Welcome to Episode 47 of The Hockey Stick Show! I’m Miko Pawlikowski, and in this episode, I had the chance to chat with Mark Liu about AI, creativity, and how to think about the future of technology. Mark has worked on some really cool projects, and we went deep into both the technical and personal lessons.

1. Understand the Basics Before Chasing the Hype

Mark explained diffusion models in a super simple way. Imagine starting with a noisy picture and slowly cleaning it up until it looks like your idea — like “a dog walks on the beach.” That’s how modern AI image generation works.

Lesson: Don’t just follow the buzzwords. Pick one idea, break it into small parts, and understand it step-by-step.Action: Next time you hear about a new tech trend, try to explain it to a friend in one sentence. If you can’t, you don’t understand it yet.

2. New Tech is Cool, But It’s Messy at First

We talked about video generation models like OpenAI’s Sora. They’re powerful, but they still make weird mistakes. The tech will get better, but it’s not “magic” yet.

Lesson: Don’t expect perfection from new tools. Early versions always have flaws.Action: Experiment with new tools, but keep backups and don’t bet your whole project on them.

3. Writing a Book or Building a Project Takes Clarity

Mark shared how writing his book forced him to clarify his ideas. You can’t just write for yourself — you have to make it easy for others to understand.

Lesson: Teaching something is one of the best ways to truly understand it.Action: If you’re learning something new, write a blog post or record a short video explaining it.

4. Don’t Be Afraid to Start Small

We both agreed that starting is often the hardest part. Many people wait until they feel “ready,” but that day never comes.

Lesson: Progress beats perfection.Action: Break your goal into the smallest possible next step and do it today — even if it’s just 15 minutes of work.

5. Your Network is Part of Your Skillset

Mark’s opportunities often came from people he’d met through side projects, talks, and collaborations.

Lesson: Skills matter, but so do connections.Action: Share your work in public, even if it’s not perfect. You never know who’s watching.

Final Thought from Me

Talking with Mark reminded me that the future of AI (and any tech) isn’t just about algorithms — it’s about people who are willing to explore, make mistakes, and share what they learn.

If you take one thing from this episode: be curious, start small, and share your work.

Thanks for listening!