When AI researcher Melanie Mitchell published Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans in 2019, she set out to clarify AI’s impact. A few years later, ChatGPT set off a new AI boom—with a side effect that caught her off guard. An AI-generated imitation of her book appeared on Amazon, …
Read More »AI Is Telling Bedtime Stories to Your Kids Now
The problem with Bluey is there's not enough of it. Even with 151 seven-minute-long episodes of the popular children's animated show out there, parents of toddlers still desperately wait for Australia’s Ludo Studio to release another season. The only way to get more Bluey more quickly is if they create …
Read More »The 16 Best Books of 2023
It’s hard to find something pithy to say about 2023, a year of dissonant extremes, when wildfires devoured Canadian forests, Twitter withered into X, the Titan submersible imploded into infamy, Silicon Valley’s power players rejoiced over the rise of generative AI, scientists cheered Crispr treatment breakthroughs, peace activists became terrorist-attack …
Read More »The Generative AI Copyright Fight Is Just Getting Started
The biggest fight of the generative AI revolution is headed to the courtroom—and no, it’s not about the latest boardroom drama at OpenAI. Book authors, artists, and coders are challenging the practice of teaching AI models to replicate their skills using their own work as a training manual. The debate …
Read More »The Best Gifts for Book Lovers
There's nothing quite like losing yourself in a book. You might not be able to transport your loved ones into their favorite stories, but you can help them spruce up their cozy reading corner. If there's anything we've learned from #BookTok, it's that there are tons of accessories to upgrade …
Read More »Meet the Lawyer Leading the Human Resistance Against AI
On a Friday morning in October, in the lobby of a sleek San Francisco skyscraper, Matthew Butterick was headed toward the elevators when a security guard stopped him. Politely, the guard asked if he was lost. It was an honest mistake. In checkerboard Vans, a black baseball cap, and a …
Read More »Andrew Yang's New Novel Predicts Electoral Chaos
Entrepreneur Andrew Yang ran a surprisingly successful presidential campaign in 2020, captivating the internet with fresh ideas and a fun, geeky persona. More than any other candidate, Yang seemed to channel the optimistic spirit of science fiction shows like Star Trek. “There are a bunch of things that are happening …
Read More »Fei-Fei Li Started an AI Revolution by Seeing Like an Algorithm
Early in the pandemic, an agent—literary, not software—suggested Fei-Fei Li write a book. The approach made sense. She has made an indelible mark on the field of artificial intelligence by heading a project started in 2006 called ImageNet. It classified millions of digital images to form what became a seminal …
Read More »These 3 Books Are Perfect for the Aspiring Witch
When you think of a witch, what do you picture? Maybe you imagine cool teenage girls like in Sabrina or The Craft or a sisterhood like in Practical Magic. Or do you see bubbling cauldrons and toads instead? As cool as pop culture witches are, that isn't what the modern …
Read More »The Internet Is Thirsty for 'Twilight'—Again
When Lionsgate released Twilight 15 years ago, it brought with it a wave of teenage angst, vampiric lust, and fan fervor. Grossing about 10 times its budget at the box office, it was a certified hit, unleashing four subsequent sequels, countless breathless news pieces about stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen …
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