Truth Collapse

truthcollapse/nozurbina

Truth Collapse is the erosion of shared and personal truth caused by mediating our learning, communication, and decision-making through algorithms whose goals aren’t aligned with human well-being. We need to work together to fix it. Read more on: truthcollapse.com

Episodes

  1. 10/30/2025

    Ep. 6 – Building resilient information spaces w/ Dan Brown

    How did the digital tools we built with optimism become weapons of disinformation? Dan Brown, host of the Unchecked podcast and principal at Curious Squid, joins Noz Urbina to explore the uncomfortable question of designer complicity in our epistemological crisis. They discuss how systems built for connection now fragment truth, why community moderation fails, and what designers can do differently when building information spaces that resist manipulation. "Information spaces are not well designed to encourage lateral reading... we need to design an information space that not only demands features but that are grounded in practices like lateral reading." – Dan Brown Key Findings Designer complicity in disinformation systems - The uncomfortable question of whether UX/tech professionals unknowingly helped build systems that enable misinformation, though most lacked visibility into the bigger picture 10-15 years ago Information architecture's role in truth collapse - How the systems that mediate between content creators and consumers have become vulnerable to manipulation and need a "structural revolution" similar to accessibility and responsive design The failure of professional fact-checking - Why traditional fact-checking has become ineffective due to the "truth inversion" where qualified sources are automatically distrusted as part of the conspiracy Community moderation's fundamental flaws - How user-flagging puts truth to a vote and creates filter bubbles where communities reinforce their existing beliefs rather than correcting misinformation Lateral reading as a design principle - The need to build information spaces that encourage cross-referencing multiple sources rather than consuming single feeds Ground News as a positive example - How this app restores context by showing source ownership, bias spectrum, and multiple perspectives on the same story Hashtag and tagging weaponisation - Examples like #NotAllMen, #SaveTheChildren, and Amazon's vaccine category showing how information systems get co-opted for disinformation The destruction of context online - How the modern web strips away temporal and source context, presenting 20-year-old content alongside yesterday's news without distinction Personal responsibility and speaking up - Noz's regret about waiting to address authoritarianism concerns and the importance of recognising warning signs from other countries' experiences The internet as humanity's mirror - The optimistic view that unprecedented visibility and self-awareness created by digital systems will ultimately help society correct course, despite current challenges What you'll learn  Why fact-checking has become a polarised and ineffective solution How hashtags and tagging systems get weaponised for disinformation The difference between designing for engagement versus designing for truth Why community moderation creates filter bubbles instead of stopping misinformation How "lateral reading" could transform information architecture What designers didn't know 10 years ago about their role in democracy's decline Practical approaches to building more resilient information spaces Why secrecy is harder in the spotlight-addicted digital age   🗣️ ABOUT THE HOST: 🔗 CONNECT WITH NOZ: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nozurbina/ Consultancy: https://urbinaconsulting.com/ Truth Collapse: https://truthcollapse.com/   🎙️ ABOUT TRUTH COLLAPSE: The Truth Collapse Podcast explores how we come to believe what we believe in an age of algorithmic manipulation and epistemological crisis. Hosted by Noz Urbina, we examine the intersection of technology, information design, and democracy. Website: https://truthcollapse.com/   📧 GET IN TOUCH: Have questions or want to be a guest? Email: contact@truthcollapse.com

    52 min
  2. 08/14/2025

    Ep. 5 – The Net's identity crisis: How digital divides instead of connects w/Lasse Rindom

    What happens when the technology designed to connect us becomes the very force that divides us? In this provocative episode of the Truth Collapse podcast, host Noz Urbina and guest Lasse Rindom tear apart our comfortable assumptions about truth, identity, and connection in the digital age. Starting with a seemingly simple observation that "demystifying doesn't mean simplifying," the conversation spirals into a philosophical exploration of how we've traded truth for attention, nuance for outrage, and genuine diversity for performative categorisation. Through personal stories of being misidentified, misunderstood, and caught between cultures, they reveal how the internet's promise of bringing us together has instead created rigid categories that we defend with religious fervour. But this isn't just another doom-and-gloom tech critique. Drawing on philosophy from Jürgen Habermas to John Rawls, the duo explores surprising solutions: why tolerance (not love) might save democracy, how Europe's post-WWII peace came from an uncomfortable truth about homogeneity, and why we need to stop seeking "things without the thing"—from decaf coffee to digital relationships. It's a conversation that will make you rethink every label you use, every online argument you've had, and whether there was ever any truth to collapse in the first place.   "Demystifying does not mean simplifying. I don't think anything needs to be simple. If things are complex, they're complex, then you just have to explain them over and over and over until people somehow understand some of it." — Lasse Rindom "I'd love if we were discussing truth, information, data—we're not, unfortunately. We are all discussing attention. That's the only currency in the world right now." — Lasse Rindom

    53 min
  3. 06/04/2025

    Ep. 3 – Avoiding the devaluation of the currency of information w/Rafaela Ellensburg

    In this episode, Noz Urbina explores with content engineering consultant Rafaela Ellensburg how AI systems are contributing to a breakdown of trust and degradation of the perception of information in society. Drawing parallels between financial systems and information systems, Rafaela shares her perspective on misinformation, systemic issues created by engagement-driven algorithms, and the urgent need for structured approaches to AI governance. She uses the "gold standard" metaphor, where removing standards from both money supply and information creation leads to value collapse. The discussion emphasises practical solutions, including semantic frameworks, knowledge graphs, and circular content thinking to ensure organisations contribute value rather than noise to the information ecosystem. Key themes include moving from volume-based to value-based content creation, implementing human-centred AI governance, and creating sustainable content practices that serve both business goals and human well-being. "We as humans need to become owners of our reality. We need to own that and use that to govern those artificial things that we are able to create through the systems. The way in which we could do that is taking our reality and translating the concepts that are meaningful to be machine-readable." "I think if people start to transition from a more linear way of thinking into a more circular way of thinking about content creation, then you will also see the importance of being able to trace back whatever that content tangibly offered or created value... Content is a living thing, and we are communicating it to living people." – Rafaela Ellensburg

    38 min
  4. 05/21/2025 · VIDEO

    Ep. 2 – Reimagining human identity in the AI age w/ Amir Feizpour

    What will your career look like when AI can do many knowledge work tasks better than humans? In this thought-provoking episode, Noz Urbina speaks with Amir Feizpour, entrepreneur and former quantum physicist, about how AI will transform not just what we do but how we define ourselves. They explore the concept of "identity diversification" as a critical strategy for navigating our rapidly changing future, examining both the potential benefits of technology as an equaliser and the inevitable societal disruption that accompanies dramatic technological change.   "I don't think loss of job is the right way to talk about what's happening. Loss of job description is what is happening."   "What are the business models that we need to find to make protecting our emotional and societal integrity profitable?" "Where is this going? It's going to take a lot of emotional toll on people. More than all of the doomsday conversations about AI taking over, I'm worried about emotional backlash of people because they're not ready to go through the space of change." – Amir Feizpour   What you'll learn - How AI is changing knowledge work roles faster than ever before - Why “identity diversification” is crucial for emotional resilience - How physical spaces and architecture have been reorganised by technology - Ways technology can act as an equaliser in entrepreneurship - The concept of multi-agent human-machine collaboration - How societal reorganisation may occur during technological transitions - Strategies for finding meaning beyond your occupation.   00:00 - Introduction 00:20 - Introducing Amir Feizpour 01:42 - Amir's background as a quantum physicist and entrepreneur 02:28 - Discussion of the future of knowledge work 03:00 - Definition of knowledge work and its evolution 06:23 - Examples of AI-human collaboration in entrepreneurship 09:19 - The electricity analogy for how AI removes constraints 11:50 - Impact on identity and reorganisation of physical spaces 17:58 - The French cultural approach to work identity 19:37 - Identity diversification as a coping strategy 22:10 - Technology as an equaliser for opportunity 25:06 - Entrepreneurship journey and identity evolution 27:36 - Concerns about wealth concentration and inequality 31:29 - Power law distribution and technology's equalising effect 33:46 - Managing transition pain during technological disruption 34:46 - Historical parallel to the Reformation and printing press 37:17 - Hope for human-centred technology solutions 39:29 - Finding business models to protect emotional and social stability 40:35 - Conclusion

    41 min

About

Truth Collapse is the erosion of shared and personal truth caused by mediating our learning, communication, and decision-making through algorithms whose goals aren’t aligned with human well-being. We need to work together to fix it. Read more on: truthcollapse.com