The Internet Is Getting Harder to Trust | Josh Smith From #485 | The Way I Heard It

I’ve spent a lot of time talking about the skills gap, the collapse of trust in our institutions, and the unintended consequences of technology. But this week, Josh Smith, founder of the Montana Knife Company, and I went a little deeper down the rabbit hole.

It started with fake knives—actual counterfeit Montana Knife Company knives being sold online by thousands. Cheap knockoffs from China carrying Josh’s logo, branding, and his reputation. Customers buy them thinking they’re getting the real thing, only to discover the blade won’t hold an edge…or worse.

And then there’s AI scams. Deepfakes. Fake websites. Social media companies profiting from fraud. The erosion of trust in literally everything we see online. At one point, we found ourselves asking, what happens when the average person assumes everything is a lie?

And yet, we also found reasons to be optimistic. Because the same technology creating chaos might also help save small-town America, strengthen manufacturing, close the skills gap, and transform education in ways neither of us saw coming.

Watch the full conversation with Josh:

Support American manufacturing & get your own knife from @MontanaKnifeCompany:

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