People vs Algorithms

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.
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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
* 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

They debate warnings from Anthropic researchers that AI could kill humanity, whether anyone can credibly calibrate those risks and whether a visible catastrophe will be required before governments act. They also examine Meta’s Muse and the shift from chatbots and specialized agents toward personal assistants that could swallow large parts of the app economy. Meanwhile, AI may not be causing mass unemployment, but it is weakening entry-level white-collar work and the apprenticeship system young people need to get started. Underlying it all is the disappearance of cognitive struggle as phones and AI make it easier to avoid concentration, boredom and difficult thinking. Plus: the iPhone Fold, the analog revival, Ivan Lendl’s Mitteleuropa wisdom, podcast mixtapes and Troy’s missing car.
* 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:
* 01:47 9/11 Anniversary Reflections
* 08:13 US Open Late Nights
* 12:06 iPhone Fold and AI Assistants
* 37:56 Safetyism And Risk Culture
* 42:59 China Race And Trust Gap
* 50:00 Practical Risks And Prep
* 01:02:11 Analog Revival And Community
* 01:10:35 Good Product
* 01:14:24 Episode Wrap


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

We look ahead to the release of GTA 6 while tackling the implications of the doomsday sci-fi AI narrative, the use of social cost to coerce behaviors, and how giant sports events like the US Open are now more brand activation and corporate hospitality platforms.
* 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:
* 12:00 GTA VI
* 20:47 Meta Layoffs
* 33:07 Hugging Face Agent Swarm
* 40:03 AI China Race
* 47:42 Social Costs And AI
* 01:09:04 Good Product
* 01:16:58 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