The story of a controversial blogger, the weaponization of online engagement, and the growing fault lines between tech and traditional journalism.
tech
Posted inEditor's Pick
Black and Brown Tech Workers Share Their Experiences of Racism on the Job
Former employees of Pinterest, Google, Snap, and other companies share their stories of discrimination.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Time I Sabotaged My Editor With Ransomware From the Dark Web
Drake Bennett conducts an experiment to see if any idiot could go on the dark web, purchase ransomware from a hacker, and infect an (un)suspecting victim.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Four Years in Startups
Wiener recalls working for a variety of tech companies earlier this decade, observing the men who ruled Silicon Valley.
Posted inNonfiction
How Google Discovered the Value of Surveillance
In 2002, still reeling from the dot-com crash, Google realized they’d been harvesting a very valuable raw material — your behavior.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Lonely Work of Moderating Hacker News
How two moderators are trying to make a popular Silicon Valley forum a thoughtful and productive space to have a conversation.
Posted inBusiness & Tech, education, Highlight, Nonfiction, Quote Posts, Quotes
‘Intelligent Education’ and China’s Grand AI Experiment
Seven schools in China have installed facial recognition technology in classrooms to monitor — and score — their students. At The Disconnect, Yujie Xue reports on this “intelligent education” initiative.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Camera Above the Classroom
Hoping to use AI to boost its education system, China’s government has installed facial recognition technology in pilot schools to monitor its students in the classroom.
Posted inCulture, Highlight, Nonfiction, Quote Posts, Quotes, Science & Nature, Technology
Into the Wild On an E-Scooter
What happens when you ride an e-scooter out of the city limits — until its battery dies?
Posted inBooks, Highlight, Nonfiction, Quote Posts, Quotes
‘We All Live in the Great Database in the Sky’: On Silicon Valley and UFO Culture
“The idea seems to be that we all live in the great database in the sky, occasionally summoning aliens with our minds.” Emily Harnett explores Silicon Valley’s appropriation of UFO culture.