Tangle – PREVIEW: The Friday Edition – It's Time to Embrace the Tech Backlash

Host: Isaac Saul
Air Date: September 26, 2025

Episode Overview

Host Isaac Saul explores the rising "tech backlash," a growing collective skepticism and pushback against pervasive consumer technologies—especially screens and, more recently, artificial intelligence (AI). Isaac describes an atmosphere of mounting resistance as people reassess the effects of digital technology on daily life, well-being, and society. This episode argues for reflection and calls for intentional change before tech’s influence becomes even more entrenched.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Current State: A Simmering Tech Revolution

• Isaac Saul likens the tech backlash to a pot about to boil over:
  • The discomfort and resistance to technology’s hold on daily life are becoming stronger and more visible.
  • This resistance is no longer isolated or subtle, but “turning thunderous and unapologetic” (03:13).

"A revolution is brewing. If it were a pot of water, I'd say it's been on the stove for seven or eight minutes. It's not quite boiling and bubbling and bursting, but the water's hot, the pot is hissing, and the stainless steel is shimmering." – Isaac Saul [02:01]

• Widespread discontent:
  Parents, teachers, and everyday people are noticing and reacting against the omnipresence of screens and their impact on real life.

How We Got Here: A Brief Tech Timeline

• Explosive growth of consumer tech:
  • Early '90s: 27% of Americans had computers.
  • 2007: The iPhone launches; by 2011, a third of Americans have smartphones.
  • Today: 90% have smartphones, 95% have computers.
  • The expectation was widespread enthusiasm for further tech evolution, but instead, a sense of regret and dissatisfaction dominates.

"For a long time, there was no predictable end in sight and very few signs of resistance... I think we're actually realizing the opposite." – Isaac Saul [04:08]

• Negative impacts are now undeniable:
  From toddlers absorbed in iPads to the increasingly prophetic feel of Black Mirror episodes, Saul points to a visible shift in collective attitudes.

The Rise of AI and Accelerated Backlash

• AI adoption outpacing even smartphones and social media:

  • ChatGPT: 700 million weekly users in just a few years.
  • 70% of high schoolers and 90% of college students reported using AI for schoolwork in 2023-2024.
  • Rapid integration into work and personal life.

• The backlash is immediate and sophisticated:

  • Fears are not just sci-fi nightmares (“killer robots”) but nuanced critiques about learning, jobs, psychological health, and social cohesion.
  • Concerns over AI lying, blackmail, mental health crises, and undermining basic capacities.

"Some students are now resisting AI, sensing that its functionality as a cheat code for schoolwork might be making them dumber and less capable." – Isaac Saul [06:25]

• Emergence of concrete harms and stories:
  News coverage of AI-induced injuries (psychological and otherwise) is sparking outrage.

Cultural Pushback and Changing Habits

• Turning back the clock:
  • Parents are re-embracing landlines.
  • Schools with outdoor and independent play are becoming more popular.
  • Social norms around phones are shifting: gatherings, restaurants, and even parties are banning or discouraging device use.

"More and more people are insisting that you put your phone away when you socialize, and restaurants, parties, and social events built around going phoneless are rising in popularity." – Isaac Saul [08:02]

• Statistics underscore the growing discomfort:
  • 71% of parents (as of 2020) felt their children spent too much time on screens, before AI dominated headlines.
  • 4 in 10 teens admit to overusing phones; 72% sometimes feel peaceful when disconnected.

Personal Reflection: A Call to Action

• Isaac’s experience hosting device-free Shabbat dinners:
  • Simple no-phone rule yields deep, nostalgic, and fulfilling social experiences.
  • Guests invariably report the night feels “rare and refreshing.”

"Without exception, guests tell me that they come away from the night feeling like they just participated in a refreshing kind of social event, one both nostalgic and rare." – Isaac Saul [08:48]

• A sense of urgency and final opportunity:
  Saul articulates a broadly shared but vague fear: if society doesn't make a conscious change now, the moment to do so might pass forever as AI and digital integration deepen.

"It seems to me genuinely that if we don't pull back from our over reliance on these technologies right now, we'll soon lose our ability to do so at all." – Isaac Saul [09:18]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• The revolution metaphor:
  “A revolution is brewing... the pot is hissing... It won't be too long before it boils over.” [02:01]

• On the roots of tech regret:
  “We're finally pausing to take stock of where this technology has taken us, and we don't much like where we've landed.” [04:47]

• Personal device-free tradition:
  “...they come away from the night feeling like they just participated in a refreshing kind of social event, one both nostalgic and rare.” [08:48]

• The feeling of ‘last chance’:
  "This moment, these next few years, as we stare down the barrel of AI generated everything, it feels like our last opportunity to do something to detach ourselves.” [09:11]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:01] – Tech backlash metaphor and intensity
• [03:13] – Signs of resistance across society
• [04:08] – Reflections on 30 years of tech progress
• [05:45] – The transformative impact of smartphones, internet, and AI
• [06:25] – Immediate, multifaceted critiques of AI
• [08:02] – Social and cultural responses to screen fatigue
• [08:48] – Isaac’s no-phone Shabbat dinners
• [09:11] – The pivotal ‘now-or-never’ moment
• [09:18] – Closing thought: urgency to reclaim autonomy

Tone & Style

Isaac Saul blends journalistic observation with personal reflection, maintaining an independent, contemplative, and at times urgent tone. He avoids alarmism but clearly frames this tech backlash as a major social inflection point requiring honest reassessment and collective action.

Conclusion

In this episode, Isaac Saul contends that the backlash against tech—and especially AI—is not just inevitable, but necessary. It's a call for awareness and for reclaiming control of our attention, habits, and communities before the opportunity for change is lost. Saul’s argument is underscored by historical context, fresh statistics, and evocative personal anecdotes, making the case both intellectually and emotionally engaging.

This summary covers the core content of the episode, omitting ad reads and non-content sections.