People vs Algorithms

An anonymous developer used Claude to ship open-source clones of Adobe’s big five, then Word, Excel, Keynote, AutoCAD and Figma within days, and the lesson is that software is a business of pure margin with less moat than anyone thought. Packaged software is going the way of packaged media, and the mathematicians are finding out what that feels like.Plus: Alexandr Wang as Zuckerberg’s main character, Silicon Valley’s perennial claim that AI will kill advertising, Netflix cutting HR and legal, friction and the fate of Regina, Apple’s $300 home hub, and deodorant.
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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:
* 00:47 The Car Is Back
* 04:01 Claude vs ChatGPT Personalities
* 06:45 ArtCraft and the SaaS Apocalypse
* 20:01 Headless Software and Moats
* 37:39 Meta Cheeky Pint
* 45:41 Friction Kills Towns
* 52:44 Good Product
* 01:00:58 Credits


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.peoplevsalgorithms.com

This week we dig into how much of the economy is built on friction, and what happens when AI agents start removing it. Also: why students are so gloomy about AI, Vanity Fair’s New Establishment list and who gets to confer legitimacy on tech, a vibe-coded Adobe replacement, the race for the new home page, and Troy comes around on Kia.
* 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:
* 01:25 Vanity Fair and Tech Legitimacy
* 07:46 Students Fear the AI Future
* 27:28 Software Moats and Copycat Culture
* 34:28 Friction Economy Disrupted
* 41:37 One Agent New Homepage
* 49:28 Distillation China
* 54:48 Good Product


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.peoplevsalgorithms.com

Brian, Troy and Alex debate who will control the interface to your life, whether convenience will steamroll privacy concerns, and how the winner gets to collect a toll on everything you buy. Plus: Silicon Valley’s makeover of government, what comes next for Condé Nast, and why other industries are about to find out what being a publisher feels like.
* 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:
* 00:48 Meet Linda the AI
* 04:53 America.gov Launch
* 15:55 Agents Negotiate Calls
* 20:21 Personal Agents Arms Race
* 36:28 Interface Shift and Business Models
* 57:18 Publishers and Condé Shakeup
* 01:07:49 Good Product
* 01:09:53 Field Notes Corner


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.peoplevsalgorithms.com

Brian and Troy dig into Muse, Meta’s push to make AI assistants mainstream, and why the next big platform battle is over the interface itself. They also look at what this shift means for publishers, commerce and media companies that increasingly risk becoming commodity suppliers to someone else’s agent. Later, Breaker's Lachlan Cartwright joins to sell $60 hats and talk CNN, CBS News, Puck, RedBird and what consolidation looks like when the old media business is being forced to adapt to a very different distribution system.
* 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:
* 01:24 Boston Globe Viral Win
* 05:01 Field Notes Media Lab Build
* 09:28 Muse and Agentic Future
* 29:20 People Become Data Providers
* 45:05 Go Big Media Merger
* 51:42 Redbird Buys Puck
* 01:10:39 Good Product
* 01:19:09 Credits


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.peoplevsalgorithms.com

Brian and Troy map the whole cast: who's the wizard, who's the arms dealer, who's the schoolyard bully, and who gets stuck playing the citizens of King's Landing who never asked for dragons. Plus: whether the frontier is worth being on, what happens the first time someone dies, Macklemore getting bounced off the Ed Sheeran tour, the rip-off economy, and a spirited defense of yogurt.
* 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:
* 02:45 AI Characters and Shifting Alliances
* 28:48 Public Trust and the China Question
* 33:55 Frontier Labs Go Political
* 39:44 When AI Breaks Things
* 45:42 Field Notes Mixtapes
* 49:46 Quick Hits
* 01:08:33 Good Product
* 01:11:54 Credits


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.peoplevsalgorithms.com