Inside the AI Feedback Loop: Nvidia, OpenAI, and the Bubble Building Itself

Oct 18, 2025

The hosts tackle the intriguing question of whether we are in an AI bubble, examining the intricate financial ties between Nvidia, OpenAI, and startups. They share entertaining stories of AI's successes and failures in real-world applications, particularly when automation mishaps occur. The debate heats up around AI resume screening and the implications for hiring practices. Plus, they discuss how AI adoption might be slowing down and analyze the clever monetization strategies emerging in this rapidly evolving space.

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INSIGHT

Circular AI Economy Risks Overleveraging

The AI ecosystem is recycling capital and hardware among a small set of players, creating a circular economy.
That loop risks overleveraging future AGI hopes to justify massive data center and chip buildouts.

question_answer

ANECDOTE

AI Drafts Tanked My Newsletter

Kyle used ChatGPT to draft a newsletter piece from an interview and lightly edited it.
The newsletter performed worst of the year, showing generic AI writing can harm engagement.

question_answer

ANECDOTE

Automated Dunning Went Too Far

CJ built an automated dunning system with Claude and Microsoft scripts to fix Stripe declines.
The bot repeatedly emailed customers many times and caused real revenue and reputation damage.

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Are We in an AI Bubble?

00:40 • 5min

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How We Actually Use AI at Work

05:58 • 5min

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When Automation Goes Too Far

10:39 • 2min

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Good Use Cases for Agents and Automation

12:10 • 3min

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Survey and Onboarding Automation Wins

15:01 • 29sec

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Fighting AI Resume Screeners

15:30 • 3min

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Hiring Surge and Sourcing Tactics

18:32 • 2min

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Is AI Adoption Slowing?

20:55 • 4min

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AI Moving from Early Adopters to Early Majority

25:10 • 2min

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Bundling and Monetization Strategies for AI

27:03 • 3min

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Valuations, Debt, and the Circular AI Economy

29:52 • 6min

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OpenAI Monetization Choices and Erotica Policy

35:44 • 1min

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OpenAI Token Leaderboard Blunder

37:03 • 3min

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Red Lobster Comeback and Pricing Discipline

40:05 • 3min

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Building an AI Agent for Content Coaching

• Mentioned in 77 episodes

Crossing the Chasm

Geoffrey Moore

In 'Crossing the Chasm', Geoffrey A. Moore explores the Technology Adoption Life Cycle, which includes innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. He highlights the significant gap or 'chasm' between early adopters and the early majority, where early adopters are willing to sacrifice for the advantage of being first, while the early majority waits for evidence of productivity improvements. The book provides strategies for narrowing this chasm, including choosing a target market, understanding the whole product concept, positioning the product, building a marketing strategy, and selecting the most appropriate distribution channels and pricing. The third edition includes new examples, strategies for digital marketing, and connections to Moore's subsequent works like 'Inside the Tornado'.

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In this episode of Mostly Growth, CJ Gustafson, Kyle Poyar, and Ben Hillman dive into the question on everyone’s mind: are we in an AI bubble? What starts as a lighthearted riff on the U.S. Postal Service launching a podcast quickly spirals into a sharp, funny breakdown of today’s AI hype cycle — from Nvidia, OpenAI, and AMD trading money and GPUs in a trillion-dollar feedback loop, to startups burning cash chasing “AI-powered” everything. The trio share real examples of when AI helps and when it backfires (including one newsletter that totally tanked), debate whether companies are over-optimizing for automation, and laugh through the absurdity of the hype while grounding it in practical insights on product, finance, and growth.

Timestamps:

00:00 Preview and Intro

00:14 Are We in an AI Bubble?

00:44 The AI Feedback Loop: Nvidia, OpenAI, and AMD

01:00 Perplexity, We Caught You (Again)

02:18 The USPS Podcast and the End of Original Ideas

04:24 How the Team Actually Uses AI at Work

06:07 CJ’s DIY Dunning Saga

08:38 When Automation Goes Too Far

10:49 The Perplexity Gaslight Moment

13:27 AI vs. AI: Outsmarting Resume Screeners

16:09 What Recruiters Really Think of AI Resumes

17:17 The Chief of Staff Hiring Story

19:15 Is AI Adoption Already Slowing Down?

22:42 The “Crossing the Chasm” Moment for AI Tools

26:22 Bundling AI Like Streaming Services

28:49 Everyone’s Paying Everyone: The Circular AI Economy

31:15 Betting Big on AGI and Data Centers

34:09 The Margin: AI Erotica and Peak Absurdity

35:23 OpenAI’s Token Leaderboard and Other Blunders

41:43 What Kyle Tried This Week: Building an AI Agent

44:52 Wrap-Up and Outro

Episodes Referenced:

5,762 Job Applications. Zero Offers.

Episodes Referenced:

5,762 Job Applications. Zero Offers.

Why Only 2% of Startups Make It

The War for Talent is just getting started | Joe Floyd

Links:

https://usps-mailin-it.simplecast.com/

https://i.imgflip.com/a92oy5.jpg

https://tabs.inc/webinar/tabs-agent

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/business/ai-chatbot-prompts-resumes.html?_bhlid=1b5906cdc6781a738a150d9c32f846ebf11fc318

https://substack.com/home/post/p-175615945

https://ramp.com/data/ai-index?utm_source=econlab.substack.com

https://medium.com/@samuelvandeth/crossing-the-chasm-162802d1cf27

https://x.com/TrungTPhan/status/1922669292929024017/photo/1

https://x.com/zerohedge/status/1977902195472322620?s=42

https://topline.beehiiv.com/p/the-era-of-haves-and-have-nots

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpd2qv58yl5o

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cj-gustafson-13140948_imagine-getting-called-into-your-cfos-office-activity-7381681514532458496-NOqa/

https://fortune.com/2025/10/01/red-lobster-ceo-damola-adamolekun-comeback-plan-bankruptcy/

https://fortune.com/2024/11/13/red-lobster-ceo-damola-adamolekun-says-endless-shrimp-is-never-coming-back/#

https://www.relay.app/

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com

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