Social Media Placebo Trial, Jetsons Nailed AI, Artemis II: Back To The Moon | Diet TBPN

This episode of TBPN covers a recent courtroom win against Meta and Google over social media's harm to teens, a debate on whether platform features or user content drive addiction, Jetsons-era predictions that have materialized in AI and work, plus brief updates on AI infrastructure, fundraising, markets, and NASA's moon mission.

Social Media Trial Verdict

A Los Angeles jury ruled Meta's Instagram and Alphabet's YouTube negligent for designing addictive features that harmed young users, awarding $3 million each in compensatory and punitive damages to plaintiff Kaylee, whose mental health issues including anxiety, depression, and body dysmorphia stemmed partly from childhood social media use. Lawyer Mark Lanier, a Texas trial veteran known for massive wins against Merck (Vioxx) and Johnson & Johnson (talcum powder), used props like cupcakes and tortillas to argue platforms amplify teen vulnerabilities—like baking powder puffing up dough—via infinite scroll, algorithmic feeds, autoplay, notifications, like buttons, and beauty filters. This is the first verdict among thousands of lawsuits from teens, schools, and states against Meta, Google, TikTok, and Snap (which settled). Meta plans to appeal, calling teen mental health multifaceted; Google argues YouTube is a streaming platform, not social media, lacking DMs or tight creator networks. Section 230 shields companies from th