All Episodes

October 22, 2024 35 mins

Hilary Mason is a world-builder. She’s a serial entrepreneur, machine learning expert, and now, as the founder and CEO of Hidden Door, she’s creating immersive experiences where fans can interact with their favorite characters from books and movies. 


The choose-your-own-adventures style games are an amazing blend of AI and human creativity — and Hilary is passionate about both: 

“If I write a manifesto, this is what it'll be: I don't think the power of generative AI is to create the next amazing novel. I don't think it's gonna create the next amazing movie. I think it is not opinionated, but people are opinionated and people will create those things using these tools.”


On this episode of CRAFTED., we discuss what AI is good at and how to create a great marriage of human and machine. And Hilary is not holding back… 


“Doing data work without a soul or without philosophy is, at best, meaningless and, at worst, harmful.”


“I think prompts are gonna go away. We're in a moment of industry-wide product design, chaos…”


Listen for a masterclass on building with AI and building with creativity and soul.


  • (02:00) - – This moment in AI: figuring out the right use cases and design patterns
  • (05:00) - – Founding Hidden Door
  • (09:00) - – Why “controllability” is so important
  • (11:00) - – Enabling fans want to play with their favorite characters
  • (13:00) - – Why text-based games are so great
  • (15:00) - – Behind the scenes of how Hidden Door builds for fun
  • (19:00) - – AI has caused a moment of “industry-wide product design chaos”
  • (23:00) - – Industries and use cases where AI will be really good; where it won’t
  • (25:00) - – Effective ways to get beyond AI mediocrity
  • (28:00) - – Why Hilary thinks prompts will soon go away
  • (31:00) - – Hilary’s liberal arts background: English + Computer Science
  • (33:00) - – Why we need philosophy and soul along with the data


Where to find Hidden Door:

Where to find Hilary Mason:

Where to find Dan Blumberg:

CRAFTED. is produced by Modern Product Minds, where CRAFTED. host Dan Blumberg and team can help you take a new product from zero to one... and beyond. We specialize in early stage product discovery, growth, and experimentation. Learn more at modernproductminds.com 


Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie

Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.

24/7 News: The Latest

24/7 News: The Latest

The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.