People vs Algorithms

YouTube became a $550 billion juggernaut by building the infrastructure: the algorithm, the ad stack, the creator revenue share, the living room app. It spent more on content than almost anyone else without producing it. Meanwhile, legacy media companies that bet everything on premium content are pivoting to events, harvesting their websites for ad yield, and watching their audiences migrate to platforms they don't control. X tells the same story: a product that isn't even particularly good has become the most influential information network in the world because of the raw, unmediated network it sits on top of. On an individual level, those who can build personal systems are establishing leverage. The lesson: Power is durable power doesn't come from what you make, it comes from the system you build around it.
* 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
* 00:26 Cool Things
* 03:52 Welcome
* 11:44 AI Writing and Newsrooms
* 15:27 Epstein Grammar Power Flex
* 21:11 Wealth Shifts to Older Audiences
* 25:19 Iran War and X as Truth Feed
* 32:35 Barry Diller Eyes CNN
* 38:27 YouTube Becomes Media King
* 50:30 Everything Is Cooked
* 01:04:00 Takeaways
* 01:05:51 Good Product
* 01:08:21 Outro


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

Block’s 40% employee purge says more about Jack Dorsey’s CEO skills than AI. David Zaslav gets only a PE golf clap for making Warner Bros shareholders money. McDonald’s CEO becomes a symbol of out-of-touch financializers. But hope is on the way as Cal AI’s teenage founders bootstrapped their way to riches.
* 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
* 00:47 Welcome
* 01:45 Human Computer’s Ballgame
* 06:46 AI & Game Dev
* 08:51 Anthropic Pentagon Clash
* 14:04 AI Narrative Wars
* 17:37 War News Fragmentation
* 28:43 Layoffs & AI Excuses
* 32:36 Holding CEO’s Accountable
* 44:29 Cal AI Exit
* 48:09 SXSW Nostalgia
* 53:53 Good Product
* 58:12 Outro


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

Data shows widespread trepidation over the AI, whether it’s datacenter construction or possible job displacement, yet little public discussion has taken place. We discuss how that’s changing as AI becomes a political issue. Meanwhile, another reckoning is happening with a return of cancel culture in a new and improved version; the open web faces its own reckoning as grotesque user experiences lead it into a doom loop; and private capital faces a squeeze that will hurt M&A.
* 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:
* 00:50 Irish Hospitality
* 04:37 Intro
* 07:30 AI & The State of the Union
* 24:21 Cancel Culture
* 35:19 Death of the Open Web
* 42:43 Private Capital
* 50:38 Money Making Opportunity
* 01:00:30 Good Product
* 01:06:26 Outro


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 unpack the "orality thesis" and what the shift from written to spoken culture means for how we think, communicate, and vote. On the media side, they map out what's actually working right now: audience-first elite brands, B2B trojan horses like Hearst, expert creator newsletters, and the relentless pull of performance marketing, and AI-generated monkey content on YouTube. Plus: a report from the Swiss Alps.
* 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:
* 00:39 Welcome
* 05:13 Orality Thesis
* 08:42 Writing vs Talking
* 12:07 Doom-Maxing
* 22:58 Leadership Crisis
* 33:16 The Best and Worst of Media
* 52:06 Synthetic YouTube Content
* 56:36 Good Product
* 01:03:41 Outro


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

The age of AI is off to a shambolic start. Anthropic and OpenAI ran Super Bowl ads that fell flat. The gap is widening between the AI-pilled true believers and the Normals, as AI becomes yet another existential anxiety. Plus: Alex breaks down the design systems deployed by Trump vs Mamdani, and Troy says The Washington Post has a product problem.

* 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:
* 00:27 Welcome
* 07:46 Billionaires Flock to Miami
* 11:21 AI Anxiety
* 31:08 Design & Government
* 35:36 Mamdani Design Language
* 37:43 A Very Difficult Job: Running the WaPo
* 56:37 Good Product
* 59:55 Outro


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