When I wrote last week’s round-up of “AI”-related news, I didn’t include any of OpenAI’s product releases, mostly because it’s 2025 and I’m exhausted by this game that tech companies and tech journalists continue to play: the former lobs a press release; the latter
If you've ridden the NYC subway lately, you've seen the ads for Friend. "Largest subway campaign ever," the founder proudly posted on Instagram. Friend is (of course) an "AI" startup, another one of these "'AI' companion" services, another
Surrender, surrender (but don't give yourself away) – Cheap Trick "Does AI coaching cause more injuries?" asks Raziq Rauf in his latest Running Sucks newsletter. I've heard these concerns about the "personalized training" app Runna for a while now– call it "personalized
Brian Merchant's assertion that "The Luddite Renaissance is in full swing," The Jacobin's claim that "The AI Revolution Might Be Running Out of Steam" – these feel a bit too optimistic perhaps, particularly if you're one of many educators who'
Chit: an official note, sometimes a voucher or an IOU; a slip of paper that grants permission Chat: an informal conversation; a friendly talk Chit-chat: "A reduplication with vowel variation of chat," according to the OED, like "bibble-babble" and "tittle-tattle." "The reduplication implies
"The best way to honor Charlie’s memory," California Governor Gavin Newsom said, "is to continue his work." And so we've seen in the last week: the targeted harassment of those who've spoken out about Kirk's overt racism, his Christian
I'm truly at a loss of what to say today. (Last week. It lingers, doesn't it.) So (I guess) let me just repeat a point I've made repeatedly: one of the saddest rationales for using "AI" is for "brainstorming" – a
I was feeling much better, thank you very much, until this country took another grotesque lurch towards fascism midweek. I think it had helped, if I'm perfectly honest, that Kin and I had finally completed our re-watching of all six seasons of The Sopranos. As I've
In a children's literature class at Texas A&M University this summer, a student interrupted the professor as she began to recap some of the previously covered material, "remarks on gender and sexuality we bring from the last class." "I just have a question,