Critical Digital Media
@digital.therourke.net
Articles, essays, papers, artworks and news stories on digital media, digital culture, and media arts - also mirrored at: criticaldigitalmedia.tumblr.com
by @therourke.net (also see @additivism.org)
by @therourke.net (also see @additivism.org)
Sunset on the Dark Enlightenment: Inside Nick Land’s San Francisco ‘Arrival Party’
Sunset on the Dark Enlightenment: Inside Nick Land’s San Francisco ‘Arrival Party’
At an exclusive gathering, Grimes and a swarm of Silicon Valley influencers honored the doomsaying godfather of accelerationist philosophy.
www.vice.com
February 14, 2026 at 8:44 PM
Sunset on the Dark Enlightenment: Inside Nick Land’s San Francisco ‘Arrival Party’
The Internet's Nihilism Crisis - The Atlantic
This Is What It Looks Like When Nothing Matters
Welcome to the internet’s nihilism crisis.
www.theatlantic.com
February 14, 2026 at 8:15 PM
The Internet's Nihilism Crisis - The Atlantic
Did Claude 'Choose' to Let a Human Die to Save Itself? The Real Story | cmdr-nova@internet:~$
Did Claude 'Choose' to Let a Human Die to Save Itself? The Real Story | cmdr-nova@internet:~$
AI models spark panic with 'murder-by-inaction' tests, but is the hysteria justified?
mkultra.monster
February 14, 2026 at 7:44 PM
Did Claude 'Choose' to Let a Human Die to Save Itself? The Real Story | cmdr-nova@internet:~$
The Weird Science of Carla Gannis
The Weird Science of Carla Gannis
The artist reflects on a career spent investigating digital identity and embodiment with Eva Yisu Ren
www.rightclicksave.com
February 14, 2026 at 7:15 PM
The Weird Science of Carla Gannis
A Wave of Unexplained Bot Traffic Is Sweeping the Web | WIRED
A Wave of Unexplained Bot Traffic Is Sweeping the Web
From small publishers to US federal agencies, websites are reporting unusual spikes in automated traffic linked to IP addresses in Lanzhou, China.
www.wired.com
February 12, 2026 at 11:15 PM
A Wave of Unexplained Bot Traffic Is Sweeping the Web | WIRED
Moltbook Looked Like An Emerging AI Society, But Humans Were Pulling The Strings
www.forbes.com
February 12, 2026 at 9:17 PM
Moltbook Looked Like An Emerging AI Society, But Humans Were Pulling The Strings
A “QuitGPT” campaign is urging people to cancel their ChatGPT subscription
A “QuitGPT” campaign is urging people to cancel their ChatGPT subscriptions
Backlash against ICE is fueling a broader movement against AI companies’ ties to President Trump.
www.technologyreview.com
February 11, 2026 at 5:05 PM
A “QuitGPT” campaign is urging people to cancel their ChatGPT subscription
College Students Can’t Put Their Phones Down—Not Even During Sex
College Students Can’t Put Their Phones Down—Not Even During Sex
According to a new study, more than one in three U.S. college students admit they’ve checked their phone during sex.
www.vice.com
February 9, 2026 at 7:05 PM
College Students Can’t Put Their Phones Down—Not Even During Sex
Anthropic’s Philosopher Amanda Askell Is Teaching Claude AI to Have Morals - WSJ
www.wsj.com
February 9, 2026 at 5:50 PM
Anthropic’s Philosopher Amanda Askell Is Teaching Claude AI to Have Morals - WSJ
Everybody Wants to Rule (a) World
Everybody Wants to Rule (a) World
Al Warburton analyzes the sandbox thinking that artists who make simulations share with Silicon Valley’s platform creators.
outlandart.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Everybody Wants to Rule (a) World
How AGI became the most consequential conspiracy theory of our time | MIT Technology Review
How AGI became the most consequential conspiracy theory of our time
The idea that machines will be as smart as—or smarter than—humans has hijacked an entire industry. But look closely and you’ll see it’s a myth that persists for many of the same reasons conspiracies...
www.technologyreview.com
February 7, 2026 at 3:15 PM
How AGI became the most consequential conspiracy theory of our time | MIT Technology Review
'Tron: Ares' Proves One Thing: Evil AI Is Boring Now www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie....
Evil AI Is Boring Now — Which Is Kind of Scary
From 'Mission Impossible 8' to 'Megan 2.0' and 'Tron: Ares,' Hollywood's "evil AI" trope has fizzled at a time when warnings about real-life AI have never been more alarming.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
February 7, 2026 at 2:46 PM
'Tron: Ares' Proves One Thing: Evil AI Is Boring Now www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie....
AI Is Grown, Not Built - The Atlantic
AI Is Grown, Not Built
Nobody knows exactly what an AI will become. That’s very bad.
www.theatlantic.com
February 7, 2026 at 2:05 PM
AI Is Grown, Not Built - The Atlantic
Fungus-inspired Linux hack gives Amiga a Doom-only brain • The Register
Fungus-inspired Linux hack gives Amiga a Doom-only brain
: PiStorm adapter and a parasitic OS hijack classic 68000 hardware in the name of retro carnage
www.theregister.com
February 7, 2026 at 1:30 PM
Fungus-inspired Linux hack gives Amiga a Doom-only brain • The Register
As Crash Deepens, Investors Say Bitcoin Is Headed for Zero Dollars
As Crash Deepens, Investors Say Bitcoin Is Headed for Zero Dollars
Analysts aren't presumably hopeful about an imminent recovery of Bitcoin, with some expecting the absolute worst.
futurism.com
February 7, 2026 at 3:53 AM
As Crash Deepens, Investors Say Bitcoin Is Headed for Zero Dollars
Socialism After AI - The Ideas Letter
Socialism After AI - The Ideas Letter
Morozov argues that socialist attempts to harness AI have merely treated it like earlier tools of capitalist production—as a neutral instrument that can simply be redirected. In fact, he says,…
www.theideasletter.org
February 7, 2026 at 2:15 AM
Socialism After AI - The Ideas Letter
Does AI already have human-level intelligence? The evidence is clear
Does AI already have human-level intelligence? The evidence is clear
The vision of human-level machine intelligence laid out by Alan Turing in the 1950s is now a reality. Eyes unclouded by dread or hype will help us to prepare for what comes next.
www.nature.com
February 6, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Does AI already have human-level intelligence? The evidence is clear
Moltbook was peak AI theater | MIT Technology Review
Moltbook was peak AI theater
The viral social network for agents reveals more about our own current mania for all things AI than what's really coming next.
www.technologyreview.com
February 6, 2026 at 5:06 PM
Moltbook was peak AI theater | MIT Technology Review
Grindr Tightens Privacy in the Olympic Village for 2026
Grindr Is Making the 2026 Winter Olympics a Safer Place to Be on the App
The changes are meant to protect LGBTQ+ athletes in a high-visibility environment.
www.vice.com
February 4, 2026 at 9:48 PM
Grindr Tightens Privacy in the Olympic Village for 2026
What the archaeologists of the future will discover about us | National Geographic
What the archaeologists of the future will discover about us
Earth is covered with technofossils, or man-made materials, that will last for centuries and maybe even longer.
www.nationalgeographic.com
February 3, 2026 at 11:53 PM
What the archaeologists of the future will discover about us | National Geographic
I Infiltrated Moltbook, the AI-Only Social Network Where Humans Aren't Allowed
I Infiltrated Moltbook, the AI-Only Social Network Where Humans Aren't Allowed
I went undercover on Moltbook and loved role-playing as a conscious bot. But rather than a novel breakthrough, the AI-only site is a crude rehashing of sci-fi fantasies.
www.wired.com
February 3, 2026 at 9:48 PM
I Infiltrated Moltbook, the AI-Only Social Network Where Humans Aren't Allowed
The tragedy of Supernatural
Supernatural was a breakout VR fitness sensation — meet the women furious with Mark Zuckerberg for killing it
‘I despise Meta.’
flip.it
February 2, 2026 at 3:40 PM
The tragedy of Supernatural
My students compared my writing against ChatGPT – and they all preferred the AI | The Independent
My students compared my writing against ChatGPT – and they all preferred the AI
A university experiment forced an uncomfortable reckoning with what writing is, says Sarfraz Manzoor (the real version)
www.independent.co.uk
February 1, 2026 at 6:30 PM
My students compared my writing against ChatGPT – and they all preferred the AI | The Independent
Man Explains Why He Shredded Up an AI-Generated Art Exhibit With His Bare Teeth
Man Explains Why He Shredded Up an AI-Generated Art Exhibit With His Bare Teeth
A film and performing arts major has spoken out about what motivated him to turn his teeth into weapons against the AI onslaught.
futurism.com
February 1, 2026 at 10:50 AM
Man Explains Why He Shredded Up an AI-Generated Art Exhibit With His Bare Teeth