You want to know about

James B. Pollack

Creative Technologist

AI × Art × Moonshot Innovation

Design

Make it lovely.

I have a Master of Fine Arts, the terminal degree in Digital Arts and New Media.

Develop

Build with emerging technologies.

From generative AI systems to spatial computing, I've shipped applications across Smart TVs, web, mobile, AR/VR, and interactive installations.

Write

Words are powerful.

I studied English at Yale University, where I was mentored in fiction by John Crowley and digital literature by Jessica Pressman.

Research

Explore the undiscovered.

I find my way through prototyping, scenario planning, and strategic innovation.

Services

15+ years pioneering at the intersection of artificial intelligence and experiential art.

I bridge breakthrough technologies with human experiences, translating cutting-edge AI/ML capabilities into transformative interactive installations, spatial computing interfaces, and generative creative tools.

From Meta's moonshot prototypes to open-source contributions to GPT-2, I help teams discover emergent possibilities in complex systems and build the tools that make them real.

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Portfolio

Experience

2014 Eyegroove — Software Engineer - Interactive Music Videos. Patent: US20160173960A1 — methods and systems for generating audiovisual media items, where a server receives a creation request with audio and visual media, generates the item, and stores it. Acquired by Facebook (2016).

2014
2015 - 2016 Software Engineer at High Fidelity, Inc. - VR platform. Authored 150+ merged pull requests, creating reference content for Steam launch. Prototyped spatial UX paradigms including teleportation systems and interactive hand controller experiences.

2016
2017 - 2022 Freelance Creative Technologist at Playable Future, LLC. Delivered immersive 3D experiences, interactive installations, and physical products for Visa (w/AKQA), IBM Watson, and SnackNation. Created popular open-source project for 4K 360° video capture from WebGL environments.

2017
2019 Software Engineer at Hyprsense (Acquired by Epic Games) - Developed real-time facial motion capture SDK enabling live 3D animation in web browsers.

2019
2020 - 2021 Software Engineer at Amazon - Original Television. Built web-based interactive experiences for 5 original shows reaching tens of millions globally across 30+ locales. Engineered novel typesetting system reducing font file sizes by 30x.

2021
2022 - 2025 Senior Technical Artist at Meta — Generative AI creation tools and workflows for rapid prototyping. Prototyped augmented reality experiences and avatar systems. Alpha tester for Meta Ray-Ban Display Glasses. Built tools for artists and creators working with AI.

2025

About

First-generation college graduate passionate about translating cutting-edge technology into transformative human experiences.

I'm obsessed with complexity science—not for a degree, just because I needed to understand how things emerge. This led me from studying AI and art at UC Santa Cruz's Expressive Intelligence Studio to contributing code to OpenAI's GPT-2, to prototyping the future of spatial computing at Meta.

My work lives at the intersection where breakthrough technologies meet human creativity. I build tools that let artists harness AI without coding, turn facial motion capture into browser-based magic, and help 76-year-old pioneers create art they thought was impossible.

I look at emerging technologies and ask: "What does this want to become? What emergent possibilities are hiding here that nobody's seeing yet?"

Get in touch

Did you learn all that you wanted to know?

I'm interested in working with smart people on difficult problems.

QUESTIONS: You send them, I'll respond in kind.
BUSINESS INQUIRIES: Let's do business.
NETWORKS: Meta, Santa Fe Institute, Singularity University, Yale Alum, UC Santa Cruz Alum

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