LinkedIn Time Traveling" and the Loneliness Problem AI Is Making Worse

In this week's episode, Nick and Geoff dig into two stories. A National Bureau of Economic Research study identifies "LinkedIn time traveling," where candidates retroactively edit old job entries to stuff AI keywords and exaggerate skills. Then the episode turns to new data showing AI is significantly worsening an already acute workplace loneliness crisis, with 44% of employees now choosing AI over collaborating with a colleague. They dig into practical strategies for what employers can do about it.    Key Takeaways - One in five LinkedIn users engage in "time traveling", the term for a newly uncovered practice of retroactively editing past job entries to add AI keywords, remove DEI references, and inflate skills - The behavior is being driven in part by candidates attempting to game AI screening tools, stuffing profiles with keywords designed to pass algorithmic filters, and to make them appear more fit for certain roles - The US Surgeon General has equated the health impact of chronic loneliness to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, yet most employers are not treating it with anything close to the urgency they would apply to a physical health risk of equivalent scale - 44% of employees choose AI over collaborating with a colleague, 75% seek advice from AI rather than a coworker, and 37% use AI for brainstorming out of fear of judgment, a pattern that is accelerating workplace isolation - The most effective employer response is intentional collaboration: stack projects with multiple people, use AI in shared team settings rather than in isolation, and reframe AI as a team member rather than a private tool