Soapbox Sessions: AI, Addiction, and the Internet We Actually Want Heather Larson and Derek Ross are back, and this week they go deep on some genuinely big questions: Can AI replace you? Is social media actually addictive? And what does Jack Dorsey think is coming next for how companies work? These two have been friends long enough to roast each other in public, which means the heavy topics get tackled and the conversation still ends up somewhere involving sperm-shaped app logos and a welfare check from Heather's family. Find them both on Ditto: ditto.pub CHAPTERS 00:00 The world is on fire and other "light" topics 01:11 replacedbyclawed.com and what AI thinks of Heather & Derek (it roasts them) 11:44 Is social media actually addictive? Taylor Lorenz sparks debate 18:30 Why Nostr apps are not designed to hook you 24:22 Jack Dorsey says middle management is over 35:38 Derek's Three C's become the Chameleon Method...or something 43:14 The Say Less app: a digital detox tool built on Nostr 45:42 Ditto updates: badges, letters, pokes, and Blobbi pets 59:07 Nostr ecosystem news: Amethyst, Wisp, and an April Fools prank 01:04:52 NosVegas is one month away, come party with Heather & Derek ABOUT THIS EPISODE Heather and Derek start by putting their names into replacedbyclawed.com, a site that uses AI to score how replaceable you are. Derek lands somewhere in the safe zone. Heather scores a 76 out of 100 and gets told she is almost a bot. The site describes her as an "open protocol yoga bat," which she accepts as accurate. Derek gets called a "purple-pilled conference Nostrich with sys admin scar tissue and the slightly dangerous confidence of a man who has explained open protocols to chamber of commerce civilians." Ditto news this week: badges are in a full renaissance, letters let you pass notes to other users, emoji pokes are back for the first time since Facebook, and Blobbi virtual pets are now live and function like Tamagotchis. Heather gave Derek a badge that crashed his notifications for two hours. He considers this an occupational hazard. She considers it a contribution to product development. If you want to join the Ditto User Group (DUG) and help shape what Ditto becomes, send Derek a letter on Ditto with a formal request. LINKS https://replacedbyclawed.com https://ditto.pub