AI-Curious with Jeff Wilser The Future of Media in the Age of AI: Misinformation, Attention, and Personalization (From Davos)
Mar 19, 2026
Johnny Gabriele, entrepreneur and political comms veteran, discusses scalable misinformation tactics. Francesca Gargaglia, CEO building community-first platforms, explores how feeds shape news. Mark Kollar, seasoned journalist and communications partner, examines reputation and media incentives. Lexi Mills, algorithmic comms expert and moderator, guides the debate on trust, attention engineering, personalization, and new business models.
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AI Amplifies An Existing Media Crisis
- AI is accelerating pre-existing structural collapse in media rather than causing it anew.
- Jeff Wilser notes media was a shrinking pie before AI, and AI primarily speeds up trends like revenue loss and trust erosion.
Political Consulting Confirms Misinformation Is Old Tradecraft
- Johnny Gabriele admits misinformation was central to political consulting work and has long been practiced as an arms race tactic.
- He describes doing misinformation for seven years to match opposing narratives and avoid losing battles in wider campaigns.
Engagement Algorithms Favor Anger And Fear
- Algorithms long before generative AI optimized for engagement, which frequently rewarded anger and fear.
- Johnny Gabriele traces this to Facebook-style prediction mechanisms that amplified what keeps users on the platform.