3 Ways to Tame ChatGPT
This year, we’ve seen the introduction of powerful generative AI systems that have the ability to create images and text on demand. At the same time, regulators are on the…
Effective Altruism Is Pushing a Dangerous Brand of ‘AI Safety’
Since then, the quest to proliferate larger and larger language models has accelerated, and many of the dangers we warned about, such as outputting hateful text and disinformation en masse,…
What It Means to ‘Feel Normal’ Online
Despite the flood of investigative exposés on dataveillance, users in the United States seem more enmeshed than ever in those infrastructures, as if they are responding with a collective shrug—“I…
If Humans Went Extinct, Would a Similar Species Evolve?
The rise of powerful new technology means that humanity must confront the risk of its own demise. The invention of nuclear weaponry, for example, has already shown just how quickly…
What Adults Don’t Get About Teens and Digital Life
On a snowy winter day, we were in the library of a charter middle school in Portland, Maine. It was the first of many school visits where we teamed up…
Europe’s Big Tech Law Is Approved. Now Comes the Hard Part
The potential gold standard for online content governance in the EU—the Digital Services Act —is now a reality after the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly for the legislation earlier this week.…
Transport Apps Promised to Eliminate Friction. But at What Cost?
In the vision of the “frictionless” city that is held by many in tech, where virtually every city service, human interaction, and consumer experience is to be mediated by an…
When I Left My Home in Kyiv, ‘Stardew Valley’ Was a Lifeline
It is now the middle of March. I am sitting in the basement of a country house near Kyiv. Not my house. I haven’t been home for three weeks now,…
Humans Evolved to Play Music
I first held a violin in my late forties. Placing it under my chin, I let go an impious expletive, astonished by the instrument’s connection to mammalian evolution. In my…
What Should Be Considered a Crime in the Metaverse?
All this raises crucial issues about the ethics of near-term virtual worlds. How should users act in a virtual world? What’s the difference between right and wrong in such a…