Adi Robertson
Seeking contributions for the time of monsters.
Do you mourn the old world dying? Will you celebrate the new world’s struggle to be born? Write (or, in a few months, read) about it.
Adi Robertson
Senior Editor, Tech & Policy
Senior Editor, Tech & Policy
More From Adi Robertson
Adi Robertson
It’s ScamGPT’s world, we’re just getting pig-butchered in it.
The excellent Data & Society pulled together a report on the impact of generative AI on scamming. (No surprise: not good.) Its conclusion makes an interesting comparison to the once-pressing scourge of spam:
“Though it once threatened to make email unusable, spam was largely tamed through the development of increasingly sophisticated email filters, regulation like the CAN-SPAM act, and email users becoming more adept at recognizing and managing unsolicited messages. ... This success did not come from eliminating spam altogether, but from mitigating its impact so effectively that it became a manageable nuisance rather than a disruptive force, through a mix of technical advancements, regulation, and education. As we turn our attention to the growing threat of AI-enhanced scams, the question becomes: What would a comparable success story look like?”
Adi Robertson
“We’ll just call you Rye-you.”
Apparently we’ve got some prospective cast members for a new Street Fighter movie, so it’s time to revisit Polygon’s classic Chris Plante feature about the 1994 film’s production trainwreck. RIP Raul Julia.
Adi Robertson
“A classy tab you can keep open and switch over to at a moment’s notice, should the need arise.”
Literary journal Barrelhouse addresses a gap noted by Justice Samuel Alito in January’s FSC v. Paxton Supreme Court oral arguments. Almost certainly more fun than the still-awaited ruling will be.
New Online Issue: The Pornhub Literary Supplement — Barrelhouse
[barrelhousemag.com]
Big Tech wants you to share your private thoughts with chatbots — while backing a government with contempt for privacy.
Adi Robertson
Adi Robertson
Wikipedia 1, Ed Martin 0.
Interim US Attorney for Washington, DC Ed Martin is officially out of consideration for a permanent gig in the role thanks to pushback from Republican Senator Thom Tillis in particular. He may still resurface elsewhere at the Department of Justice, but for now, his threatening missives to DOGE critics and Wikipedia will not be missed.
Adi Robertson
I still know it when I see it, I guess.
Two congressional Republicans are introducing a bill that would essentially ban pornography from the internet by rewriting the legal definition of obscenity — but it’s not the first time it’s been tried. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) has introduced the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act at least twice before, once in 2022 and again in 2024, and it’s failed to advance so far. Donald Trump’s Project 2025 blueprint also promised to ban porn, but without a detailed roadmap.
Adi Robertson
“Talking to God and angels via ChatGPT.”
Miles Klee at Rolling Stone reported out a widely circulated Reddit post on “ChatGPT-induced psychosis”:
Sycophancy itself has been a problem in AI for “a long time,” says Nate Sharadin, a fellow at the Center for AI Safety ... What’s likely happening with those experiencing ecstatic visions through ChatGPT and other models, he speculates, “is that people with existing tendencies toward experiencing various psychological issues,” including what might be recognized as grandiose delusions in clinical sense, “now have an always-on, human-level conversational partner with whom to co-experience their delusions.”
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