In this episode, we sit down with Gray Bright, Chief Creative Officer & Founder of Sixth Wall at Hasbro, to explore what it actually means to bring some of the world's most iconic IP, from Transformers, Peppa Pig, Monopoly, and Clue, into the age of AI. From a Ouija board that attracted 250,000 interactions in 72 hours to a life-sized Optimus Prime taking up residence as the receptionist in Hasbro's new Boston office, Gray takes us through the experiments that convinced him this wasn't just a productivity play, it was a fundamentally new way to bring characters to life. We dig into the concept of behavioural licensing, why traditional brand guidelines and style sheets simply aren't built for characters that speak in real time to millions of people simultaneously, and how Hasbro's "golden record" and character operating system are setting the infrastructure standard for the industry. So tune in for more on why IP infringement at scale can be a gift rather than a threat, a candid look at how Hasbro is working with original voice talent to get compensation right in this new era, and what it will take for IP owners who haven't moved yet to avoid being left behind.
0:00 – Introduction
1:35 – Why Trivial Pursuit Infinite was the experiment that changed everything
3:00 – Inside the moment that led to an AI Ouija board with 250,000 interactions in 72 hours
4:20 – Why iconic IP lands completely differently with AI voices
5:00 – Why traditional licensing isn't built for characters that speak in real time
5:40 – What is the character operating system — and what is the golden record?
8:20 – How Behavioural licensing came to be, and why it didn't exist before Sixth Wall
8:45 – Why infringement at scale is actually a signal, not just a problem
9:40 – What happens when you ask an LLM "Peppa, do you like bacon?"
15:15 – What happens when your characters run their own 24-hour station, and how it informs character deployment
18:50 – Why Hasbro got talent compensation right before going to market
23:35 – 12 characters live now, vaults full of IP to come — what's the roadmap?
28:40 – How inbound and outbound moderation keeps characters in canon and safe
31:30 – Why CEO buy-in and a culture of experimentation are so important
38:01 – Sixth Wall is open for business: character-as-a-service, and what that actually means
40:40 – What is the vision for the future of Hasbro's AI characters?