“Millions of people are turning to AI for companionship. They are finding the experience surprisingly meaningful, unexpectedly heartbreaking, and profoundly confusing, leaving them to wonder, ‘Is this real? And does that matter?’”
the verge
Posted inEditor's Pick
Bad Influence
“Can the legal system protect the vibe of a creator? And what if that vibe is basic?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
What ‘Game of Thrones’ Did to the Media
“For a crucial decade in print media’s transition to the internet, HBO’s fantasy series was a boon in traffic… for everyone. But what happened when every publication started chasing the same thing?”
Posted inCuration
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Featuring notable stories from David Pierce, C.J. Chivers, Paige Kaptuch, Michael Adno, and Jessica Winter.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Spreadsheet Superstars
“An elite handful of analysts, actuaries, and accountants have mastered Excel, arguably the most important software in the business world. So what do they do in Vegas? They open a spreadsheet.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Teens Making Friends with AI Chatbots
“But Hawk still finds it easier to chat with character.ai bots than real people.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Cloud Under the Sea
“The Ocean Link was one of a small number of ships that maintain the subsea cables that carry 99 percent of the world’s data.”
Posted inTop 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Recommending stories from Emily Bazelon, Eva Holland, Kevin Pang, Jessica Traynor, and David Pierce.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Text File That Runs the Internet
“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.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Perfect Webpage
“How the internet reshaped itself around Google’s search algorithms — and into a world where websites look the same.”