The author of Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age and The Immortal King Rao on memorable meals and books about whales.
Technology
AI Got the Blame for the Iran School Bombing. The Truth is Far More Worrying
“LLMs-gone-rogue dominated coverage, but had nothing to do with the targeting. Instead, it was choices made by human beings, over many years, that gave us this atrocity.”
Limiting Not Just Screen Time, But Screen Space
“The internet has stopped being a place we visit—it’s now an environment we inhabit.”
Is There Life After Smartphones?
“This year, I set out to better understand what was driving this shift — what was causing so many young people to feel fed up with their phones.”
Opposing ICE Might Save the Country. It Could Also Ruin Your Life.
“For months, lone vibe coder Rafael Concepcion has obsessively built tools to counter the federal immigration crackdown—pivoting as he’s been outmatched. He’s also lost his job and become a target.”
The Bottom of the Ninth
“In baseball and in life, there is a cost to our pursuit of an error-free existence.”
You Could Be Next
“Laid-off lawyers, history PhDs, and scientists are now part of a miserable gig economy in which they’re teaching AI how to do their old jobs.”
Recursive Resemblance
“On the feedback loops of mimesis, from the ancients to AI.”
Why Conservationists Are Making Rhinos Radioactive
“Rapid DNA tests, x-ray fluorescence guns, and other technologies are being deployed in the fight against wildlife trafficking.”
The Long Now of the Web: Inside the Internet Archive’s Fight Against Forgetting
“A comprehensive engineering and operational analysis of the Internet Archive.”
