RR020: When AI eats the Internet with Stephen Follows, author and researcher

AI is no longer just consuming information, it is reshaping the economics and infrastructure of the internet itself. The challenge now is ensuring that the creators and custodians of trusted data can continue to exist in a world increasingly dominated by machines.

This week, Dave and Rob are joined by Stephen Follows, film data analyst, author, publisher and researcher to explore how AI systems are fundamentally changing the economics, architecture and future of the web and why it should worry us all.

TLDR

00:20 – Introduction to today's topic: AI agents, web scraping and the changing internet

01:40 – Hang out: Rob's confusioned by the always-on AI assistants

07:55 – Dig in: Privacy, convenience and the growing tension between AI assistance and personal data collection

11:55 – Conversation with Stephen Follows about what happened to the film industry website The Numbers

45:16 – Is Tom Cruise really taller on screen and favourite movies discussion

Guest

Stephen Follows: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenfollows/

https://stephenfollows.com/

Hosts