The End of Acting? How AI is Penetrating The Arts w/ Kalissa Persaud

In this episode of First Round’s On Me, we’re joined by Kalissa Persaud — actor, model, and creator — for a wide-ranging conversation about art, identity, confidence, and what it really means to build a creative career in the age of algorithms.

We talk about acting vs. content creation, why follower count is quietly reshaping opportunity, and how micro-influencers are becoming more trusted than celebrities. Kalissa opens up about rejection, craft, modeling for major fashion houses, and the pressure of growing up in industries that reward perfection while punishing humanity.

The conversation expands into AI in the arts, the danger of over-curation, confidence vs. self-belief, and why real connection — eye contact, presence, imperfection — is slowly disappearing in a hyper-digital world. At its core, this episode is a reminder that art is supposed to be human, not optimized.

Funny, thoughtful, and unexpectedly philosophical, this is a conversation about choosing belief in yourself when the world is constantly telling you who to be.

💬 In the comments: Do you think social media is helping or hurting creativity right now?

00:00 – Kalissa Persaud joins the show & modern acting

02:00 – Actors vs influencers: how opportunity is changing

05:00 – Self-love, confidence & identity

08:00 – Modeling, acting & finding your craft

11:00 – Rejection culture in creative industries

14:00 – Content creation vs trained performance

17:00 – Consistency over talent

20:00 – Belief in yourself & confidence erosion

23:00 – Social media as a double-edged sword

26:00 – Eye contact, presence & lost social skills

29:00 – Technology vs human connection

32:00 – AI in the arts: threat or tool?

35:00 – Why imperfection is essential to art

38:00 – Fashion as self-expression

41:00 – Discovering who you are beyond work

44:00 – Modeling, major brands & naïveté

47:00 – Final thoughts