We used to worry about whether a piece of content was true. Now we also worry about whether it is even real. The hardest part is not the deception itself, it is the slow erosion of trust that makes us tired, suspicious, and less willing to engage. ------------- Context: The New Burden We Did Not Ask For ------------- Synthetic media has moved from novelty to background noise. We see altered images, cloned voices, manufactured screenshots, and convincing video clips circulating with speed and confidence. The content arrives pre-loaded with emotional triggers, urgency, outrage, fear, admiration, and it demands a reaction before it deserves belief. Most conversations focus on the extreme cases, political manipulation, major fraud, public scandals. Those are real concerns, but they obscure the more common impact: everyday cognitive strain. People begin to second-guess what they are seeing. They hesitate before sharing. They start looking for hidden motives. Over time, that vigilance becomes exhausting. This is what we mean by reality fatigue. It is the emotional and mental wear of living in an environment where verification becomes a constant requirement. It is not paranoia, it is adaptation. The problem is that adaptation comes at a cost, and most teams are not naming that cost yet. In organizations, the effects show up quietly. Decision-making slows because people do not trust inputs. Relationships fray because people suspect manipulation. Communication becomes more guarded because nobody wants to be fooled. Even when a piece of content is legitimate, the atmosphere of doubt lingers. If we want responsible AI adoption, we have to treat reality fatigue as a wellbeing issue, not just a technical threat. ------------- Insight 1: The Threat Is Not Only Deception, It Is Doubt at Scale ------------- Deception harms in a direct way, but doubt harms in a systemic way. When people cannot reliably tell what is authentic, they stop relying on signals that used to guide them. Tone, facial expressions, screenshots, even recorded audio lose their meaning. The world becomes more ambiguous.

This week, I break down the Claude Opus 4.6 release from Anthropic and shows off some early test results, explains why so many are freaking out about Google's Project Genie, discusses OpenAI's latest Codex app release, and more. Enjoy!

Every entrepreneur has two voices running in the background. One voice wants progress. It pushes you to decide. To move before you feel ready. To take the next step instead of waiting for certainty. The other voice sounds reasonable. It tells you to wait. To gather more information. To avoid making the “wrong” move. Here’s the problem: That second voice doesn’t feel like fear and instead it actually feels like strategy. But over time, it quietly turns into regret. Most people don’t stall because they lack ambition. They stall because indecision feels safer than ownership. Progress is rarely blocked by effort. It’s blocked by hesitation. So here’s the question I want you to sit with today: What decision are you avoiding because you don’t want to be responsible for the outcome? Write it down. Then ask one more question: What is this costing me every week I don’t decide? Lost momentum? Lost confidence? Lost time? Lost learnings? Action for today : Pick one decision you’ve been circling. Decide it. Give yourself seven days to observe and adjust. You don’t need perfect certainty. You need movement. I promise you... this is the way.