AI market jitters, post-truth reality, data, and safeguarding what makes us human

AI market jitters, post-truth reality, data, and safeguarding what makes us human

Author: BKBT Productions February 9, 2026 Duration: 38:01
This week we're taking stock of conversation trends to let it rip on AI market jitters and what happens when the math stops math-ing. We start with the numbers that have investors nervy: Amazon's $200 billion capex projection for 2026, and the uncomfortable reality of building an entire economy on depreciating GPU infrastructure with a three-year shelf life. Why the dot-com bubble comparison are incomplete, and questioning what happens when billions flow into overwhelming into transformer model architecture while research into others starves. Then we shift from market corrections to attention economics, unpacking how AI tools promise productivity while actually training us to outsource thinking itself. The cost is both financial and experiential. When was the last time you sat alone without reaching for your phone? Can you still read sentences that run four lines long? The episode lands on an uncomfortable question about who gets to have unmediated experiences anymore, and whether we're living our own lives or just consuming other people's. Mentioned: * Ed Zitron 's "Better Offline" podcast [https://www.youtube.com/@BetterOfflinePod] * Derek Thompson's Plain English podcast interview with Paul Kedrosky on market conditions and signs of a bubble [https://www.theringer.com/podcasts/plain-english-with-derek-thompson/2025/09/23/this-is-how-the-ai-bubble-could-burst] * Stephen Colbert on "truthiness" [https://www.c-span.org/clip/white-house-event/user-clip-stephen-colbert-on-truthiness/4293026] * Enshittification, coined by Cory Doctorow [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification] * MIT on the philosophical puzzle of AI [https://news.mit.edu/2026/philosophical-puzzle-rational-artificial-intelligence-0130] * Netflix's main competition is sleep [https://www.fastcompany.com/40491939/netflix-ceo-reed-hastings-sleep-is-our-competition] * Point of view: Gen Z will remember more of other people's memories [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPIG_7sDfsp/] than their own * Blaise Pascal writing about attention in 1670 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pens%C3%A9es]

There’s a lot of noise in the world of technology talk, but Bare Knuckles and Brass Tacks cuts through it with a focus on the people behind the products and the societal currents shaping our digital landscape. Hosts George K and George A steer conversations that are less about specs and hype, and more about real-world consequences. You’ll hear them dig into topics like the messy rollout of new AI tools, the often-invisible backbone of digital infrastructure, and why communities adopt or reject certain technologies. This podcast regularly features guests from various fields who offer unvarnished opinions on what’s genuinely functional and what’s fundamentally flawed in our tech-saturated lives. The discussions move beyond simple commentary to challenge the standard narratives promoted by the tech industry, examining the cultural and social ripples of every new development. It’s a show for anyone who feels that technology coverage often misses the human element-the frustrations, the adaptations, and the ethical dilemmas. Tune in for a grounded, critical, and consistently engaging dialogue that connects the dots between code and culture. This production from BKBT Productions lives up to its name, getting down to the brass tacks of how technology is built and used, with a bare-knuckle honesty that’s increasingly rare.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Bare Knuckles and Brass Tacks
Podcast Episodes
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