Lenny's Podcast: Adam Mosseri on AI, authenticity, and Instagram’s future

AI may flood social feeds, but Adam Mosseri argues it could make authenticity even more valuable. In this condensed episode of Lenny's Podcast with host Lenny Rachitsky and guest Adam Mosseri, you’ll hear how Instagram is thinking about AI-generated content, why transparency and labeling matter, and how the company’s algorithm actually works through embeddings and ranking rather than guesswork. Mosseri also explains Meta’s shift toward smaller, faster product pods, why taste and strong design judgment are hard to automate, and what he looks for in hiring: grit, learning speed, and self-awareness. The conversation digs into leadership and decision-making, including why strategy should be controversial, why AI should act like a centaur tool rather than a “reverse centaur,” and why relevance beats recency in the Instagram feed. You’ll also get Mosseri’s candid views on misinformation, spam, trade-offs, and helping kids become digitally literate in an AI-shaped world. Listen now to get the key ideas in minutes.