Episode Overview

Episode Title: Episode 3100 – The Scott Adams School 02/23/26
Release Date: February 23, 2026
Podcast: Real Coffee with Scott Adams
Host: Erica (on behalf of the late Scott Adams)
Guests: Robby Starbuck (filmmaker, activist), Marcella (attorney), Owen Gregorian (co-panelist)

Theme:
This episode centers on digital legacy, AI defamation, and individual influence in the era of AI and social change, using the perspectives of the late Scott Adams and guest Robby Starbuck. The conversation delves into AI's dangers—specifically reputational harm, deepfake challenges, and the ongoing legal battles against big tech—while reflecting on Adams’ philosophy of being “useful” and the power of individual action in shaping corporate policy and broader culture.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction & Scott Adams’ Legacy

• Simultaneous Sip: The episode preserves the classic "simultaneous sip," one of Scott’s signature show rituals, to bring the community together.

  • [01:30; “It’s the simultaneous sip. Go.” – Erica]

• Erica frames the podcast as the “Scott Adams School,” meant to extend Adams’ legacy of evolving, communal growth, and critical thought.

2. AI Defamation Lawsuit Against Google

Guest: Robby Starbuck

• Situation: Robby’s ongoing lawsuit against Google for AI-generated defamatory content, specifically Google’s LLM (Gemma) outputting persistently false and damaging accusations, such as violent crimes and sexual assault, some with fake sources and victim statements.

• Attempted Resolution: Starbuck details his attempts to have Google fix the AI-generated lies, only to find the company unresponsive and, ultimately, dismissive.

  • [06:10] “The defamation not only continued for two years, it actually got remarkably worse… adding fake sources, fake police records, naming fake victims in detail, and even doing fake victim statements.” – Robby Starbuck

• Danger of Open Source & Ubiquity:

  • Worry that unretractable open-source AI models (e.g., Gemma) with mass downloads cannot be universally patched or corrected, even in the face of legal wins.
  • Risk of these tools being embedded in apps with potential consequences like reputation scoring for financial or insurance purposes.
  • [10:51] “Imagine somebody’s building a reputation scoring app for banking or insurance… the long-term damage that can do is immense.” – Robby Starbuck

• Broader Societal Threat:

  • Starbuck warns that the precedent of AI lying about people, especially those less able to fight back, could set up a digital landscape that enforces ideological conformity by threatening reputational ruin.
    • [12:41] “If the only fix… is ‘don’t speak out about politics,’ you can see where it gets dangerous very fast.” – Robby Starbuck

3. The Malice and Accountability Debate in AI

• Malice Standard:

  • Marcella (attorney) asserts that continued defamation after repeated notice equates to legal malice.
  • [21:15] “Malice comes from also the actions that they have made…yet they still keep going and not doing anything about it.” – Marcella

• Robbie’s View:

  • Starbuck argues that Google’s inaction is not just negligence but gross, actionable malice.
  • Points out “hallucination” defense doesn’t excuse ongoing harm post notification.
  • [23:00] “It is incredibly malicious that they did not fix it in a timely manner. Incredibly beyond malicious.” – Robby Starbuck

• Hallucination Defense Critique:

  • Owen and Robby critique Google’s claims that “hallucinations” (AI errors) explain the false statements, arguing that the errors’ consistency and negativity suggest something deeper.
  • [28:05] “If that were what was happening … it would only happen one time. It wouldn’t happen over and over … especially not with a complete fake article.” – Owen

4. Implications for the Justice System & Society

• Near-Future Risks:
  • Starbuck issues stark warnings about the next phase of AI—audio and video deepfakes indistinguishable from reality—impacting courts, elections, and personal lives.
  • [19:53] “We are one or two elections away from a foreign actor using AI … to flip an election. … There is going to be a video indiscernible from reality.” – Robby Starbuck
• Digital Legacy and Consent:
  • Hosts and Robby discuss the ethics of posthumous digital personas (AIs mimicking the late Scott Adams) and the importance of respecting the deceased’s wishes.
    • [34:20] “This is a Scott Adams, genius human being … now turned into a puppet.” – Erica
    • [35:13] “If I pass away, that my kids could open up their phone and see a fake version of me saying something, maybe something horrible. ... The family, I think, should come first.” – Robby Starbuck

5. Success With Meta vs. Obstinance From Google

• Meta’s Approach:
  • In contrast to Google, Meta responded swiftly and responsibly to similar AI defamation issues. Robbie now advises Meta to prevent bias and ensure fairness.
  • [27:02] “It was handled really well by Meta … They want an AI that does a great job and is fair to people and tells the truth.” – Robby Starbuck

6. Personal Legacy, Influence of Scott Adams, and Being Useful

• Robbie credits Scott Adams’ persuasion work as formative—emphasizing measure, rational analysis, and the influence a single actionable person can have.
  • [25:01] “Scott is one of a very small group of people whose persuasion crossed borders. … One of the things … was he was very measured in how he analyzed things … you need to sit on something, collect all the facts, and then make a determination.” – Robby Starbuck
• Robbie’s inclusion as a character in Dilbert is described as a personal highlight.

7. Background: Hollywood, Cuba, and Political Evolution

• Starbuck details his Cuban heritage, a driving force in his anti-communist activism, and the imperative of speaking out.

• Career history in Hollywood as a director, his conscious rejection of that scene, and how “going public” as a conservative meant risking (and losing) his position in the industry.

  • [37:44] “Having had that experience in my direct family lineage, you grow up with constant reminders how lucky you are to be American… so if you ever see signs of [communism] in America... you must stand up.” – Robby Starbuck

• On losing Hollywood work:

  • [39:17] “I always thought that Hollywood was kind of a disgusting hellhole… I don't give a shit if people like me. So I could just tell the truth and, you know, I'm good.”
  • Shared story of a major studio warning him that supporting Trump would end his career.

8. The DEI Project: Individual Pressure on Corporate America

• Strategy:
  • Robbie created and led focused campaigns against Fortune 500 companies’ extreme DEI/woke policies through direct research, videos, and orchestrated public pressure.
  • Achieved major policy change at firms like Walmart, McDonald's, Target, Lowe’s, Ford, John Deere, typically by concentrating efforts on one company at a time.
  • [46:12] “The right has not given pressure at all in corporate America for decades. … If all the pressure’s coming one direction ... If you don’t have a counterforce, nothing good, right?” – Robby Starbuck
  • [47:02] “We'd get in contact with the CEOs, talk with the CEOs and sort of negotiate a surrender…”

9. War on Children Documentary & Legislative Impact

• Documentary 2024:
  • Exposed issues surrounding social media, tech’s impact on kids, education, and transitioning of minors.
  • Helped spur child protection laws banning transgender surgeries and hormones for minors in numerous states; over 60 million views.
  • [56:59] “I almost feel like the War on Children was the most effective thing that I've ever done, because the number of child protection laws that it ended up inspiring ... is insane.” – Robby Starbuck

10. Political Experience and Disillusionment

• Congressional Run in Tennessee:
  • Despite being a lifelong Republican and leading in polls, was removed from the ballot for arguably political reasons—reflecting systemic issues.
    • [49:32] “I ran for Congress and … when I started the run I thought, you know, this is America. Anybody can do this, right? … I get removed from the ballot, I sue, I win in state court … then the Supreme Court rules the party can just remove him for any reason they want.”
  • Ultimately, he’s grateful for the setback, reasoning that he has had a greater positive impact outside Congress.
  • [52:34] “Congress is not a place for effective people. At least it hasn't been for a long time… I want to get stuff done. So I'm much more effective outside of government at this point.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On responsibility after death:

  • [35:23] “If I pass away… my kids could open up their phone and see a fake version of me saying something, maybe something horrible… The family, I think, should come first.” – Robby Starbuck

• On societal change through individual action:

  • [46:55] “You have to go company by company who had the craziest policies... I would have our research put together into one video, expose all of it. The boycott that would ensue after that would change the policies.” – Robby Starbuck

• On the “useful” legacy:

  • [60:37] “The effect we have on other people can live well beyond us. One day I will die… But one day I'll die, and my hope is that somebody else will have been affected by my work... There’s this beautiful butterfly effect to everything that we do.” – Robby Starbuck

• Advice on integrity:

  • [61:09] “Who you are is defined by the choices you make that nobody ever knows about. It’s very easy to do the right thing when everybody’s watching you... It’s much harder when nobody’s looking, and the only person who knows is you and God.” – Robby Starbuck

Important Timestamps

• [01:30] Simultaneous Sip opening
• [05:11] Robby introduces the Google lawsuit and outlines dangers of AI defamation
• [10:51] Explains risk of open-source AI (Gemma) and insurance denials
• [12:41] Societal impact—AI as tool to enforce ideological obedience
• [19:53] Prediction of AI deepfakes affecting future elections and justice system
• [21:15] Attorney Marcella on “malice” standard in law
• [27:02] Contrast between Meta’s and Google’s reaction to AI defamation complaints
• [31:12] Discussion of AI “hallucination” defense (probability/statistics critique)
• [34:20] Ethics of AI versions of deceased public figures
• [37:44] Starbuck’s Cuban heritage and anti-communism activism roots
• [46:12] The DEI pressure campaign and its effectiveness
• [49:32] Congressional run, ballot removal, and lessons learned
• [56:59] “War on Children” documentary influence on state law
• [60:37] The butterfly effect and legacy of being “useful”

Closing Message

Robby Starbuck’s final thoughts:

• Stresses the lasting impact of choices and the importance of living with integrity, even when unwitnessed.
• Blesses the community for sustaining Scott Adams’ legacy and urges listeners to strive to be “useful”—to take meaningful, positive action in the world.

“If we all live out and we try in those moments, nobody's looking to make the world a better place, to make the right choice, even when it's—and I'd say especially when it's—hard, then we will begin to see a truly better world all around us for our kids and our grandkids.”
— Robby Starbuck [61:09]

Summary prepared for listeners who value in-depth discussions on AI, influence, digital censorship, legacy, and the enduring power of individual action—delivered with a tone of urgency, respect, and communal encouragement.