Disconnected

What links Adobe’s open-source competitor, and the art of drone warfare? A new age of software.

In this week’s episode of Disconnected, Jag and Jason explore two big shifts driven by increasingly accessible technology: AI’s ability to help recreate existing software, and the ability to make military force cheaper and more widely available than ever before. 

We’ll dive into what happens to software pricing, trust, and whether autonomous systems should ever make decisions about human targets…

This episode of Disconnected covers:

• AI-assisted reverse engineering and the erosion of software moats
• Personalised, on-demand software and changing AI pricing models
• Trust, data protection, and liability for AI-generated tools
• The economics of drone warfare
• Autonomous weapons, human responsibility, and the limits of regulation

Jag Sharma:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jagsharma
https://www.instagram.com/jagsharma/

Jen Campbell:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-m-campbell/

Jason Kapadia:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonkapadia/
https://www.instagram.com/jasonkapadia/

Felina Tan:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/felinagabrielletan/

Matt Webster:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwwebster/

What if progress gives us more convenience, but takes away what we used to love about technology? 

In a nostalgia-filled episode of Disconnected this week, we’re doing the opposite of Room 101, and reviving technology that we think deserves a place in today’s world.

Jag, Matt and Jason look back at Blockbuster, removable phone batteries, LaserDiscs, SD card slots, and ask what it is that we truly miss about old tech.

This episode of Disconnected covers:

• The trade-offs of technological progress
• Nostalgia, ritual and shared experiences
• Digital convenience versus physical ownership
• Repairability, storage and consumer control
• The role of sensory details in how we experience technology

Matt Webster:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwwebster/

Jason Kapadia:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonkapadia/

https://www.instagram.com/jasonkapadia/

Jag Sharma: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jagsharma

https://www.instagram.com/jagsharma/

Jag Sharma:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jagsharma
https://www.instagram.com/jagsharma/

Jen Campbell:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-m-campbell/

Jason Kapadia:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonkapadia/
https://www.instagram.com/jasonkapadia/

Felina Tan:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/felinagabrielletan/

Matt Webster:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwwebster/

AI isn’t just writing emails and generating pictures anymore - it’s starting to design the molecules that go into our bodies. 

In this special episode of Disconnected, we sit down with young scientist Jay Wang to explore how generative AI is helping create new proteins, accelerate drug discovery, and whether we should be concerned about bioweapon risks and health inequality.

We also end the episode with a wonderfully weird look into the emerging world of AI that tries to open up two-way communications with whales, cows, and maybe even your dog.

This episode of Disconnected covers:

• AI in Drug Discovery and Synthetic Biology
• The New Bottlenecks in Medicine
• Dual-Use and Biosecurity Risks
• Health Data, Inequality, and Surveillance
• Decoding Animal Communication with AI

Jag Sharma:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jagsharma
https://www.instagram.com/jagsharma/

Jen Campbell:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-m-campbell/

Jason Kapadia:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonkapadia/
https://www.instagram.com/jasonkapadia/

Felina Tan:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/felinagabrielletan/

Matt Webster:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwwebster/

It’s time to reopen the doors to Disconnected’s Room 101, and this time, Jen Campbell is in the judge’s chair…

AI customer service chatbots, AI-slop social posts, compulsory apps, cookie walls, and Captcha tests all go on trial in this special episode of the podcast. While Jen makes the final call, Jag and Jason offer up their picks for the tech that promised to make life smoother but instead buried us in friction, fake empathy, and notification spam.

This episode of Disconnected covers:

• AI Slop and the Death of Having a Unique Voice
• Compulsory Digitisation and Unnecessary Apps
• Privacy Fatigue from Cookie Pop-Ups and Faux Consent
• Outdated Human-Proof Tests Like Captcha

Jag Sharma:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jagsharma
https://www.instagram.com/jagsharma/

Jen Campbell:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-m-campbell/

Jason Kapadia:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonkapadia/
https://www.instagram.com/jasonkapadia/

Felina Tan:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/felinagabrielletan/

Matt Webster:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwwebster/

In a world where every ‘modern convenience’ is inconvenient, what technological advancements would you actually delete if you could? 

In this ‘Room 101’ edition of Disconnected, Jag puts Jen and Matt’s biggest everyday gripes on trial - from QR-only restaurant menus and broken public Wi‑Fi to two-factor authentication and self-service bag drop. 

Join us in the debate as to whether some creature comforts have become unavoidable nightmares, and deserve to be banished to the realm of abandoned, forgotten tech…

This episode of Disconnected covers:

• How ‘modern convenience’ becomes digital friction
• Human interaction vs automation
• Security vs usability with Two Factor Authentication
• Digital inclusion and access to connectivity

Jag Sharma:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jagsharma
https://www.instagram.com/jagsharma/

Jen Campbell:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-m-campbell/

Jason Kapadia:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonkapadia/
https://www.instagram.com/jasonkapadia/

Felina Tan:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/felinagabrielletan/

Matt Webster:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwwebster/

Social media posting is becoming psychologically expensive now - is the old internet we loved slowly wasting away?

Your feed now looks more like TV programmed by an algorithm that doesn’t know you, but knows how to keep you watching. 

In this week’s Disconnected episode we cover the new social landscape, the companies quietly rehiring their ‘AI layoffs’, and whether the emerging age of AI superintelligence brings abundance, or an existential threat…

This episode of Disconnected covers:

• Social media turning into entertainment media
• The psychological cost of posting and creator concentration
• The migration of “real social” into private spaces
• AI, employment, and the unreliable promise of automation
• Superintelligence, ‘Skynet Day’, and civilisation-level threats

Jag Sharma:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jagsharma
https://www.instagram.com/jagsharma/

Jen Campbell:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-m-campbell/

Jason Kapadia:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonkapadia/
https://www.instagram.com/jasonkapadia/

Felina Tan:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/felinagabrielletan/

Matt Webster:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwwebster/

Our phones are reshaping our bodies. Not just mentally, not just metaphorically… LITERALLY reshaping them.

This week on Disconnected, special guest Mel Palleschi helps us dive into how tech is moving closer to us, ruining our necks and grip strength, choosing our university paths, and performing live surgery from across the globe.

This episode of Disconnected covers:

• How tech is physically reshaping our bodies, and moving closer to them
• AI as a new gatekeeper in university choices
• Ethics and inequality in AI‑mediated education and healthcare
• Humanoid robots and the future of surgery

Mel Palleschi

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpalleschi/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/hubbublabs/

Jag Sharma:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jagsharma
https://www.instagram.com/jagsharma/

Jen Campbell:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-m-campbell/

Jason Kapadia:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonkapadia/
https://www.instagram.com/jasonkapadia/

Felina Tan:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/felinagabrielletan/

Matt Webster:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwwebster/

AI is more than the software, more than the lines of code in Silicon Valley. It’s concrete, water, power lines and political deals reshaping small towns and entire industries. 

Returning to the show from episode 6, Blake Stone-Banks joins us to unpack who really benefits from the AI boom, and who quietly pays the price. 

Alongside Jag, Jason and Matt, we explore why China can build world-class products but still struggles to build brands people actually trust, and why AI might be turning “marketing” into a dirty word.

This episode of Disconnected covers:

• AI’s Physical Footprint and Local Backlash
• Democracy, Transparency and the AI “Race” Narrative
• Money, Lobbying and Political Power in Tech
• China’s Innovation Strength vs. Global Brand Weakness
• Marketing’s Identity Crisis in the Age of AI

Blake Stone-Banks

https://www.linkedin.com/in/blake-stone-banks/

Jag Sharma:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jagsharma
https://www.instagram.com/jagsharma/

Jen Campbell:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-m-campbell/

Jason Kapadia:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonkapadia/
https://www.instagram.com/jasonkapadia/

Felina Tan:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/felinagabrielletan/

Matt Webster:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwwebster/

The world is being reshuffled. When the dust settles, who will be left behind?

This very special episode of Disconnected features the oracle of tomorrow’s world, author and strategist Sangeet Paul Choudary, to unpack why AI isn’t just automating tasks but rearranging the entire economy.

What happens when knowledge work becomes abundant? Why is “will AI take my job” the wrong question? What does a resilient, entrepreneurial career look like in the age of AI?

Sangeet gives us clarity in the chaos - you don’t want to miss this glimpse into the future…

This episode of Disconnected covers:

• AI as a Coordination Layer, Not Just Intelligence
• Unbundling of Jobs and the Automation/Augmentation Trap
• From Knowledge Scarcity to Knowledge Abundance (and New Scarcity)
• Entrepreneurial Careers in an Uncertain Economy
• Reshuffling Industries and Value Chains

Sangeet Paul Choudary

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sangeetpaul/

Reshuffle

https://reshufflebook.com/

Jag Sharma:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jagsharma
https://www.instagram.com/jagsharma/

Jen Campbell:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-m-campbell/

Jason Kapadia:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonkapadia/
https://www.instagram.com/jasonkapadia/

Felina Tan:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/felinagabrielletan/

Matt Webster:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwwebster/

IKEA uses an AI chatbot to automate nearly half of its customer service inquiries - you’d expect that to mean layoffs… not promotions.

They’ve retrained 8,500 workers into higher‑value roles instead of cutting headcount. Could this become the new blueprint in a society scared for our livelihoods?

Jag, Jen, Jason and Matt dive into this on Disconnected this week, where we also tackle Meta’s accountability issues (and the monumental cost of avoiding it), plus the widespread community pushback on data centres.

This episode of Disconnected covers:

• Human‑First AI vs Headcount Cuts
• Leadership Choices as the Real AI Variable
• Accountability, Social Media, and Youth Mental Health
• The Physical Backlash to an Invisible Technology
• Trust as AI’s Next Bottleneck

Jag Sharma:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jagsharma
https://www.instagram.com/jagsharma/

Jen Campbell:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-m-campbell/

Jason Kapadia:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonkapadia/
https://www.instagram.com/jasonkapadia/

Felina Tan:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/felinagabrielletan/

Matt Webster:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwwebster/