AI

In ordinary language, we frequently speak of machinery or ideas ‘doing’ things in our lives. But they do nothing. People – human persons – produce, operate and apply their creations. The problem with assigning agency, even informally, to the nonhuman is that this disguises the strength of human control, limited though it is in other respects. It... See more

The web is no longer primarily human-generated text created for human readers; it is increasingly AI-generated text created for algorithmic amplification, mixed with human-generated text optimized for the same algorithmic reward functions.

As AI systems train on this degraded corpus, they learn to reproduce its characteristics—shallow reasoning,... See more

Many experts are concerned about how the adoption of AI systems over the next decade will affect essential human traits such as empathy, social/emotional intelligence, complex thinking, ability to act independently and sense of purpose. Some have hopes for AIs’ influence on humans’ curiosity, decision-making and creativity.

In 2013, the Chicago Sun-Times fired all 28 of its staff photographers. Every single one. Including John H. White, who had won a Pulitzer Prize.

The plan was simple. Reporters would shoot their own photos using iPhones. The technology had gotten good enough. The cameras were in everyone’s pockets. Why pay 28 salaries for something the existing staff

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A chatbot helped more people access mental-health services

If an AI companion becomes someone’s most consistent emotional presence, the right question isn’t “how do we stop this?” It’s “what does that say about the world around them?” Technological relationships are not new. What’s new is how effective they’ve become; and how clearly they mirror the gaps we’ve refused to address.

We’ve tried prohibition... See more