Human Premium

Online reservations are easier on the ego, because they free us from the humiliation of being told no. Mainly, though, we like their convenience, which in the United States is virtually an inalienable right.

Sam Altman’s iris-scanning World project announced that Tinder users globally can now display a digital badge on their profiles verifying they’re a real human, provided they’ve scanned their eyes with one of World’s Orbs. Users who verify receive five free “boosts,” typically a paid feature that increases profile visibility by up to 10 times for 30... See more

Two possible paths begin to emerge.

In the first, a generation emotionally numbed at work becomes equally numb in their private lives. Interactions remain efficient but empty. Emotions fade, leaving behind a diminished sense of humanity.

But another path is possible. We could see the rise of a lucid generation. Exposed early to the risks of... See more

The human role is becoming that of a conductor, orchestrating diverse AIs, whether proprietary, open-source, European, American, or Chinese.

Sitch, founded by Nandini Mullaji, just raised $2 million in pre-seed funding led by A16z Speedrun to bring personalized, swipe-free dating to a wider audience. Users pay up front for setups — $90 for 3, $125 for 5, or $160 for 8 — vetted by a chatbot trained on Mullaji’s real-life matchmaking experience. If they're ghosted, they get a refund.

Everyone’s good at everything, and I kind of don’t care. Show me what it looks like when you are bad. Show me how it looks when you get it wrong.

When technical mastery becomes available to everyone, the cracks, the risk, the emotional stakes is what we’ll value.

If you match and then change your mind, you can just un match without explanation.

But that’s not how healthy human relationships work, and so it’s not surprising that going back to app-less dating isn’t as easy a switch as it sounds. We’re now more scared of rejection, more avoidant of the uncomfortable conversations that are all but inevitable,... See more

Try a tool that intentionally messes up your writing. It’s a response to A.I. making email sound less human.

One result is that we feel increasingly alienated from the people who cook and serve our food. It’s no wonder we are always hearing about diners acting like entitled jerks — they’ve been trained to expect that everybody who works in a restaurant should be as fast and compliant as a touch screen