world looks like when execution isn't the challenge. AI makes execution trivial, shifting focus to planting the seed of an idea. Execution, which used to be 99.9% of the process, becomes less of a hurdle. This democratizes creation, much like how YouTube opened up video creation to everyone. The challenge is understanding what this new world looks like, where having ideas is enough, and AI handles the execution. It’s about navigating this shift and understanding the broader impacts on society and the economy.
How do you see the role of government and regulation in the future of AI?
Adam Lavine: The real issue is how well-intentioned interventions might have unintended consequences. Governments might clamp down on AI to address concerns but could stifle innovation in the process. If they ban or heavily regulate AI, it could prevent companies like ours from using the technology to build powerful and beneficial tools. Meanwhile, bad actors won't follow these regulations, putting good actors at a disadvantage. The challenge is ensuring regulations protect without hindering progress. The good news is that the rapid pace of AI development might outpace government intervention, but it remains a concern.
What exciting developments can we expect from Blockade Labs in the upcoming months?
Adam Lavine: We're excited about releasing edit mode, which allows large-format inpainting to perfect images in 2D before converting them to 3D. We've also been working on mesh completion, solving core math problems and applying them to our engine. Once we release these features, we'll be out of beta, which is a significant milestone. We're looking forward to seeing how users leverage these tools to create incredible things and uncover new use cases. The fast-paced nature of AI development keeps us on our toes, and we’re excited about the future.
