People vs Algorithms

This week we talk CES, the ongoing silliness of the Bill Ackman-Business Insider feud, and why news aggregation apps are the obvious solution in search of a (monetizable) problem.

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This week, we dig into the latest front into the so-called hit piece. Last week, Business Insider published a pair of stories that dug into the academic record of Neri Oxman, a former MIT professor. Oxman happens to be the wife of Bill Ackman, a powerful activist investor who has been on a campaign against the leaders of top universities, including Harvard's Claudine Gay, who resigned a week ago after plagiarism accusations. The Wall Street Journal meanwhile continued its scrutiny of Elon Musk with a piece that looked into his drug use and whether it has negatively impacted his stewardship of his companies and the requirements of federal law since Starlink is a government contractor. The pieces raise the question of what a fair target for accountability journalism, and whether drug use is the issue or behavior exhibited during drug use (or without drugs of any kind, outside the intoxicant of ego). Finally, we consider the Apple Vision Pro and the prospect of people on planes with it strapped to their faces.

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Alex Schleifer's Universal Entities
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The New Year is maybe the perfect holiday. It’s celebrated by just about every culture and creed. And in a time of great division, we sorta come together around the idea of a new year meaning a new start. And we probably need that. This week, we look at reasons for hope, what lies ahead for AI, the coming legal and regulatory battles with Big Tech, and why it's probably safer to be an electrician.

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Alex Schleifer's Universal Entities
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Troy and Brian go over some of the lessons of 2023 and look ahead to 2024, starting with the end of the long era of dominance of the search engine results page and the dawn of a new SERP and promise of a new syndication paradigm that's reminiscent of the portal era.

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Alex Schleifer's Universal Entities
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Troy and Alex kept the conversation going after the recording of last episode. After sharing a "transcendental" experience with Chat GPT, Alex explained why he doesn't want a Cybertruck and Troy is compelled to play GTA 6.

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Alex Schleifer's Universal Entities
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In news, we discuss Google's antitrust loss, the miracle of Cheddar selling for $200 million, 5-Hour Energy Guy cleaning house at SI and zombie cable TV. Next, it's onto 2024 storylines, including AI's coming specialization, and platforms and publishers breaking up.

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Alex Schleifer's Universal Entities
• Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

We live in an age of cults, narratives and fleeting fame. Centralization is giving way to a fragmented culture and media landscape that is open, chaotic and not for the faint of heart. This week, we explore the fault lines of the Information Space.

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Alex Schleifer's Universal Entities
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The website might be dying. How will this affect media and advertising? We cover this and other hot topics in today’s episode.

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Alex Schleifer's Universal Entities
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The OpenAI drama exposed fault lines in the very unique culture of Silicon Valley, highlighting the imperfect methods used to serve as a check on the growing power of the tech industry. 

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Alex Schleifer's Universal Entities
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AI agents will accelerate the interface shift and change the economics of software, media and beyond.

• Troy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletter
• Brian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletter
• Alex Schleifer's Universal Entities
• Follow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter