TagTwitter
A Big Question: Is Legacy Media Dead?
The rise of citizen journalism and considering what we lose without traditional "gatekeepers"Used to, you had to go through the media gatekeepers to put your work out there. With the advent of the internet and platforms like X, Substack, YouTube, and others, however, the masses can all create personal accounts and honk news and opinions into the world. The competition is no longer just between different outlets, but now extends to individual people. Who can speak the loudest and draw the most attention? Who can create the most effective personal “brand”? The Washington Post saw a massive drop in subscriptions following its decision not to endorse a presidential candidate for the 2024 election. But its influence was already declining. The media giant responsible for breaking the vast background story of the Watergate Read More ›
AI-Generated Social Media? Looks Like It’s Already Here.
The only problem? You can't simulate community.
The U.K. Government Reposts Censorious Tweet
The rising authoritarianism in western societies is becoming more evidentIn light of the violent protests and now counter-protests raging across the England and elsewhere in the United Kingdom (UK), the UK government reposted an announcement on X that those posting online content promoting “hatred” or “violence” could be criminally prosecuted. Here’s the post: Not only can citizens face prosecution by posting inciteful content (although the video makes no mention about what that really is), but they can also get nabbed for simply reposting it from someone else. The pushback on X was swift, with critics calling the post a blatant instance of government overreach and comparing the measure to something we would expect in authoritarian countries like China and North Korea. The debate over free speech in western countries Read More ›
Kingsnorth: How to Stay Sane in the Deepfake World
A lesson for modern people from the desert monks of antiquity
X Now Allows Adult Content According to Policy Update
Formerly, the platform didn't have an actual rule. That's now changed.
“Dopamine-Maximizing AI”
Elon Musk on addictive algorithms and the future of AI
Scarlett Johansson vs. Sam Altman
OpenAI is trying to recreate a cautionary tale
Bizarre New iPad Pro Ad Says the Quiet Part Out Loud
Witnessing the rise of anti-human corporate techYesterday, Apple CEO Tim Cook shared the brand-new preview of the “thinnest iPad” to date, the iPad Pro, praising its portability and capacity. Capitalizing on the “thin” aspect, the promo commercial, titled “Crush!” has been turning heads and could also be accused of crushing the human spirit. The commercial plays to the song “All I Need is You” by Sonny & Cher, opening up with a metronome and a record player. Then, the scene broadens out to show a platform in the middle of a room piled with an array of gadgets and knickknacks, like a drum set, cans of paint, a trumpet, piano, bust of a Greco-Roman figure, a globe, chess set, and other goods that the mind naturally Read More ›
Father Justin, a Chatbot, is Absolving Sinners
Critics are calling for the AI priest to be "taken down immediately."Catholic Answers is a “media ministry that serves Christ by explaining and defending the Catholic faith,” according to their description on X. For Catholic observers, it serves as a good resource for deepening one’s faith and finding clarification on certain Catholic doctrines. However, the site recently introduced a controversial new member to the team: Father Justin, a chatbot “priest” designed to help answer people’s questions about Catholicism. In defense of this AI app, Catholic Answers said, As a leading Catholic apostolate, Catholic Answers is committed to leveraging the latest technologies to advance its mission of explaining and defending the Catholic faith. The Father Justin app is the latest example of this commitment, providing a new and appealing way for searchers Read More ›
Human Subject Moves Computer Mouse with Neuralink Chip
So Big Tech companies might know your inner thoughts, now. What could possibly go wrong?
Escaping the Dopamine Cartel
We can't even be bothered with "entertainment" anymore.
The Apple Vision Pro is Here
What exactly is the point of this new, painfully expensive piece of gadgetry?
Framework for AI Legislation
Unfortunately, current calls for AI legislation seems to be largely motivated by fear of the unknown rather than looking for specific policy goals.
The Present Shock We’re Experiencing
Our modern obsession with the possibility of truly smart machinery keeps a self-important anti-humanism alive and kicking.
“Consensus” Doesn’t Always Mean Science
Real scientific discovery happens within a culture of free speech and open dialogueRobert J. Marks, host of the Mind Matters podcast, recently put out an article at Newsmax discussing “scientific consensus,” and how that term has been used to bully dissenting scientific viewpoints and even establish political and social policy. Marks writes, Consensus was used as a reason to stifle debate during the COVID crisis. Facebook and YouTube saw opposition to the government narrative as disinformation. Posts against consensus were censored and users were banned. Pre-Musk Twitter had a policy concerning tweets about climate change: “Misleading advertisements on #Twitter that contradict the scientific consensus on #climatechange are prohibited, in line with its inappropriate content policy.” The word pairing “scientific consensus” is a destructive science-stifling oxymoron. -Robert J. Marks, Consensus Doesn’t Equal Science | Newsmax.com Read More ›
The Benefits of Ditching Social Media
Tech writer Cal Newport explains why boredom is actually a good thingCal Newport ascended into the limelight upon his viral Ted Talk in which he called people to ditch social media. In this video from last year, Newport rehashes some of the main benefits of not having social media. Boredom is on the list, interestingly; Newport notes that most people no longer have moments of boredom, and as a consequence, don’t have any space in their lives to reflect, think, and work through their emotions. Andrew McDiarmid, a contributor at Mind Matters, has written on this in the past. He notes, Mind wandering, or stream of consciousness thought, gives us several mental gains, including the ability to consider obstacles to future goals, generate novel, creative thoughts, and place our experiences in meaningful Read More ›
Is the “Threads” App a Bust?
The app originally attracted around 100 million users but has tapered off dramatically.Within the first week of its existence, “Threads,” the new Twitter-like app from the tech company Meta, saw a colossal decline in usage. The app originally attracted around 100 million users but has tapered off dramatically. Jody Cerrano reports, Zuckerberg’s statements about returning users coincide with estimates from third-party traffic analysts that reported the big dip in Threads users last week. At that time, Sensor Tower, a market intelligence firm, said that Threads’ daily active users on iOS and Android were down by 20%. The company added that traffic was not the only thing affected. Time spent on the app per user also fell, according to Sensor Tower, by 50% — from 20 minutes to 10 minutes. On Monday, the analyst Similarweb reported an Read More ›
Musk: My AI Will “Understand Reality”
xAI, Musk's alternative to OpenAI, is shrouded in ambitious hopesTech giant and billionaire Elon Musk is starting yet another company, and this one has to do with the talk of the town: artificial intelligence. The name of the venture is “xAI.” It’s been an interesting week in the tech and AI world. Meta released “Threads,” a Twitter alternative, and OpenAI is now under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, calling the AI company into question for its data scraping methods and ChatGPT’s tendency to spin false information. Now that AI is the apple in ever tech mogul’s eye at the moment, I guess it makes sense that Musk is reaching for the branch of temptation. He’s been teasing his hopes for his own AI company for a few months Read More ›
Really, a Cage Match?
Rumor has it that Twitter CEO Elon Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg are going to fight each other (physically, not figuratively) in a cage match.Rumor has it that Twitter CEO Elon Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg are going to fight each other (physically, not figuratively) in a cage match. Yes, you heard that right. After an online squabble, the two are purportedly interested in an actual fight. Today, the news broke that Musk has agreed to train with UFC legend Georges St-Pierre. St-Pierre offered his services to Musk in a tweet, to which Musk replied, “Okay, let’s do it.” No one really knows if this fight will actually happen, but it could. It’s ludicrous that men of such stature should be entertaining the notion of a cage match. Nonetheless, Zuckerberg is apparently trained in martial arts, and seemed open to the idea given Read More ›