Disconnected

Cars, glasses, maps, even humanoid cops – the tools around us are quietly turning into an environment that watches, profiles, and nudges us.

In this week’s Disconnected we trace a shift in the world which no longer serves you, but spies on your every move. From Google’s ambient AI and car-cam reconnaissance to China’s combat-ready robots, what’s really left of privacy, agency, and work when the machines are an irreversible part of our infrastructure?

This episode of Disconnected covers:

• Cars becoming lucrative data-farming platforms
• Surveillance normalised through convenience and small print
• AI shifting from a tool to an ambient layer of everyday life
• Embodied AI and humanoid robots entering the public realm

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/

Could you beat Claude if your next job was on the line?

We’re in a strange new reality where AI writes your CV, screens your application, interviews you, and now expects you to beat it just to get a human on the phone.

Jag and the team unpack how recruitment is turning into an arms race between machines, Meta’s push to normalise AI-generated content, and what its $145 billion AI bet means for creativity and culture.

This episode of Disconnected covers:

• AI Eating the Hiring Funnel
• Humans vs AI Benchmarks
• Where AI Belongs in Recruitment, and Where It Doesn’t
• Meta’s $145B Bet, AI Creator Labels and Trust in Social Feeds

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/

‘Made in China’ is not the insult it once was. It now means world-leading, culture-defining tech innovation.

Is it being used for the betterment of mankind? Can Western civilisation cope with a world where China leads, without defaulting to xenophobia?

These questions arise amid a backdrop of digital work clones and an afterlife avatar of lost loved ones - stay ahead of the curve with Jag, Jen and Felina on Disconnected this week…

This episode of Disconnected covers:

• China’s evolving tech leadership and Western identity
• AI, work, and the erosion of dignity
• Grief, intimacy and digital humans
• The gap between AI hype and economic reality

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 creeping into our workflows anymore – it’s crashing date night, rewiring Wall Street, and trying to rewrite the social contract.

We’ve turned life into a co-op work simulator, Elon’s turned IPO into incentivisation, and OpenAI are warning us about the very world they’ve perpetuated.

Where do we exist in a future fraught with uncertainty at every turn? Matt, Jason and Jag have the answers on this week’s Disconnected…

This episode of Disconnected covers:

• The blurred boundaries between work and life
• Power and leverage in the AI economy
• Freedom vs transactional living

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/

$73 billion - that’s how much Meta has wasted shoving the Metaverse down our throats. Was it worth it…?

We’re seeing a steady revolution against the tech we’re told is good for us, from the decline of virtual worlds to simple things like wired headphones.

Is it a trend that’s set to last? Or can Claude’s new, scary-powerful features tempt users back into the future again? We cover all this, and more, on Disconnected this week…

This episode of Disconnected covers:

• Tech Fatigue and the Return of Friction
• The Rise of Agentic AI in Real Life Work
• Control vs Convenience
• The Metaverse Comedown & VR’s Adoption Problem
• The Future of the Human-AI Relationship

Matt Webster:

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

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/

We all knew that putting cameras on our faces was going to be a privacy nightmare, right?

Meta’s glasses have been caught sending footage to human contractors in Kenya, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg for how our safety is being compromised by forces outside of our control…

Special guest Ben Cheston joins us for a look at Meta’s mishap, the terrifying prospect of air taxis, and why judgement means more than knowledge in the workplace of the future.

This episode of Disconnected covers:

• Electric air taxis and the future of urban aviation
• Wearable AI destroying our private spaces
• Public attitudes to surveillance and tech convenience
• Experience and judgement as a superpower in the AI era

Ben Cheston

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

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 doomed to be run by one of two things; beautiful dumb people, or untrustworthy AI.

With over 20 years at the top of the marketing game, Patti Balbas is perfectly placed to help us understand how, in a ‘charismocracy’, charm will win over the masses rather than diligence.

We also dive deep into a worrying, emerging pattern in AI’s use cases which has the potential to undo decades of societal progress for women - unless we act now…

This episode of Disconnected covers:

• AI, safety, and women’s harm
• Digital harm vs. physical harm and regulation of each
• Big tech strategy and Meta’s shift away from messenger
• ‘Charismocracy’ and the future of work
• Youth, parenting, and human skills in an AI era

Patti Balbas:

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

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/

When AI goes wrong and signs you up to an awful legal deal, who’s to blame - you, or the agent?

AI is crossing the line from ‘nice-to-have’ to ‘invisible infrastructure’, and once it does there’ll be no turning back.

We dive into the AI-first future, the landmark trial on addictive design for social media, and questions whether OpenClaw is already plotting the demise of the ‘meat bags’...

This episode of Disconnected covers:

• The blurred line between tool and infrastructure
• Accountability when AI fails
• Addictive design and teens’ mental health
• The rise of Agentic AI with a new, open source tool

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/

Prediction season is back for a round 2, and this time Matt and Felina are swinging for the fences. 

Between the dream of burdening AI with our mental load, to the nightmare of deepfakes fooling us all on the world stage, our outlook on 2026 proves one thing - you won’t have time to catch your breath, or the year in tech will pass you by…

Join us in the second of our special prediction episodes; we’ll see in December whether it’s the optimistic theories that prevail, or whether you’ll be able to trust anything in the AI era anymore.

This episode of Disconnected covers:

• A New Age of AI-Driven Consumer Tech
• Social Platforms Fighting For Our Attention
• Trust, Deepfakes & The Media
• Robots, Safety & Regulation
• AI in High-Stakes Industries

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 prediction season once again, and the only certainty for the year ahead… is uncertainty.

Will Apple finally enter the foldable phone race? Could an AI-generated song hit 250m streams? Will LinkedIn FINALLY die the death that Jen’s been waiting on for so long?

Tune into the first predictions episode of Disconnected for 2026, and prepare yourself for the year’s biggest shocks before they come true…

This episode of Disconnected covers:

• Big Tech & AI Futures: from foldable iPhones to whether Anthropic will go public
• AI‑generated music hitting massive streaming numbers and AI‑created posts dominating social feeds
• Monetising LLMs, and the HUGE ad revenue up for grabs this year
• Predictions of large‑scale anti‑AI protests, energy and jobs anxiety, and regulatory pressure

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/