"Today, for the first time in history, thanks to artificial intelligence, it is possible for anybody to make counterfeit people who can pass for real" Is that right? Anybody? - 3 Quarks Daily
"The findings suggest that the brain likely uses different mechanisms for encoding and representing these two different volumes of voices when there is a background conversation ongoing." - New Scientist
The revolt against humanity, Adam Kirsch argues, is no longer an “avant-garde phenomenon†of interest only to the chattering classes, and the spiritual development it represents is bound to impact our understanding of humanity's place in the world. - LA Review of Books
Artificial intelligence is roiling tech, business and politics like nothing in recent memory. Listen to the extravagant claims and wild assertions issuing from Silicon Valley, and it seems the long-promised virtual paradise is finally at hand. - The New York Times
At least not to the U.S., where sincerity is important. "To make sense of this, allow me to explain the Australian cultural phenomenon that is the elegantly simple 'yeah, nah.'" - Slate
"To most people, A.I. is an abstraction, something akin to magic. That's dangerous. We would do better to think about it as we do with physical infrastructure, like roads or processing plants, with their vulnerabilities and real-world consequences." - Slate
We do not actually have an immune system for misinformation, and there is good reason for this. Unlike viruses, there is nothing inherent in false information that ought automatically to trigger any sort of natural response on the part of the brain. - Washington Post
It’s easy to see why librarians of the 1970s set out to revolutionise search. Work across the academy was expanding to such a degree that, soon, there would not be enough human librarians to support all of it. - Aeon
The technocultural norms and habits that have seized us during the triple revolution of the internet, smartphones, and the social web are themselves in need of a thorough correction. Too many people have allowed these technologies to simply wash over them. - The Atlantic
In the past 50 years, despite overall economic growth, the quality of life for most Americans has declined. The wealthy have become wealthier, while the incomes and wages of the median American family have stagnated. As a result, our social pyramid has become top-heavy. - The Atlantic
At issue: "We still take our emotional responses to AI too seriously. In particular, I worry that we interpret our emotional responses to be valuable data that will help us determine whether AI is conscious or safe." - Wired
It was invented by NYT publisher Adolph Ochs in the late 1890s, and now it's certainly under assault. "But giving up on such an important guiding principle after experiencing the cheapened version of it is like renouncing all forms of air travel after flying easyJet." - The Atlantic
Yes, even ones that have nothing to do with Marvel or DC, like Barbie. And yet: The newest animated Spider-Man has figured out a way around the high walls of the IP garden. "There’s no house style to match, because there’s no house." - Slate
