‘Skynet Day’, AI Abundance and Why Social Feels Different Now with Jag Sharma, Jen Campbell, Jason Kapadia and Matt Webster - E118
Social media posting is becoming psychologically expensive now - is the old internet we loved slowly wasting away?
Your feed now looks more like TV programmed by an algorithm that doesn’t know you, but knows how to keep you watching.
In this week’s Disconnected episode we cover the new social landscape, the companies quietly rehiring their ‘AI layoffs’, and whether the emerging age of AI superintelligence brings abundance, or an existential threat…
This episode of Disconnected covers:
Social media turning into entertainment media
The psychological cost of posting and creator concentration
The migration of “real social” into private spaces
AI, employment, and the unreliable promise of automation
Superintelligence, ‘Skynet Day’, and civilisation-level threats
Episode Highlights:
“If you're seeing 50% of content from people you don't follow, then it isn't social anymore. It then just becomes an entertainment channel.” - 4:05 - Jen Campbell
“I think posting has become psychologically expensive. That turns casual self-expression into a small publishing house exercise, and that's my perspective… that's why I post less because I think ‘Why bother?’” - 9:35 - Jag Sharma
“It's not social, is it? Because none of my mates in the pub were like, ‘Oh, I saw that funny post you did.’ They don't give a crap.” - 11:40 - Matt Webster
“Our public discourse that you see online is actually shaped by an even smaller non‑representative fraction of users.” - 13:35 - Jason Kapadia
“So social media may not be dying, but social behaviour on social media probably is dying. The public feed is becoming television, while actual social connection moves into private messages.” - 22:05 - Jag Sharma
“You cannot create an experienced workforce if you stop hiring inexperienced people.” - 27:35 - Jag Sharma
“Superintelligence emerges… when it does, it will decide what to do with humanity.” - 46:10 - Matt Webster
“When a borderline trillionaire tells you, ‘Don't worry, you're all going to be rich’, it's like the farmer telling the turkeys, ‘You'll be all right. We'll have Christmas dinner together. Chill out.’” - 45:05 - Jag Sharma
Links & references:
Jen Campbell:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-m-campbell/
Matt Webster:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwwebster/
Jason Kapadia:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonkapadia/
https://www.instagram.com/jasonkapadia/
Jag Sharma: