Media Stack, Ownership, and the New Rules of Media

System Alerts: AI Infrastructure, Incentives & the Shape of What’s Next

While most coverage still gravitates toward shiny features and product launches, this week’s signals reveal deeper shifts in AI economics, streaming strategy, and platform governance. Together they underscore a paradox: money and ambition are pouring in, but impact and stability remain elusive.

This edition covers four critical moves: the productivity paradox of AI investment, a bold sports rights play, an acquisition in emotional audio intelligence, and new governance rules from one of the world’s most scrutinized platforms.

Companies Pour Billions Into AI With Little Payoff So Far

Steve Lohr at the New York Times has revived an old phrase with new relevance: the productivity paradox. Just as in the 1980s, when companies invested heavily in personal computers without immediate gains in efficiency, today’s corporations are pouring billions into generative AI without much to show on the balance sheet.

International Data Corporation (IDC) projects nearly $62 billion in enterprise spend this…