Here's what's coming up in today's newsletter:
AI agents are learning to share
ChatGPT took my job, sent feedback
She can’t cry, but she trends
But first… a quick reality check:
When it comes to growing businesses in the AI era…
… there are no masters yet. It’s too early.
And that’s the fun part. We’re all pioneers again, learning in real time, breaking things, fixing them, and discovering what actually works.
It reminds me of 20 years ago (when I got started in this business) and the Internet became a thing.
It’s messy and electric and full of wild experiments and lucky breaks.
The new “experts” are being minted right now. And, just like before, the early movers will be the ones who win big.
AI‑forward entrepreneurs aren’t waiting for permission or perfection. They’re testing, tweaking, and finding what actually drives growth.
My advice: Start leading. Start building. Start learning.
Ok, now on to the news…
AGENTIC AI
The Bullets:
Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and more have formed the Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF) under the Linux Foundation.
Anthropic dropped its Model Context Protocol (MCP) into the mix. Think of it as a sort of “USB-C for AI,” meant to standardize how agents plug into tools and data.
The goal? Avoid an arms race of “my agent can’t talk to your agent” nonsense.
Why it matters:
This is Big Tech’s version of couples therapy.
And I’m glad they’re going because these giants need to cooperate or lose ground to China’s open-source juggernauts. The dream is agentic AI that actually works across ecosystems, not just inside one company’s sandbox. This is a big step in the right direction.
A quick note from my mildly panicked alter ego: Are we really ready for agentic AI? Sometimes I see what amounts to a game of musical chairs and when the music stops, those who don’t understand how these systems operate will be left standing. So yes, I want it to work. But let’s learn the rhythm first… before half the creative workforce realizes there aren’t enough chairs to go around.
🧠 AI + EMPLOYMENT
AI Ate My Job, Then Offered Me a New One: Jevons Paradox Explained
Every few months, someone declares that AI is coming for everyone’s paycheck, while someone else swears it’ll spark the biggest hiring boom since the Industrial Revolution. Lately it’s been Anthropic CEO, Dario Amodei sounding the alarm.
The AI Optimist crowd often cites Jevons Paradox, the idea that when tech makes some “thing” more efficient, we just do more of that thing.
So, which is it? The rise of the robots or the rebirth of work?
Let’s meet our two camps:
🤓 The AI Optimists’ Take:
Let’s take a look at a few of the classic Jevons Paradox examples so we get the hang of it:
Steam engines: We made engines more efficient so we could burn less coal… and then immediately burned way more coal. Classic us, right?
Lighting: Cheap, efficient lighting was supposed to save energy. Instead, we built the Vegas Strip.
Computing Power: We made chips faster and cheaper thinking we’d finally “need less computing.” Cute. Instead, we each need a server rack to keep up with our Instagram habit.
So, it follows that AI won’t reduce jobs. AI lowers the cost of getting stuff done, which means we just do more stuff.
For you and I Jevons Paradox looks like this:
More campaigns shipped, more offers tested, more funnels launched, more content published before lunch. AI gives builders like you and I a bigger playground so we can create more.
😱 The Doomer's Take:
Nice story, but Jevons was talking about coal, not coworkers. Human labor doesn’t magically scale when machines do.
If AI fully automates a task, it’s not “expanding demand,” it’s “goodbye, marketing team.” Critics argue that the benefits of AI tend to pool at the top among companies with the biggest budgets and workers who already know how to speak fluent algorithm-ese.
When software is out here cranking out ads, emails, and funnels the next logical question becomes: “who (or what) does a business actually need on payroll?”
🫵 Your Turn
👉 On the scale of Optimist to Doomer, where does your gut tell you we will land with AI and employment? Hit the REPLY button and give me your take. I love hearing from you all!
🌐 I’ll take ‘AI in Economics’ for $600, Alex.
Answer: This online styling service blends algorithms with about 1,600 human stylists to pick outfits for customers, using AI to crunch data and humans to add taste.
Answer... ermm... question at the bottom of this email. 👇
Tilly Norwood has a secret.
🐻 OH, AND THIS...
Move Over Meryl: Hollywood’s Latest Leading Lady Runs on Code
Tilly Norwood is Hollywood’s newest “It Girl” who (minor detail) doesn’t exist.
AI talent agency Xicoia cooked Tilly up as the “Scarlett Johansson of AI". She’s got demo reels, red-carpet photos, and a short comedy sketch on YouTube.
But don’t bother watching the comedy sketch unless you’re in to chaotic collages of AI generated clips. It’s a mashup video that made me wonder if anyone ever yelled ‘action’ or just repeatedly clicked the ‘REMIX’ button on Sora 2.
Nevertheless, the Screen Actors Guild was not amused calling Tilly’s existence a direct threat to human performers everywhere. (Is it an insult or a compliment to call them dramatic? 🤔 )
Meanwhile, Tilly’s creators insist she’s not stealing jobs, just “expanding the creative frontier.” They claim AI actors could slash production costs by 90%, which is exactly the kind of sentence that gives every struggling actor a stress rash.
That’s it for today except for the trivia answer hiding under my gorgeous head shot. LOL. 👇
I’ve moved this newsletter to Beehiiv (loving it so far) so this is the first time sending an email through this system. It would be super awesome if you could hit the REPLY button and just say a quick hello to help my newsletter’s deliverability.
You’re the best! (yes, you! 🫵 )
Russ
Jeopardy Answer: What is StitchFix?
StitchFix uses AI to analyze size, style preferences, purchase history, and feedback to recommend items, then lets human stylists refine the picks. It’s a great example of AI doing the grunt work so humans can focus on what they’re good at: taste, nuance, and “would an actual person wear this?” judgment.
I love this! It’s precisely how you and I should be using AI for work, and exactly how I teach you to do it in our Growth OS for ChatGPT training.
