How Does It Feel?
Abetted by technological and military might, finance capital has achieved its hegemony over the Earth by annexing the core of human desires – Achille Mbembe, Necropolitics Last week, METR released the results of a study into how "AI" affects the productivity of open-source software developers – results that certainly run
The Agents of Unproductivity
"Could AI slow science?" Sayash Kapoor and Arvind Narayanan ask, and proceed to poke a sizable hole in one of the major claims about "AI" – about its application in healthcare, in education, and beyond: that "AI" will "enable dramatic scientific progress: curing cancer,
The Ball Drop
Bad Company
For decades, Johnson & Johnson was one of the most trusted brands in the world. The maker of bandaids and baby shampoo, its name was associated with care for our health and our bodies and, more importantly, for our children. Even when in 1982, one of the company's
Into the Breach
There's been plenty of ink spilled in the last week in response to The New York Times's story on NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and his college application to Columbia University, in which he ticked both the boxes for "Asian" and "Black or
The Table Read
Read Receipt
One of the popular uses of "AI" that I truly do not understand involves "brainstorming" – and okay, I admit, I truly do not understanding using "AI" at all with what we know about its politically, psychologically, cognitively, and environmentally destructive effects. I've
The Raw and the Cooked
You know how last week I had some good news? Yeah, well... that was nice, wasn't it. Because this week – Happy Fourth of July! LOLSOB – everything isn't just bad, it's dire. Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" will provide tax breaks for
Tick Tick Tick
Technological Enhacements and Faith
A Better World is Possible
Greetings from Maine where Kin, Poppy, and I are visiting family for a few days. As such – as summer – today's missive is a little shorter than usual. And, quite unlike recent emails, today's newsletter opens with some very good news: Zohran Mamdani's win in