The Crazy One
The Crazy One
Stephen Gates
Ep 142 AI: The hidden cost of plausible, almost-right work
20 minutes Posted Apr 15, 2026 at 1:00 am.
Cold Open: Sounding Smart vs. Being Smart
Welcome Back to Episode 142
Why Plausible Noise Dragged Me Back to the Show
Defining Plausible Noise
Why This Isn't About Incompetence
The 3 Ways Plausible Noise Is Doing Real Damage
The Lowest Common Denominator Culture
We've Made Our Thinking Invisible
The Deferred Cost: How the Damage Accumulates
The Uncomfortable Truth: Leadership Doesn't Know What Good Looks Like
Fix #1: Name the Problem Inside Your Organization
Fix #2: Make Your Thinking Visible
Fix #3: Define the Standard Out Loud
The Opening for People Willing to Hold the Standard
The Bottom Line: Name It, Show It, Define It
Outro & Call to Action
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AI and cheap tools have given everyone the ability to produce work that looks professional, sounds credible, and feels like the real thing. The problem? It isn't. In this episode, Stephen introduces the term Plausible Noise — the growing layer of almost-right work that's quietly eroding quality standards, collapsing accountability, and making it harder than ever to defend the value of real expertise. He breaks down how it's breaking organizations, why experts are partly to blame, and what you...