“For decades, robots.txt governed the behavior of web crawlers. But as unscrupulous AI companies seek out more and more data, the basic social contract of the web is falling apart.”
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Posted inEditor's Pick
Tim Berners-Lee Invented the World Wide Web. Now He Wants to Save It
“In 1989, Sir Tim revolutionized the online world. Today, in the era of misinformation, addictive algorithms, and extractive monopolies, he thinks he can do it again.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
My First Months in Cyberspace
“The earlier internet was a haven, everyone making it up as they went along.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Limiting Not Just Screen Time, But Screen Space
“The internet has stopped being a place we visit—it’s now an environment we inhabit.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
They Would Not Dream of Flowers: Translating Through the Tehran Blackout
“There, in that forced isolation, I sat translating a story about death. Meanwhile, the real thing operated just outside my window.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Last Days of Social Media
“Social media promised connection, but it has delivered exhaustion.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
North Korea Stole Your Job
“For years, North Korea has been secretly placing young IT workers inside Western companies. With AI, their schemes are now more devious—and effective—than ever.”
Posted inReading List
Girls Will Be Girls: A Reading List on Consumerism in the Internet Age
Are the scores of girl personas on TikTok just a marketing campaign? Let’s do the (girl) math.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Agony and Ecstasy of being a Viral Trickshot Video Star
“Think you could throw a basketball off a 540ft dam, into a hoop—while blindfolded? Meet the talented and ludicrously patient people putting hours into the internet’s most joyful (and pointless) clips.”
