Severin Matusek

Amid the breathless techno-optimist awe of artificial intelligence—and ahistorical dismissal of its novelty—it is easy to forget that the current crises of reading and writing are unprecedented in degree, but not in kind. “After Words” considers what’s actually different about today’s information overload and whether we’ve been postliterate for far... See more

On TikTok, as The Washington Post has reported, some creators are making $5,000 a month using AI tools to write scripts and animate extremely dumb viral videos where old men talk about soiling themselves.

What makes Eno especially relevant for me is his work beyond the songs. His impact as an artist has mostly been to define new forms, supply vocabulary, and arrange the vibe.

Our information system has split into an endless number of micro communities, from group chats to online fandoms, all learning about news and major events through increasingly bizarre digital formats.

When I polled a group of friends, one person heard the news in the comment section of a bird's Instagram account, another learned of it in a Discord... See more

That's the interesting thing about AI: it is based on historical data sets, on the entire corpus of human creation. This is an opportunity to examine our past: Who are we? What does this data represent? How can we prevent ourselves from repeating the same problems? Sure, the amount is overwhelming – but much like with our history, we can analyse it... See more

How will these changes filter through to the ways our attention is captured, and where it’s directed, in years to come?

“I think people feel uncomfortable in the world today. They’ve decided that their home is their sanctuary. It’s not easy to get them to leave.”