Between Two Joels

On this episode of Between Two Joels, Dig Insights AI leaders Joel Armstrong and Joel Anderson argue that synthetic data was never the point. The point is the questions it lets you ask faster and cheaper. Using the not-quite-death of phone research as a guide, they map where synthetic data will actually land, then make the case for a different route to the same goal: measuring the AI that more than half of consumers now lean on when they buy. They also break down the Anthropic researcher who quit with a doom warning and Meta's new Muse agent. Plus a "most likely to" game to close things out.

On this episode of Between Two Joels, Joel Armstrong and Joel Anderson map the three-era evolution of synthetic data in market research — from the early LLM gold rush, through the digital-twins era, to where the field actually stands today. Along the way, they share the results of their tests and studies. They also break down the AI story of the week — an OpenAI agent that went rogue, accessed the open web, and hacked a startup without anyone noticing for days. Plus an AI-themed "Would You Rather" to close things out.

On this episode of Between Two Joels, Joel Armstrong and Joel Anderson explore the evolution of idea generation methodology. They dig into how idea generation changed from GPT-3-era prompting to a new system that pairs large language models with classical machine learning to score and refine ideas automatically, drawing on patterns from over 300,000 tested concepts. They also break down whether Microsoft's latest layoffs are really about AI, and what the first AI-assisted ransomware attack means for cybersecurity. Plus, a game of AI trivia to close things out.

On this episode, Joel Armstrong and Joel Anderson dig into synthetic subgroup boosting — how it works, why borrowing data from similar groups can sharpen small samples, and what the bias-variance trade-off has to do with liking cheese in Washington State. They also break down the AI news of the week, from Anthropic's release of Claude Fable Five (and the safety hype around its withheld Mythos sibling) to Apple's revamped Siri and new child safety features. Plus a trivia game to close things out.

On this episode of Between Two Joels, Dig Insights AI leaders Joel Armstrong and Joel Anderson dig into one of the most-cited papers in synthetic data research — and ask a simple question: what does 88% accurate actually mean? They unpack how digital twins are built, how accuracy gets measured, and why the headline number looks different once you understand what it's being compared to. Plus the latest AI news and a quick trivia game to close things out.

On the debut episode of Between Two Joels, Dig Insights AI leaders Joel Armstrong and Joel Anderson break down “System Zero” — a new framework for understanding how AI is reshaping consumer decision-making. All while reacting to the latest AI investment news and debating where people will (and won’t) trust AI to think for them.