Who’s Liable for Deepfakes? Why the Alcohol Industry Should Worry, and When (And How) to Fire an Employee

Scott gives his thoughts on deepfakes, specifically why platforms that elevate AI-generated content, including Meta, should be liable. He then shares his personal experience with alcohol and why he thinks the alcohol industry is going to struggle due to the emergence of GLP-1 drugs. He wraps up with advice on strategic firing. Music: https://www.davidcuttermusic.com / @dcuttermusic Subscribe to No Mercy / No Malice Buy "The Algebra of Wealth," out now. Follow the podcast across socials @profgpod: Instagram Threads X Reddit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Scott Galloway?

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• 0:48Speaker 01

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• 1:27Scott Galloway?

  Welcome to the Prof G Pod's Office Hours. This is the part of the show where we answer your questions about business, big tech, entrepreneurship, and whatever else is on your mind. If you'd like to submit a question, please email a voice recording to [email protected]. Again, that's [email protected]. First question.

• 1:43Speaker 02

  Hey Prof G, this is Will from New York. My question is about AI deepfakes. A recent New York Times article hit close to home when a former high school teacher of mine was targeted with an AI deepfake audio clip that caused outrage in the local community. Despite the police finding clear evidence that the audio was a deepfake, I can't help but imagine the teacher's reputation may still be tarnished by the saga. Given its increasing availability and decreasing identifiability, who should bear the liability, if any, for any damages done by AI deepfakes? Thanks a lot.

• 2:14Scott Galloway?

  Yeah, this is, there's going to be a series of kind of ethical questions around we handle deepfakes and shallowfakes. So a bit of context from the New York Times who reported on this. A high school athletic director in the Baltimore area was arrested for using AI software to create a racist and anti-Semitic audio clip that mimicked the school's principal. The recording was posted on Instagram and quickly spread around Baltimore public schools. Now, the athletic director faces offenses, including disruption of school operations and stalking the principal. The Baltimore case just, it highlights a growing trend of AI misuse in schools. So you're right, if you're accused of something, or that's going on the principal's Wikipedia page. And regardless of the lack of veracity, once you're sort of accused of something,

• 2:59Scott Galloway?

  or those words are just used enough times with your brand, some of it sticks, even if you're, even if you're totally exonerated, even, and that's the problem here. So what do you do? You have to have the algebra of deterrence in place. The algebra of deterrence is pretty simple. The likelihood of you getting caught, times the punishment if you get caught, has to be greater than the potential upside. And the problem is the algebra of deterrence isn't in place around technology. Why? Because of Section 230 and this notion that these tech platforms need to run free and have fucking no regulation whatsoever. Forty, forty congressional hearings on child safety and social media, and how many laws have been passed? Zero, zero. Why? Because they deploy an army of lobbyists to basically get in

• 3:44Scott Galloway?

  the way of any legislation. And two, we have this idolatry of innovators where we think, oh, these guys are great, and I own their stock, and they're so smart, and we shouldn't do anything. And congresspeople who are about eighty fucking years old want to seem younger and want to be kind of pro-Google or Facebook or Amazon, and they just don't have the skills to really understand, much less like, write legislation that can get through or even understands, or reflects the nuance here. But we do need that algebra of deterrence. How would you do it? What would I do? Any content that is algorithmically elevated is no longer subject to 230 protection. Why? Big Tech will argue that, look, this is the world's biggest bulletin board, and we can't monitor who puts what and the content that's put up on this bulletin

• 4:27Scott Galloway?

  board. We'll do our best, big fucking air quotes, best, but we don't control that. Well, okay, I sort of get that. But when you program algorithms that take certain flyers posted on the bulletin board that might enrage people, or they might find it cute, or it might create tons of discussion because it's a piece of misinformation saying that mRNA vaccines alter your DNA, then you have made a conscious decision to elevate some content over other content, which means you are a media company. These guys all have their own LLMs, and they could watermark AI content. And I think in early, really early, we want to say, if you're elevating AI-altered content, you better be very careful.

• 5:11Scott Galloway?

  I mean, that also goes to, I think, whether it should be anything that's AI-edited, and they can figure it out. They have their own AI that could watermark anything that is AI-edited. So why wouldn't you at least have a logo or some sort of watermark that says this has been AI-altered? Because this principal's reputation, he's now a name, he's now a known entity in his community for exactly the wrong reason, despite, I bet more people know him than the person who actually did this. This individual should be hit really fucking hard. But more than that, I think the platform that decided to elevate this content, despite having the tools to know it was AI-edited, they should be liable, specifically Meta should be liable and remove 230 protection for, A, algorithmically elevating this content,

• 5:56Scott Galloway?

  and also not recognizing and identifying and warning people that it had been AI-edited. Thanks for the question. Question number two.

• 6:04Speaker 03

  Hey, Prof G, massive fan of your work here. I'm from Vancouver, Canada, and I was actually just watching the TED Talk you gave here a couple of weeks ago on YouTube. Now, in your work, you'll often discuss the role of alcohol, your personal drinking habits, and how you generally see it as a positive good for you. Now, I work in the alcohol industry, and it's really no secret, the space is heavily declining with more sober, curious individuals and general drinking habits way on the decline. So I'm curious what your thoughts are on the industry as a whole, and where it's going to go, and where you'd be placing your bets if you were working in the industry. Thanks for your thoughts. All the best, and take care.

• 6:46Scott Galloway?

  Anonymous from Vancouver. So I get a lot of feedback from parents saying I should stop romanticizing alcohol. And so let me give you a history of my alcohol consumption. I did not drink in high school. My two best friends were a Mormon kid, Brett Jarvis and a kid named Ronnie Drake, a black kid who was only going to college if he got a football scholarship. And both of them were, didn't really drink. And so I didn't drink. And things could be much different for me. My two closest friends, Adam and David, immediately got pulled out of Emerson Junior High School when they started integration and busing. Their parents didn't want them to be there. And they went to a school called Winward, which was chock full of drugs and alcohol. And I would have absolutely done it. Anyways,

• 7:28Scott Galloway?

  I didn't drink till I got to college. Some of that was bad because I didn't ease into drinking. And I drank too much my freshman year. I didn't know how to handle it. Nothing terrible happened, but I showed up to UCLA at the age of 17, having never really had a beer. For example, occasionally when we're on vacation, I'll have my 16 year old, I'll order him a beer. I want him to understand what it's like to feel a little bit drunk and what his limits are. When I got out of college, I got very serious about working and drinking. And Morgan Stanley just didn't really, just didn't really mix. Business school, not a lot of drinking. I started drinking in the services industry because I was traveling a lot. And I'm an introvert. And if I take a client out, I just start drinking because

• 8:08Scott Galloway?

  I'm going to have a difficult time just tolerating any of it, or being charming, or being likeable, unless I have a couple of drinks. I think there's a term for that alcoholic. Guilty, fine. I don't have an addictive personality, though. I don't drink at home. I've never really craved it. Also, to be blunt, I used it as a social lubricant to meet women. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I actually think young people should probably drink a little bit more, such that they're not afraid to go up to each other. I think more young people need to be out more and bumping into each other more. Anyways, I said today at my talk at OMR, that my advice to young people is to get out more, drink more, and make a series of bad decisions that might pay off. But there is something afoot here. Young adults, specifically Gen Z and millennials, are drinking less.

• 8:51Scott Galloway?

  According to Gallup, 62% of adults under 35 say they drink. That's down from 72% compared to two decades ago. And when young adults do drink, they do so less excessively, which is probably a good thing. They're not binge drinking. According to a report published by Berenberg Research, Gen Z drinks 20% less than millennials. Think about that, a drop off as we're going younger, less and less consumption. On the other hand, alcohol consumption has risen among adults aged 55 and older. A couple of things are going on here. So Peter Attia and Andrew Huberman, which have two of the most influential podcasts around health, have basically declared war on alcohol. I mean, Peter fesses up to occasionally having a glass of wine, but Huberman is basically like, this shit is poison.

• 9:33Scott Galloway?

  It is old technology and it is, there's just no getting around it. It's really bad for you. Remember that myth that one glass of wine a day is good for you? It ends up that that's not true, that any alcohol is bad for you. And as I have gotten older and recognized that my 49-year-old liver, 59, is not the same as a 29-year-old liver, I have tried to scale down my alcohol. At the same time, I gotta be honest, I love being a little fucked up. I enjoy being high. And so, once or twice a week, I will take half an edible, five milligrams, and I'll have maybe one drink or no drinks at all. And when I go out and I know I'm gonna be drinking, I now sometimes take an edible such that I can have two drinks instead of six or eight. I'm embarrassed to say it, but I am a real lightweight with THC.

• 10:15Scott Galloway?

  Like, any amount of THC makes me feel high, or fucked up, so to speak. High is probably a better word. Whereas alcohol, I'm a heavyweight. I'm 190 pounds and I've drank a lot of alcohol through my life, so I can drink six or eight drinks and I'm fine. I'm a good drunk. I never get sloppy. I'm not one of these people that gets mean or weird. I'm a better version of me, which is sort of pathetic. So I am trying to massively reduce just the volume of alcohol and I'm replacing it a little bit with THC. Now, why do I say that? The alcohol industry? Let me put it pretty straightforward. I think it's fucked. So advice, if you're already rounding third and you're doing really well and you work for a great company, they're great companies. Pernod, Ricard, Diageo, these are amazing companies.

• 10:59Scott Galloway?

  My favorite brand's a cop, I think that's Diageo. They do, I mean, there's just so many, they do such a great job of branding. It's an addictive substance. I mean, who wouldn't want to invest in it? You don't want to. Why? GLP-1 drugs. At some point... Governments are going to recognize that obesity and addiction are huge scourges in our society, and they're going to get GLP-1 drugs to them, even if they need to pay for them. And these people, by the way, on GLP-1, they're losing weight, and guess what? 60% of them, 60%, say they drink less. 20% say they give up drinking. I had a bit of an experience with this with ketamine. I don't know if it has a similar compound or effect as GLP-1, but I have substantially decreased my drinking since ketamine.

• 11:44Scott Galloway?

  For the first couple of weeks, I didn't even like the smell of alcohol, and I've toddled back, I'm drinking again, but I'm not drinking as much. So between the kind of replacement effect and the aspirational effect of designer drugs, specifically psychedelics, being substituted or substantially reducing the volume of intake, between the recognition that this is old technology and really bad for you, and then boom, the chaser here, GLP-1 drugs, which is going to turn off a lot of people's brain signals that they don't need alcohol, oh my God, it is going to be, I just think it's going to be an awful, awful decade for the drinks business. Bit of a word salad, but I'm eating more salad. I'm eating more salad and I'm drinking less. Daddy loves his Alga's favorite beer, Roter Burger.

• 12:28Scott Galloway?

  I found that beer out of, actually, my father-in-law introduced me to Roter Burger. I absolutely love it. Oh, God, I could, I could have a drink right now. I could have a drink right now. Anyways, do as I say, not as I do. Kids, study hard, study hard, don't do drugs. Anyways, thanks for the question. We have one quick break before our final question, so stay with us. Support for the show comes from Bilt. Most of us work hard to earn our keep, but usually there's no one around to hand you a cookie when you successfully pay your monthly housing bill. No one except Bilt, that is. Bilt has expanded from their original rental rewards program, and they have a lot more going on for members now. For example, members can earn points on mortgage payments, too. Every housing payment gets you points that get you a lot more than baked goods, such

• 13:13Scott Galloway?

  as flights with top travel partners, including United and Hyatt, Lyft rides, Amazon.com purchases, and much, much more. Here's another benefit of Built membership. You also get access to what they call a neighborhood concierge. You can make restaurant reservations, book fitness classes, and find new local spots, all while rewarding you and more than 45,000 merchant partners. It's simple. Being a renter and now owning a home feels a lot better with Built. You can download the Built app and join the membership for where you live at joinbuilt.com/profg. That's J-O-I-N-B-I-L-T.com/profg. Use our link so they know we sent you.

• 13:52Scott Galloway?

  Support for the show comes from Upwork. Trying to scale your business? At some point, you're probably going to hit a point where you need some help. Sometimes the best way to break through that is bringing in the right talent at the right time. Upwork can help. Upwork is a one-stop platform where you can find, hire, and pay expert freelancers across more than 125 categories. Whether you need specialized skills for a single project or extra support to keep up with demand, it's easy to connect with experienced professionals, review their work, and find the right fit. You can move faster without taking on the commitment of full-time hires. And for businesses that need the very best talent, Upwork Business Plus provides access to the top 1% of freelancers on the platform. AI-powered matching connects you with qualified candidates in under six hours, cutting down the time spent searching. Upwork also takes care of contracts,

• 14:37Scott Galloway?

  payments, and other administrative tasks, so you can spend less time managing logistics and more time focused on what's next. Visit upwork.com/profg right now and post your job for free. That's upwork.com/profg to connect with top talent ready to help your business grow. That's U-P-W-O-R-K.com/profg. Upwork.com/profg.

• 15:02Scott Galloway?

  Support for the show comes from Vanta. As AI adoption grows, so does your company's security risks and requirements. New frameworks, audits, and vendors keep piling on, but your team isn't getting any bigger. Most compliance tools promise automation, but you're really stuck doing all the work by hand, chasing screenshots, validating controls, and playing catch-up when audit season comes around again. Vanta works differently. The regentech trust platform is built to scale with you, not slow you down. With over 1,400 automated tests across 400-plus integrations, Vanta collects evidence and monitors your controls year-round, cutting your audit prep by 82%. Plus, you can access the Vanta agent everywhere you work, whether your team is in Vanta every day or living in tools including Claude or Cursor. Want proof?

• 15:47Scott Galloway?

  Over 16,000 fast-growing companies like Ramp, Ryder, and Harvey save time and resources while scaling fast with Vanta. Learn more at vanta.com/profg and get $1,000 off. That's spelled V-A-N-T-A dot com slash prof G for $1,000 off.

• 16:10Scott Galloway?

  Welcome back. Question number three.

• 16:12Speaker 04

  Hi, Prof G. Longtime listener of the show. This is Matt from Manhattan. I am a fairly longtime business owner, about five years, but I've only been running my business fully with no W2 income for about nine months now. I know this isn't an easy, like, kind of cut-and-dry question, but how do you determine when it's time to fire somebody and move on from them versus seeing the opportunity to kind of work with somebody and develop them when they've made a handful of mistakes? Look forward to your response. Great work on the show.

• 16:57Speaker 04

  I listen three times every single week.

• 17:00Scott Galloway?

  Matt, thanks for the question. Yeah, this is a tough one. And I generally find that there's this kind of hallmark channel version of HR, and that is people always want to believe that when someone's not working out, that it's the organization's fault or if they just found the right role or if we got them the right mentor. But a small company can't wait. A small company can't make those investments in trying to figure out the right role for someone. In a small company, and this is not aspirational, I think you're sort of... You know, the, the term is slow to hire, quick to fire. Every time someone I thought wasn't working out and I got talked into kind of keeping them around, I would say 70 or 80% of the time, we ultimately just ended up letting them go. And here's the bottom line.

• 17:44Scott Galloway?

  The first few years in a startup are just Vietnam. It's hand to hand combat. So on the supply side, you have to, as a CEO, be constantly out finding people who might want to work part time at your firm. If you're a small firm, it's going to be very difficult to get top, top people full time. So I was offered flexibility, but I was tried, I was constantly out talking to people, meeting with people, trying to fill the top of the funnel. Because if you just let people go, well, someone's got to do the work. And there's also this kind of myth that you're going to build a firm of all A players. No, you're not. True A players want a lot of equity, or they want to start the firm, or they want to be a senior level person. And you can't scale a firm when everybody wants five or 10% of the company.

• 18:28Scott Galloway?

  What I've generally found is that we can either fire them in three months, which I think we're going to end up doing, and give them three months of severance. So we can fire them now and give them six months of severance and help them get on to the next thing. My attitude was be fairly rapacious or unemotional or Darwinian about the decision to let them go, but then become very generous. This isn't working out. How can I help you? I'll use my contacts. What do you think you want to do? And you should be, you can be upset, you can be angry, but you shouldn't be afraid because we're going to make sure that you have enough money and health benefits to get to the other side of this. That's always been my approach. But I have been quick to fire. And people talk about strategic hires. I think it's important to have strategic firing.

• 19:13Scott Galloway?

  I think everyone at a firm needs to understand, maybe I don't like this person, but I get why they're here. And when you allow people to fester and problems to fester and people just aren't very good and they're continuing, it's like, it's kind of de-motivating for everybody else. Why am I working so goddamn hard and at a company where the people are mediocre and still, you know, still survive and get their check and get their healthcare? You know, the people that are owners, that act like owners and are driving a ton of value. And then there's people who are individual contributors that are good. Maybe they're not great, but they're good. You need that. That's called scale. You need good, maybe not great, but good. Have a role, do their work, you know, fine. But the people who are requiring a lot of management attention and we're constantly trying to find new roles for them, I don't know. You're a small company. You're a small company. Thanks for the question.

• 20:00Scott Galloway?

  That's all for this episode. If you'd like to submit a question, please email a voice recording to [email protected]. Again, that's [email protected].

• 20:18Scott Galloway?

  This episode was produced by Carolyn Chagrin. Jennifer Sanchez is our associate producer, and Drew Burrows is our technical director. Thank you for listening to the Prop G Pod from the Vox Media Podcast Network. We will catch you on Saturday for No Mercy No Malice, as read by George Hahn, and on Monday with our weekly market show.

• 20:37Speaker 05

  This podcast is supported by Anthropic, the public benefit corporation behind Claude. Everyone's got a hard question about AI. Anthropic was built to surface those questions and share what it finds along the way, because there's hope in hard questions. Ask yours at claude.ai/spotify and keep thinking. That's claude.ai/spotify.

• 21:03Speaker 06

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