Editor’s Note
I seem to be getting later and later each week in posting this newsletter, and for that I beg your forgiveness. It’s a combination of the Summer being super busy for my family, kids being home when I’m used to having the house to myself, and some weeks there’s not a lot of interesting news for me to write about, while other weeks it’s like trying to drink from a firehose. So bare with me until after Labor Day, when the kids are back in school, the Summer’s madness is behind me, and hopefully the news cycle evens out (which is probably a thing of the past).

In today’s newsletter I discuss stopping AI slop, Amazon wants to launch their own mobile phone company, NBC’s Peacock just signed a multi-year streaming partnership with YouTube, the trailer for the new movie/remake of ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’, starring Michael B. Jordan just dropped, Gen X just realized they won’t be retiring anytime soon, Brabus just dropped a collab with Sunreef for their new 55-Foot Catamaran that can do 40 knots, LIV Golf just canceled the last tournament of the season as the upstart golf league is nearly dead, and King James choose the NBA team he'll probably retire from

Let’s get into it!

Last weekend I was lying on my futon doomscrolling LinkedIn, because that’s apparently what a middle-aged content creator does on the weekends, when I noticed something odd. There was less AI slop than usual in my feed. I’ve become accustomed to, and apparently attuned to, the presence of AI generated content all over the web including not only on LinkedIn, but also all the typical socials. And you have too, but you might not even know it while you’re scrolling past it.

It’s that inauthentic, generic headline you barely read. The longer than usual post from someone you rarely ever see anything from that jumps out at you for how tone deaf the post sounds. It used to be “Top 5” lists that have been replaced by boasts about how AI can help you do (blank) and is revolutionizing (blank) industry.

Now I’m seeing a lot more stories from individuals in my network that feel real, heartfelt, and are sharing authentic experiences. I think people are waking up to the fact that, as humans, we can sniff out fake content, just like when someone you haven’t seen in a long time tells you “You look great!”. It’s a line, in a feeble attempt to fill the void of silence. Nothing more, unless you really do look great, in which case that’s just the kind of compliment I eat up!

There’s been pushback all over the web from users on platforms like Reddit, Substack, and LinkedIn. The people have spoken up above the noise of AI slop, and they want it gone. Don’t believe me. You better believe I’ve brought the receipts.

Steve Huffman, CEO of Reddit, recently said in Reddit's Q4 2025 earnings call that “Reddit is at the centre of a once-in-a-generation shift and it's not a coincidence. We're now operating in a fundamentally different internet, one shaped by opaque algorithms, generative content and growing distrust.” Reddit is fighting fire with fire, and has rolled out their own AI automated systems to catch “25,000 spammy posts and comments" a day during the first quarter, reducing exposure for users by 20% over the same period one year ago.” according to a post on their corporate website.

Substack just launched their own AI detector powered by Pangram, which is a tool “designed to identify AI-generated text and images by analyzing structural linguistic patterns.” Substack’s tool allows writers to double-check their prose before hitting that submit button, which seems silly since a writer already knows if they used AI to write their content. The real way the tool could have a positive impact on AI slop is it gives the reader the ability to “scan any article on the platform for AI writing as long as it was published after July 21, 2026.” according to an article from The Media Copilot.

My go-to platform for content, again because I’m a middle-aged content creator, is LinkedIn and boy-oh-boy have they heard my battlecry to fight back against AI slop on two fronts. First, according to a post on LinkedIn by the company’s Chief Product Officer Hari Srinivasan, LinkedIn’s new “Seems like AI slop” button will allow users to click that when they think a post is guilty of being AI slop. The platform is also “introducing new classifiers to identify if a post is AI slop or other low-quality content.” according to an article from TechCrunch. One new feature I think could be a great way of quietly shaming habitual posters of AI slop is how LinkedIn will now “begin privately flagging in users’ dashboards when people believe their content is coming off as inauthentic due to heavy use of AI.” according to the same article. I think this new feature will dissuade people from posting AI slop if the system tells them they’re posting something that appears to be AI slop, and that other people feel the same way. That is until this feature is abused and someone reports one of my posts as being AI slop. Then I’ll probably post a rage-filled anti-AI slop notification post to LinkedIn. Yea, that sounds like me.

But content websites aren’t the only ones fighting back against AI slop. The music industry is starting to put their foot down on AI slop invading the charts. This week according to The Hollywood Reporter “the “big three” of Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Music Group — are calling for global music charts to adopt policies that would disqualify many AI slop tracks from consideration.” Is AI-generated music still art? Yea, probably, but it was created by a soulless AI bot that (currently) lacks the ability to appreciate the beauty of music and the impact it can have on people. I personally am all for AI music not being included on the music charts next to real, live, authentic human beings. Give AI their own music charts, and then people that are into that sort of thing can experience it there.

I guess when you think about it, AI slop was always going to be inevitable. And people were always going to get fed up with it. And now they’re pushing back, which in turn is causing platforms to develop tools to weed out AI slop. Now we’re left asking ourselves if AI slop can be stopped, or has it just become another part of our feeds that we doomscroll past?

NBC’s Peacock just signed a multi-year streaming partnership with YouTube to bundle ad-supported Peacock Premium into YouTube Premium at no extra cost. This is great news for my family, since we seem to subscribe to every streaming service imaginable, so this will save us money….as long as we’re willing to suffer through all the ads I’m guessing they’ll throw at us with their ad-supported bundle.

The trailer for the new movie/remake of ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’, starring Michael B. Jordan as Thomas Crown, just dropped, and it has a lot of people talking. I have mixed feelings about this remake, because the last remake starring Pierce Bronson and Rene Russo, is one of my favorite movies ever and I’ve probably seen it close to 100 times. On the other hand I absolutely love Michael B. Jordan in the Creed movies, and his role in the Black Panther movies is one of my favorites.

The original ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’ came out in 1968, and starred Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway.

The new Michael B. Jordan's movie changes the plot, where Thomas Crown isn’t stealing for the thrill of the heist, but instead he’s stealing to return stolen artifacts to their rightful creators. Also, he’s not up against an art insurance investigator, but rather an FBI agent in the new movie.

So that change of dynamic is what’s throwing me off, but I still want to see it, but probably at home when it’s free on one of the dozen streaming services my family subscribes to.

Amazon just applied to the FCC to launch 5,105 satellites for a direct to device (D2D) network, which is fancy techspeak for saying Amazon wants to launch their own satellite phone service, just like both SpaceX and Rocket Lab have announced in recent weeks. Amazon is developing this network with their newly acquired Globalstar, which will help them grow the current 390 satellites they have in orbit as a part of their soon to launch Amazon Leo service.

I’m all for improved cell phone signals, and I’ve written before about how crappy my Verizon service is where I live. I’m just not sure all these companies launching tens of thousands of satellites into orbit is the answer.

Gen X has come to the realization that they won’t be retiring at 55 like previous generations, and in some cases they’re looking at working for another 10-15 years in order to achieve the same financial freedoms in retirement that the Baby Boomer generation is beginning to experience now. A big factor is the move of employers away from “defined benefit to defined contribution pensions, as workplace pensions became less common. Only 14% of Gen X workers have a traditional pension, compared with 56% of boomers” according to research from Alliance’s Retirement Income Institute.

I count myself a part of Gen X, and I’m probably looking at retiring no earlier than my early 60’s, but if the current AI bubble continues that might shave a few years off of when I can retire, so here’s to hoping the AI bubble doesn’t burst anytime soon!

Brabus just dropped their new 55-Foot Catamaran, a collab with Sunreef, that can do 40 knots thanks to its Volvo Penta D8-IPS800 twin 6-cylinder engines that kick out a combined 1,450 horsepower propelling the slightly out of the water thanks to its advanced hydrofoil system that lifts the hulls at high speeds to reduce drag and increase efficiency.

This isn’t Brabus’ first entry into the yachting world, having partnered with Finnish boat builder Axopar Boats to launch their line of Brabus Shadow center console boats in 2017. Now Brabus has teamed up with Sunreef for the Brabus Ultima 55, which comes with a Brabus-style price tag of $3.7 million dollars.

We knew this news was coming, it was just a matter of time until King James deemed us worthy to receive word that he has chosen to join the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers for his 24th NBA season. I should note, that he’s mentioned this could be the team that he eventually retires from, although he was less than clear on if that might be in one or two years from now, so it looks liek we’ll be doing this “will he, or won’t he” dance again next year.

The real kicker is his contract. According to CNBC "James did not disclose terms of the deal, but ESPN reported that the four-time champion signed a two-year, $8 million contract with a player option. That marks a significant pay cut for one more title run considering he made over $50 million with the Los Angeles Lakers last season."

So here’s one of the greatest basketball players of all time, and he’s walking away from millions of dollars a year, so he can play on what he believes to be the next NBA championship team. It’s not all about money, it’s about legacy. That would be a tough call for me, because I’m obviously a greedy capitalistic pig, but I do get the legacy angle. I just think LeBron has already cemented his legacy….so why not sell out and get that money before its over?!?!

I just wrote last week that LIV Golf has lost its Saudi funding and might be at risk of shutting down. Now there’s word that LIV Golf may be about to cancel their Michigan tournament, which had been scheduled for Aug. 27–30 in Detroit at The Cardinal at Saint John's Resort, and it was supposed to be the last LIV Golf event on their calendar for 2026. Gone too is the $40 million in prize money for the championship match. So that’s one way to save money I guess.

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The Business Behind The News is written, edited, and published by Chris Thompson.