TagTech
2025: Rejecting Brain Rot
Toward a more embodied and human way of life
Ted Mosby Can Save Today’s Dating World
The modern dating landscape is abysmal
In a Changing Media Landscape, Keep the Novel
Novels are unique in their capacity to shed insight into the complexity of our world and human nature
Report: Large Language Models Don’t “Think”
Also, Apple Intelligence might not be so intelligent after allA research team at Apple is now sharing that “state-of-the-art” AI bots are failing basic arithmetic problems according to Los Angeles Times. Michael Hiltzik writes, The Apple team found “catastrophic performance drops” by those models when they tried to parse simple mathematical problems written in essay form. In this example, the systems tasked with the question often didn’t understand that the size of the kiwis have nothing to do with the number of kiwis Oliver has. Some, consequently, subtracted the five undersized kiwis from the total and answered “185.” Human schoolchildren, the researchers posited, are much better at detecting the difference between relevant information and inconsequential curveballs. Apple has recently been rolling out tons of new advertisements promoting the iPhone Read More ›
The Dumbphone Revolution?
It's a crazy idea, but what if we just started using our phones to call and text people?
Sam Altman Was on My Favorite Writing Podcast. His View on Storytelling Surprised Me.
When we read, we want to hear from a human about what it means to be human.Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has garnered a fair share of criticism from the writing crowd for creating ChatGPT, a tool that on the surface seems to banish the need for human writers at all. However, Altman recently appeared on David Perell’s prominent writing podcast “How I Write” to talk about his own writing process, AI, and what he uses ChatGPT for. Altman and Perell talk about the importance of language for human communication, with Altman noting how he can’t imagine human life without language. AI, Altman says, is supposed to make language and the writing process “better.” In his view, that’s what computers have also sought to do: Create opportunities for humans to expand and deepen their capacities. But Read More ›
No, the AI Bubble is Nothing Like the Dotcom Bubble
Don't listen to the tech bros on this oneMichael Dell, founder of Dell Computers, said recently on LinkedIn: “The skepticism around AI’s ROI today feels a lot like the doubts people had about the internet in its early days. Back then, no one could fully grasp how much the web would transform our lives, and now AI is on the same path. Yes, it might be tough to measure immediate returns, but if history teaches us anything, it’s that game-changing technologies take time to show their true impact. By embracing AI, we’re not just adopting a tool — we’re investing in a future where human potential gets a major boost, and new opportunities are unlocked. Just like the internet became the foundation of our digital world, AI has Read More ›
Americans Are Lonely. Sometimes Even When They’re Together
Technology can obstruct our connection with others, but it can also train us to not even want friendship in the first place
Learning to Build and Create Offline as Well as On
Is the internet the only place to build and expand culture?
Revisiting Neil Postman’s Laws of Technology
How can we judge technology realistically?
Here Are Some Good Pieces to Read Over the Long Weekend
Reflections on love and freedom from two gifted writersHappy Independence Day to all the American readers, which, presumably, is most of you! Condolences and best wishes to our British friends as they deal with a large-scale election tomorrow. Many people will be enjoying a particularly long weekend full of hot dogs, fireworks, and summer heat, but one can always use the spare time to catch up on some reading. Here are just a couple of links that I’ve found worthwhile over the last couple days. The first comes from novelist Tara Isabella Burton, who writes a candid piece on overcoming smartphone addiction in Plough. Like many of us, Burton both wrestles with spending too much time on screens but has also made resolutions to overcome her dependency again Read More ›
“Dopamine-Maximizing AI”
Elon Musk on addictive algorithms and the future of AI
How I Turned My Smartphone Into a “Dumbphone”
I've had it being a pawn of Big Tech
Einstein Meets Lemaître
The significance of Lemaître’s work remained mostly unnoticed for three years
I, Robot Merges Sci-Fi and Noir Beautifully
Will Smith versus a world of robots
Is AI’s Future Open or Closed?
Watch Archana Vemulapalli, Head of Solutions Architecture at Amazon Web Services, discuss developments in artificial intelligenceWatch Archana Vemulapalli, Head of Solutions Architecture at Amazon Web Services, discuss developments in artificial intelligence with Bryan Mistele, CEO of transportation analytics provider, INRIX – especially ways in which AI can be employed to make people more productive and efficient, and in the end, make the world a better place. You can watch this video and many more from the most recent COSM conference, which featured leading thinkers and pioneers in the fields of tech, artificial intelligence, and computing.
AI’s Illusion of Rapid Progress
It always seems to be on the verge of perfection
Bob Metcalfe on Our Connected World
Discovery Institute Senior Fellow Jay Richards interviews Bob Metcalfe, inventor of EthernetThe Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence is pleased to be able to share the videos from the 2023 COSM conference, now available on YouTube. This annual conference explores the status and the future of our era-defining technologies, from artificial intelligence to electric vehicles to new developments in biotech. Today’s video features a conversation with Bob Metcalfe, a pioneer in the field of computer science and the inventor of Ethernet. Discovery Institute Senior Fellow Jay Richards interviews Bob Metcalfe, inventor of Ethernet and recipient of the prestigious Turing Award, about the predicted pathologies of the internet and the reversals associated with the rise of connectivity.
The Crisis of Identity That Tech Doesn’t Help
Consumerism works well but leaves us emptyWriter and cultural commentator Aaron Renn wrote recently about the dissolution of identity in the United States, contending that if we don’t know who we are, we will never know what to do. Renn writes frequently on issues facing young men in America and the challenges of living well in the secular world. He writes, The reality is that a lot of people in top positions of our society act as if they want you living like Simba. They want porn available for you to watch. They want you betting on the big game on your phone. They want you focused on “experiences” and consumption, like hitting the latest hot travel destination or going to the new farm-to-table restaurant that Read More ›