Tony Rockliff

Tony Rockliff brings a rare combination of creative industry experience, early AI adoption, practical tool-building, and approachable education to the McCartney Studios AI Advisory Council.

Tony began his career as a record producer, working with acclaimed artists and developing a deep understanding of how technology can support, enhance, and expand creative expression. His interest in artificial intelligence began long before today’s AI boom.

In 1998, he built and grew an online 3D virtual reality community to more than 1.3 million members, complete with an AI chatbot that moderated hundreds of chat rooms and helped guide new users through the platform. At a time when most people had not yet imagined the role AI would play in daily life, Tony was already using it to support community, communication, and engagement at scale.

Over the past decade, Tony has continued to integrate AI into multimedia production, creative workflows, education, and business development. He has delivered up to ten AI seminars a month for nearly three years and has built more than one hundred custom AI tools and vibe-coded apps. His work is grounded in experimentation, accessibility, and real-world usefulness rather than abstract theory.

As founder of the AI Connection Club in Florida, Tony has created an interactive learning community where creative people, entrepreneurs, and AI-curious professionals can explore practical AI tools, exchange ideas, attend workshops, and stay current with emerging technology in a supportive environment. His mission is to make AI simple, useful, and fun, especially for people who may feel overwhelmed by the speed and complexity of the AI landscape.

Tony’s perspective is especially valuable to the McCartney Studios AI Advisory Council because he understands both sides of the equation: the creative human impulse and the technological systems that can help bring ideas to life faster, smarter, and more effectively. His background in music production, virtual communities, custom AI tools, live training, and hands-on experimentation aligns directly with McCartney Studios’ mission to help artists, entrepreneurs, brands, and storytellers use AI in ways that are practical, ethical, imaginative, and commercially useful.

By joining the Council, Tony adds the voice of a builder, teacher, creative technologist, and community leader who has been working at the intersection of AI and human creativity for decades. His ability to translate complex tools into everyday language makes him a strong advocate for the kind of AI adoption McCartney Studios champions: approachable, empowering, and designed to help real people do better work.