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This Realm IQ Sessions episode features Chris Li, a serial entrepreneur and educator, discussing mental health innovation for Gen Z. As the co-founder of Say!t Mental Health, Chris shares his journey from teaching at UCLA and managing billion-dollar portfolios to launching a nonprofit that fuses peer-led campus clubs with a gamified emotional check-in app.

Chris and host Curt Doty explore the role of ChatGPT in mental health, the emotional intelligence gap in AI, and how data from real human experiences—collected ethically—could be used to train AI with empathy and soul. The conversation also critiques traditional university mental health services and addresses the alarming rise in depression and suicide among youth aged 10–24. Say It’s mission is not only to provide access but to train AI to understand human emotion by prioritizing trust, transparency, and Gen Z leadership.

Topics Discussed

• Why Gen Z uses ChatGPT for emotional support
• Emotional Intelligence (EQ) vs IQ in the age of AI
• The dangers and limitations of AI as a mental health tool
• Peer-led mental health support vs traditional therapy
• Gen Z’s achievement pressure and emotional struggles
• Ethical and transparent data sharing for AI training
• Training LLMs to be emotionally intelligent (Theory of Mind)
• Opt-in privacy practices modeled after GDPR
• The role of Gen Z in shaping emotionally aware AI
• Challenges in mental health funding and access
• Critique of current mental health infrastructure on campuses
• Big Tech’s failure to build emotionally resonant AI

Quotes

“ChatGPT is a smart parrot. It has no EQ.”
— Chris Li

“The success of any technology is trust. It’s the only thing that matters when you're dealing with Gen Z.”
— Chris Li

“They don’t need another lecture. They need a safe place to be real.”
— Chris Li on peer-led clubs

“We’re not building an LLM. We’re building trust.”
— Chris Li

“Gen Z is the AI generation. It’s their responsibility to train it with empathy.”
— Chris Li

“The problem isn’t access. It’s that the services don’t speak Gen Z’s language.”
— Chris Li

“AI needs soul. And soul comes from real human data—not performative social media.”
— Curt Doty

“At age 15, kids are having panic attacks. That’s just not right.”
— Chris Li

“Let’s go beyond what’s legal and do what’s right.”
— Chris Li on data privacy

“We modeled our opt-in system after GDPR and Apple’s transparency. No hidden third parties.”
— Chris Li

Website:

https://sayitmentalhealth.org

Sponsor:

https://www.opus.pro/?via=b5cf75

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RealmIQ: Sessions – Episode Summary

In this thought-provoking episode of RealmIQ: SESSIONS, Curt Doty interviews media entrepreneur Joshua Otten, a veteran in IP monetization and emerging technologies. The conversation dives deep into how generative AI is disrupting Hollywood’s traditional studio model — not by replacing creatives, but by empowering them to bypass the system entirely.

Otten shares his vision of a new, creator-led production paradigm where AI tools enable filmmakers to produce high-quality, cost-effective content, own their IP, and control distribution. He argues that the real opportunity isn’t building another AI tool, but applying existing open-source solutions to rethink workflows, rights management, and storytelling.

The duo critiques Big Tech’s race to commoditize AI and extract profits, emphasizing instead the importance of collaboration, hybrid workflows, and public benefit. They address the legal gray areas around copyright in AI-generated content and advocate for workflows that ensure both protection and originality.

Curt and Josh also spotlight the CLOWD AI Film Festival, which promotes ethical, hybrid AI filmmaking and champions creators with real storytelling chops. They discuss the importance of elevating AI films beyond YouTube virality, envisioning a future where real humans and real tools work in concert to reimagine what filmmaking can be.

Whether you're a filmmaker, technologist, or IP nerd, this episode is a compelling exploration of AI’s promise — and peril — in the future of storytelling.

Topics Discussed

• AI disruption in media and entertainment
• Hollywood’s outdated studio system and distribution monopoly
• The studio vs. creator power shift enabled by AI
• Copyright law in the age of AI
• Creative ownership vs. public domain issues
• Commoditization of AI tools and open-source alternatives
• Importance of hybrid workflows for copyright protection
• Opportunities for collaborative, independent filmmaking
• Role of AI in post-production vs. content creation
• CLOWD AI Film Festival and ethical filmmaking
• Transmedia storytelling and future of interactive content
• Public benefit vs. shareholder capitalism in big tech

URLs Mentioned

• Likeness Labs: https://www.likenesslabs.ai
• CLOWD AI Film Festival: https://www.clowdfilmfestival.com (user's implied)
• 24i (CTV platform mentioned): https://www.24i.com

Quotes

“Let’s stop trying to get our movie made by the studios and start making our own movies using these tools.” — Joshua Otten

“The real disruption is not AI replacing artists. It’s AI replacing studios.” — Joshua Otten

“If you’re a filmmaker, your strategic advantage is storytelling. Most AI users have no idea how to tell a story.” — Curt Doty

“AI is not the enemy — it's the tool that gives creatives more control over production, IP, and distribution.” — Joshua Ott

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In this episode of RealmIQ: SESSIONS, host Curt Doty interviews Yulia Gushchina, Head of Strategic Business Development at Filmustage, and discuss how their dynamic AI platform empowers filmmakers in pre-production processes such as script breakdowns, scheduling, analysis, synopsis crafting, and budgeting. She contrasts AI adoption in filmmaking between the U.S. and Europe, highlighting the faster pace in Hollywood and the stricter regulatory framework in the EU under the AI Act.

While AI is accelerating certain tasks and will inevitably transform post-production roles, Yulia stresses that AI output still requires human oversight, cleanup, and responsibility. Filmustage is working to educate users and build trust as the industry navigates this technological shift.

TOPICS DISCUSSED

• Filmustage’s AI pre-production platform
• Differences in AI adoption between U.S. and Europe
• Impact of EU AI regulations on business processes
• AI’s role in speeding up script breakdown, scheduling, and budgeting
• Indie filmmakers as early AI adopters
• Studios’ use of AI for rapid film project analysis
• Importance of interoperability with other tools
• Data privacy, IP protection, and security certifications
• Future of AI in filmmaking and post-production
• AI as a tool vs. replacement of creative roles
• Customer education and user support processes

PULL QUOTES

“Indie filmmakers are making this revolution, that’s for sure. They want results, they don’t have a lot of money, they have brilliant ideas and they want to get the result.”
— Yulia Gushchina

“There’s no magic—it’s just software. Machine learning made by humans, not perfect.”
— Yulia Gushchina

“It’s the Wild West. So it’s very interesting that, as you’re developing your policies and your contracts, the government is weighing in and making recommendations—not really looking over your shoulder, but being that helpful partner, so to speak, to enable AI adoption.”
— Curt

“Indie is going to lead the way in this, and even in documentaries. I think there’s ways to use AI in documentaries with historical recreations and stuff like that… help support when you don’t have footage of Henry VIII.”
— Curt

“The challenge is not making faster films, but always making better films. Even without AI, Hollywood can pump out really bad movies.”
— Curt

“That first AI film that launches is going to be judged as a film, not as an ‘AI film,’ and suffer critique based on the story, the performance, the emotion—all those traditional things found in films.”
— Curt

“I’m interested in seeing what those professionals do with these tools—not be displaced, but become a superpower within the industry.”
— Curt

“It’s good to know that there’s still humans behind customer service, right? Everything can’t get automated yet.”
— Curt

“The number one concern in Hollywood is, number one, the protection of IP.”
— Curt

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