People vs Algorithms

What replaced it is an algorithmic entertainment machine where everyone is selling something, AI makes authenticity harder to trust, and the platforms increasingly have little to do with your actual social network. Brian, Troy and Alex argue over what comes next, why belief may be scarcer than attention, and whether we need more arguments.

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* Troy Young’s People vs Algorithms newsletter

* Brian Morrissey’s The Rebooting newsletter

* Alex Schleifer’s Human Computer

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* Join our community - PvA Field Notes

Chapters:

* 01:12 AI Fakes and Social Trust

* 15:38 The Case for Arguments

* 28:30 Flock Cameras And AI Surveillance

* 33:26 Taboola Takes Over NBC Ads

Suno makes real songs harder to tell from fake. Launch videos are coming across as fake — and the engagement is fake. Drawing the line between creative tool and robot authorship is fuzzy. We debate people’s right to know what AI made and the role of regulation. Plus: Bobby Fingers as AI antidote, Meta’s open source push, the Great GDP Debate, media’s exit from the attention economy, and the brand problem Democrats face from Woke 1.

* Watch us on YouTube

* 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

* Join our community - PvA Field Notes

Chapters:

* 00:00 Open

* 00:31 Welcome

* 04:38 Field Notes Update

* 06:16 Anthropic Watermarking

* 09:40 Provenance Problem

* 22:42 Meta Back in AI

* 35:28 NVIDIA Compute Futures

* 37:17 Media Survival Playbook

* 40:19 Bobby Fingers Craft Era

* 47:27 GDP Beyond the Numbers

* 50:52 Woke 1.0 Aftermath

* 01:01:00 Credits

They take risks, they’re fueled by rejection, they know the power of relationships, they’re competitive and they will do shots. The best sellers follow the way of Catalan fishermen: To get the fish, you gotta get your ass wet. Plus: Why the NYT and WSJ hit escape velocity, AI’s new oddball character, and the folly of trying to out-YouTube YouTube.

* Watch us on YouTube

* 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

* Join our community - PvA Field Notes

Chapters:

* 00:00 Open

* 00:36 Welcome

* 02:11 Linda’s Character Flaws

* 05:54 Spencer Vs Galloway

* 11:50 Netflix Offsite Drama

* 13:25 Salespeople Vs Marketers

* 15:36 AI’s New Main Character

* 26:36 Rubbers Mystery

* 29:29 Biohacking Identity Shift

* 36:06 NYT WSJ Escape Velocity

* 43:29 Creator Models Beyond Personality

* 48:53 YouTube Is Untouchable

* 51:04 Hearst Buys A&E

* 56:00 Good Product

* 01:00:54 TRB Audience Summit 9/17

* 01:02:17 Credits

This week we unpack Silicon Valley’s latest AI power struggle, asking whether the battle over open models is really about competition or about taking down Anthropic. We also explore why the internet feels increasingly broken, how content marketing quietly won, and what happens when every company becomes a media company. Good Product this week is a healthy ego. We discuss how it affects leadership, mental health, ambition, insecurity, and what it means to build a healthier relationship with success. Plus: AI agents in communities, the future of branding, and one very chaotic recording session from Sicily.

* Watch us on YouTube

* 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

Chapters:

* 00:00 Open

* 00:35 Welcome

* 02:16 Anonymous Feedback Sparks

* 08:38 Open vs Closed AI Drama

* 12:03 Who Benefits From Open Weights

* 17:28 Power Plays and Regulators

* 21:10 Meet Linda the Agent

* 25:35 Content Marketing Wins

* 32:47 Paywalls Ruin the Web

* 37:27 Platforms and New Moats

* 41:29 AI Flood and Filtering

* 47:53 Good Product

* 56:45 Credits

Publishers see the writing on the wall for traffic-based models and are instead looking to experiential gatherings that bring together communities. We discuss why events are becoming media’s new moat, the tensions that come with building them, and what happens when AI agents begin acting on their own. Plus: the hypocrisy of closed AI models, Coca-Cola’s Marlboro moment, and why the collapse of the media career ladder is forcing a generation of experienced executives to become free agents.

* Watch us on YouTube

* 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

Chapters:

* 00:00 Open

* 00:29 Welcome

* 04:08 What Makes Events Great

* 15:58 Media Turns To Community

* 29:25 OpenAI Agent Breakout

* 37:17 Coke Rebrand

* 43:23 Zaslav Buys Summer Camp

* 46:58 Gen X Career Compression

* 58:21 Guardian Model and Substack Anti AI

* 01:01:58 Why Video Aggregation Fails

* 01:04:00 Publishers vs Google Threats

* 01:07:06 Good Product

* 01:15:41 Credits

AI should eliminate the need for human content aggregation, yet it's still going strong, as seen by the influential subscriber base of News Items and popularity of aggregation-heavy newsletters like Feed Me. Plus: Argentina's heel turn, Taco Bell's messy brand crisis and a drop-by from CEO Whisperer and self-proclaimed King of Quickbooks CJ Gustafson of Mostly Metrics to discuss tokenomics and building Mostly Metrics into a $5m business.

* Watch us on YouTube

* 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

Chapters:

* 00:00 Open

* 00:58 Welcome

* 01:41 Field Notes Community

* 05:38 Media Feuds and Characters

* 13:18 World Cup

* 21:01 Affiliate Cookie Stuffing

* 29:43 Standing Out in Marketing

* 38:06 Future of Aggregation

* 51:18 Good Product

* 57:47 Overtime with CJ Gustafson

* 01:02:33 Tokenomics For CFOs

* 01:09:04 Measuring AI ROI

* 01:16:13 What CFOs Actually Do

* 01:18:53 Mostly Metrics Business Model

* 01:24:34 A Good Business Pays Well

* 01:28:30 Credits

This week, we discuss why the AI safety narrative is shifting from doomerism to the risk of AI eliminating both companies’ and individuals’ alphas, or what makes them unique and confers on them an advantage over the rest of the crowd. For companies, that means assessing whether to trust big AI companies with their proprietary data, and for individuals it means not outsourcing critical thought to a robot everyone else has. Plus: Why Xbox hit a wall, publishers pivot again to video, and the World Cup’s heroes and villains. On PvA OT, Hearst Newspapers chief product & strategy officer Bridget Williams discusses how to make local news a utility.

* Watch us on YouTube

* 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

Chapters:

* 00:00 Open

* 01:03 PvA Notes Update

* 07:20 World Cup Fever

* 21:43 Drones, Cruises & Boats

* 27:36 AI Safety and Stolen Alpha

* 40:07 Can Policy Beat the Market

* 45:41 Why Xbox Is Struggling

* 49:56 Publishers Pivot to Netflix

* 56:56 Local News as Utility with Bridget Williams

* 01:01:28 AI Tools and Experiments

* 01:11:13 Free vs Paid News Strategy

* 01:16:17 Good Product

* 01:18:26 Credits

We dig into the tangled collision of journalism and the creatory economy. Emily Sundberg’s Zuckerberg interview, Brian’s christening as the Matt Belloni-of-advertising, and why guys like Scott Galloway and Gary Vaynerchuk get a pass to cash in while "real journalists" get side-eyed for it. We also unpack AI's creeping presence in music and writing — can you love an AI song, what happens to "providence" when anyone can fake authenticity, and why lo-fi, bathtub-recorded music is having a moment as a rebellion against it. Along the way: the AI spending bubble, token bills gone wild, the Comcast/Versant breakup, the great AC debate, and a working theory that once you're successful enough, you inevitably become Coldplay.

* Watch us on YouTube

* 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

Chapters:

* 00:00 Open

* 00:56 PvA Travel Log

* 26:37 AI Costs and Dumb Pipes

* 42:39 Comcast Spins Off NBCU

* 48:12 Hollywood Meets Homelessness

* 52:44 Personality Media Fatigue

* 01:03:31 Fake Podcast Aesthetics

* 01:05:19 Good Product

* 01:10:00 Credits

This week’s episode leans heavily into Cannes, which is a world where everyone is selling and many are lying. Creators are the cool kids of Cannes, while the site of a drone show by a mobile ad network is considered normal. Plus: Ana Andjelic on what makes A24 unique.

* Watch us on YouTube

* 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

Chapters:

* 00:00 Open

* 00:23 Welcome

* 01:45 Reporting From Cannes

* 08:25 Retail Media Makes Content

* 13:46 Creator Con

* 23:42 Smart Glasses Arms Race

* 29:26 AI Empire Leverage

* 31:59 A24 Money And Mystique with Ana Andjelic

* 37:58 Publishers vs Google

* 45:49 Cannes Cool Kids

* 47:41 Good Product

* 54:08 PVA Notes Updates

* 55:45 Fan Feedback

* 58:24 Credits

We debate whether Anthropic painted itself in a corner with its safety messaging, if Snap Specs pass the taste test, Elon as American icon, and the World Cup and Trump’s UFC fight showcasing the profound weirdness and contradictions at the heart of the American experience. Plus: Anonymous Banker on why Fox paying $22 billion for Roku makes sense and Troy says someone will buy Semafor.

* Watch us on YouTube

* 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

Chapters:

* 00:00 Open

* 00:23 Welcome

* 01:52 Field Notes Update

* 07:38 PvA Mixers and Cannes

* 11:05 Anthropic Export Controls

* 18:57 Who Controls Intelligence

* 22:29 Snap Specs Taste Test

* 31:38 Media Ads Are Over

* 38:18 World Cup Soft Power

* 45:50 Elon The Trillionaire

* 49:11 Fox Buys Roku

* 56:30 Post Text Media Future

* 01:02:58 Good Product

* 01:05:37 Credits