People vs Algorithms

Our tech overlords reported for duty to Washington while Troy perused the powder at Davos. This week, we go beyond first principles to consider the second-order impact of a politicized tech elite. Plus: The Washington Post gets a BHAG and CNN plots a post-TV future.

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Economic growth requires labor productivity. We all aspire, in our own ways, to be productive, if only because our productivity is directly tied to our rewards. Yet American labor productivity has stagnated since the first decade of the internet coming to business. AI is now held out as the latest savior to productivity.

Modern productivity culture is an outgrowth of optimization obsession. We can measure more than ever, so we gravitate to squeezing out incremental gains and sometimes lose sight of the direction we want to go. We chase productivity growth hacks like the Pomodoro Method and lean on apps like Notion. The quest for productivity has become a secular religion.

This week, we discuss why we are constantly searching for productivity, our own approaches to productivity, why AI isn’t the silver bullet, and why what we really need is better prioritization.

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This week, we discuss Mark Zuckerberg’s craven capitulation on content moderation, even if it was an inevitable decision; the upside of algorithmic rabbit holes vs the downside of the commodification of attention; and how creator culture is reshaping trust in media institutions. Plus: why the Ninja Creami and IVs are good products.

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This week, we discuss the outlook in 2025 for legacy media (not great), alternative media (much better), chat as a new media mode, X emerging as a critical power center, and culture wars morphing into class wars.

• The Information Space in 2025 newsletter
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Podcasting challenges late nite, lying in media, shopping as content, super consumers and Alex rediscovers America at Disney.

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Tech has swallowed media, and is increasingly swallowing other industries and accruing power along the way. Plus: why adding a chatbot won’t save the article page, the real message of the big ad holding company merger, and an introduction to the new PvA companion product.

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Prediction market + news; media’s bifurcating star system; media’s management-labor divide; AI + browsers; car talk; LinkedIn cringe

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This week: The internet comes to life as spectacle, Elon proclaims you are the media, why publishers need to get to the transactional level, and an assessment of a new MAGA cultural aesthetic.

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This week on People vs. Algorithms, we unpacked London’s charm, the shifting dynamics of media and search, and why Google’s dominance feels both indispensable and fragile. Troy and I contrasted American and British publishing cultures—bigger isn’t always better, as UK publishers adapt to constraints with scrappy innovation. Search’s transformation, fueled by AI and shifts in Google’s strategy, dominated our discussion. While it offers consumers better tools, publishers are left scrambling, questioning their survival amid frictionless AI-driven content.

• What are the best Patagonia ski pants on a budget?
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The election in many ways confirmed what many had suspected: the information space has superceded and subsumed the traditional media world. Traditional media is now just one node, and perhaps more alarmingly its influence – and ability to persuade – has drastically declined.

We talk in this episode about the implications of this shift, particularly with the spotlight now on what’s being called the manosphere, a chaotic loose confederation of podcasters and YouTubers who have seemingly broken through to be a key node of persuasion for young men. Plus: Is CNN fixable?

• Rise of the Under Toad: The Tragic Life of Joe Rogan
• Dijon - Big Mike's (Live)
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• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Alex Schleifer's Human Computer
• Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter