Disconnected

AI is more than the software, more than the lines of code in Silicon Valley. It’s concrete, water, power lines and political deals reshaping small towns and entire industries.  Returning to the show from episode 6, Blake Stone-Banks joins us to unpack who really benefits from the AI boom, and who quietly pays the price.  Alongside Jag, Jason and Matt, we explore why China can build world-class pro...

The world is being reshuffled. When the dust settles, who will be left behind? This very special episode of Disconnected features the oracle of tomorrow’s world, author and strategist Sangeet Paul Choudary, to unpack why AI isn’t just automating tasks but rearranging the entire economy. What happens when knowledge work becomes abundant? Why is “will AI take my job” the wrong question? What does a...

IKEA uses an AI chatbot to automate nearly half of its customer service inquiries - you’d expect that to mean layoffs… not promotions. They’ve retrained 8,500 workers into higher‑value roles instead of cutting headcount. Could this become the new blueprint in a society scared for our livelihoods? Jag, Jen, Jason and Matt dive into this on Disconnected this week, where we also tackle Meta’s account...

Cars, glasses, maps, even humanoid cops – the tools around us are quietly turning into an environment that watches, profiles, and nudges us. In this week’s Disconnected we trace a shift in the world which no longer serves you, but spies on your every move. From Google’s ambient AI and car-cam reconnaissance to China’s combat-ready robots, what’s really left of privacy, agency, and work when the ma...

Could you beat Claude if your next job was on the line? We’re in a strange new reality where AI writes your CV, screens your application, interviews you, and now expects you to beat it just to get a human on the phone. Jag and the team unpack how recruitment is turning into an arms race between machines, Meta’s push to normalise AI-generated content, and what its $145 billion AI bet means for crea...

‘Made in China’ is not the insult it once was. It now means world-leading, culture-defining tech innovation. Is it being used for the betterment of mankind? Can Western civilisation cope with a world where China leads, without defaulting to xenophobia? These questions arise amid a backdrop of digital work clones and an afterlife avatar of lost loved ones - stay ahead of the curve with Jag, Jen and...

AI isn’t just creeping into our workflows anymore – it’s crashing date night, rewiring Wall Street, and trying to rewrite the social contract. We’ve turned life into a co-op work simulator, Elon’s turned IPO into incentivisation, and OpenAI are warning us about the very world they’ve perpetuated. Where do we exist in a future fraught with uncertainty at every turn? Matt, Jason and Jag have the ans...

$73 billion - that’s how much Meta has wasted shoving the Metaverse down our throats. Was it worth it…? We’re seeing a steady revolution against the tech we’re told is good for us, from the decline of virtual worlds to simple things like wired headphones. Is it a trend that’s set to last? Or can Claude’s new, scary-powerful features tempt users back into the future again? We cover all this, and mo...

We all knew that putting cameras on our faces was going to be a privacy nightmare, right? Meta’s glasses have been caught sending footage to human contractors in Kenya, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg for how our safety is being compromised by forces outside of our control… Special guest Ben Cheston joins us for a look at Meta’s mishap, the terrifying prospect of air taxis, and why judgemen...

The world is doomed to be run by one of two things; beautiful dumb people, or untrustworthy AI. With over 20 years at the top of the marketing game, Patti Balbas is perfectly placed to help us understand how, in a ‘charismocracy’, charm will win over the masses rather than diligence. We also dive deep into a worrying, emerging pattern in AI’s use cases which has the potential to undo decades of so...

When AI goes wrong and signs you up to an awful legal deal, who’s to blame - you, or the agent? AI is crossing the line from ‘nice-to-have’ to ‘invisible infrastructure’, and once it does there’ll be no turning back. We dive into the AI-first future, the landmark trial on addictive design for social media, and questions whether OpenClaw is already plotting the demise of the ‘meat bags’... This epi...

Prediction season is back for a round 2, and this time Matt and Felina are swinging for the fences.  Between the dream of burdening AI with our mental load, to the nightmare of deepfakes fooling us all on the world stage, our outlook on 2026 proves one thing - you won’t have time to catch your breath, or the year in tech will pass you by… Join us in the second of our special prediction episodes; w...

It’s prediction season once again, and the only certainty for the year ahead… is uncertainty. Will Apple finally enter the foldable phone race? Could an AI-generated song hit 250m streams? Will LinkedIn FINALLY die the death that Jen’s been waiting on for so long? Tune into the first predictions episode of Disconnected for 2026, and prepare yourself for the year’s biggest shocks before they come t...

It’s been a stellar year in tech, and almost-nobody could have predicted the craziness we’ve lived through - ALMOST nobody… 11 months ago, in episode 83, we completed our annual tradition of gazing into their crystal ball for the year ahead, and in episode 103, we review what came true… with a few friendly debates, of course. Listen as we take you through the year in social bans, cyber attacks, an...

When Coca-Cola rolls out an AI-generated Christmas ad, is it innovation or is it the ghost of marketing’s future glitching before our eyes?  This week on Disconnected, Jag, Jason and Matt are joined by a very special guest - Nathalia Sica is a marketing, comms, and PR powerhouse with a keen eye on just how much trust it’s safe to put into big companies… Tune in for a debate on whether our digital...

In 100 months, when robots handle every inconvenience and AI tracks our health with alarming precision, what’s left for us to even do? From comfort robots that fold your laundry to AI-powered bespoke medicine and the end of admin as we know it, this week’s Disconnected episode unpacks how tomorrow’s tech could reshape our lives, our work, and even our purpose. This episode of Disconnected covers:...

1,618 days. 53 months. 4 and a half years. 100 episodes of Disconnected - we’re celebrating, but we’re not looking back… We’re looking ahead. Specifically 100 months ahead, to February 2034, and what lies in store for live events, ticket touts, agentic AI buying tickets for us, and therapists for AI bots. Join Jag, Jen, Jason and Matt for a centurion celebration, and a glance at what’s to come… Th...

Are your devices always listening, and if so… what if you could turn your digital eavesdropper into your new best friend? While tech startup ‘Friend’ is ragebaiting NYC into loving or hating the idea, AI giants like AMD, OpenAI and Nvidia are busy trying to keep their bubble from bursting… Join us for THE essential roundup of a chaotic week that’s seen faux friendships, a rival to ‘Woke-ipedia’, a...

What do royal banquets, AI startups, and the world’s best crisps have in common?  The UK plays host to them all - at least if Trump’s latest feast goes to plan… The sands are shifting in the tech world, and our special guest Chris Baker is guiding us through the UK’s potential as a hub for AI companies, and changing trends in how consumers now purchase. This episode of Disconnected covers: The UK’...

Would you trust AI with your career choices?  LinkedIn is hoping that you wouldn’t, while OpenAI takes on the old guard in the talent market with its new jobs platform… The prospect of LinkedIn’s timely death makes for light reading for Jen Campbell, while Felina, Jason and Jag take us through ‘dumb phone’ apps, social media bans, and the dead internet theory rearing its head once again! This epis...

What’re your plans for 10,000 years’ time? Short of finding a cure for aging, Jeff Bezos has made his plans very clear with the 10,000 year clock, while Elon seems to be creating a new business every 10,000 minutes… Take a journey into the future with us on Disconnected, as we break down Microsoft’s new competitor ‘Macrohard’, Bezos’ latest art project, and the fallout from the streaming wars… Thi...

The Metaverse is back, and its saviour is… McDonalds? AI, SEO and the Metaverse: you’d be forgiven for thinking this is an episode from 2022, but we are a LONG way ahead of the game from 3 years back. SEO is now AI-first, so if you want to be discovered in a world where machines curate our lives, we’ll need the expertise of our special guest this week, Katy Howell. Join us to pick apart our new se...

When AI models become the new norm, who writes our beauty standards? An advert for Guess in Vogue has prompted a deeper look at how exactly it’s been made, and what it means for the world of fashion and beyond from our very own Jen, Jason, Matt and Jag. Join us on Disconnected this week, as we also peer into the UK’s new game of VPN Whack-a-Mole, and how Brazilian football is hanging by a thread…...

AI can clone your accent, or replace it. Is this the point that we start to lose authorship over humanity? Fake bands, automated sports officials and dialect-shifting technology are all at the heart of an existential episode of Disconnected this week, so join Jag, Jen, Jason and Felina to explore the preservation of dying languages and controversial content revolutions. This episode of Disconnecte...

The internet as you know it is dying - let’s hope what replaces it is good for humanity… With bots abundant on the web, Meta and Google in an AI employment war, and AI generated content harder to spot, it’s more important than ever to know where to look for something REAL. Don’t miss the very real Jag, Jen, Jason and returning Matt Webster on Disconnected, as they prepare you for an almost-fully a...