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)
That MAGA Account Might Be a Troll From Pakistan
Elon Musk’s Worthless, Poisoned Hall of Mirrors
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
www.theatlantic.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:30 PM
That MAGA Account Might Be a Troll From Pakistan
AI Slop Has Turned Social Media Into an Antisocial Wasteland - CNET
www.cnet.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:40 PM
AI Slop Has Turned Social Media Into an Antisocial Wasteland - CNET
Yann LeCun Has Been Right About AI for 40 Years. Now He Thinks Everyone Is Wrong. - WSJ
www.wsj.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Yann LeCun Has Been Right About AI for 40 Years. Now He Thinks Everyone Is Wrong. - WSJ
Tech Capitalists Don’t Care About Humans. Literally.
Tech Capitalists Don’t Care About Humans. Literally.
It’s not just a figure of speech to say tech titans are indifferent to humanity. From Peter Thiel to Elon Musk, many are adherents of a worldview that envisions humans being replaced by digital post-humans...
jacobin.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Tech Capitalists Don’t Care About Humans. Literally.
The digital age’s reversion to pre-literate communication - Big Think
The digital age’s reversion to pre-literate communication
Today's digital tools are pulling us away from fixed texts and back toward fluid, interactive communication.
bigthink.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:44 PM
The digital age’s reversion to pre-literate communication - Big Think
Meet Dr. ChatGPT - The New York Times
www.nytimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Meet Dr. ChatGPT - The New York Times
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is 'deeply uncomfortable' with tech leaders determining AI's future | Fortune
'I'm deeply uncomfortable': Anthropic CEO warns that a cadre of AI leaders, including himself, should not be in charge of the technology’s future | Fortune
Dario Amodei, who left OpenAI before founding Anthropic, has been outspoken about the need for greater AI regulation.
fortune.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is 'deeply uncomfortable' with tech leaders determining AI's future | Fortune
Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence? | The New Yorker
Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence?
Maybe not as we’ve known them. But, in the ruins of the old curriculum, something vital is stirring.
www.newyorker.com
November 16, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence? | The New Yorker
'With Grokipedia, AI will be trained using the world as Elon Musk describes, perceives and desires it'
'With Grokipedia, AI will be trained using the world as Elon Musk describes, perceives and desires it'
OP-ED. In an op-ed for Le Monde, Julien Malaurent, the deputy managing director of ESSEC Business School, warns of the consequences that could result from the launch of Grokipedia, Elon Musk's encyclopedia....
www.lemonde.fr
November 12, 2025 at 6:53 AM
'With Grokipedia, AI will be trained using the world as Elon Musk describes, perceives and desires it'
The United States is on the Cusp of a Digital Dark Age | TechPolicy.Press
The United States is on the Cusp of a Digital Dark Age | TechPolicy.Press
The first in a series of provocations, Dean Jackson and Sam Woolley write that the current assault on knowledge infrastructure is complex and multidirectional.
techpolicy.press
November 10, 2025 at 4:15 PM
The United States is on the Cusp of a Digital Dark Age | TechPolicy.Press
Spotify Gains Subscribers as App Offering Expands - WSJ
www.wsj.com
November 5, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Spotify Gains Subscribers as App Offering Expands - WSJ
Bizarre disappearing captcha
The Curious Case of the Bizarre, Disappearing Captcha
While puzzling captchas—from dogs in hats to sliding jockstraps—still exist, most bot-deterring challenges have vanished into the background.
www.wired.com
November 3, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Bizarre disappearing captcha
The Validation Machines - The Atlantic
The Validation Machines
Humanity thrives on friction—so why are the tools of the future built to make everything seem so easy?
www.theatlantic.com
November 2, 2025 at 5:30 PM
The Validation Machines - The Atlantic
Here’s How the AI Crash Happens - The Atlantic
Here’s How the AI Crash Happens
The U.S. is becoming an Nvidia-state.
www.theatlantic.com
November 2, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Here’s How the AI Crash Happens - The Atlantic
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
November 2, 2025 at 4:15 PM
How AGI became the most consequential conspiracy theory of our time | MIT Technology Review
How an Error in Cult Classic Game Doom Sparked New Appreciation for Pi | Scientific American
How an Error in Cult Classic Game Doom Sparked New Appreciation for Pi
What would the world look like if we changed the value of pi? Whether in the real world or a game environment, the answer is complex
www.scientificamerican.com
October 31, 2025 at 10:20 AM
How an Error in Cult Classic Game Doom Sparked New Appreciation for Pi | Scientific American
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Our devices work for Big Tech, not us
Hate for a $100 to-do list is misplaced
www.ft.com
October 30, 2025 at 5:50 PM
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AI use makes us overestimate our cognitive performance, study reveals
AI use makes us overestimate our cognitive performance, study reveals
When it comes to estimating how good we are at something, research consistently shows that we tend to rate ourselves as slightly better than average. This tendency is stronger in people who perform low...
techxplore.com
October 30, 2025 at 5:30 PM
AI use makes us overestimate our cognitive performance, study reveals
George R.R. Martin Is Carving Up OpenAI In Court, So Far
George R.R. Martin Is Carving Up OpenAI in Court, So Far
The scales have tipped in favor of the 'Game of Thrones' author and his cohort suing OpenAI, with a recent ruling advancing two additional theories of infringement against the AI giant.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
October 30, 2025 at 5:05 PM
George R.R. Martin Is Carving Up OpenAI In Court, So Far
My Brain Finally Broke | The New Yorker
My Brain Finally Broke
Much of what we see now is fake, and the reality we face is full of horrors. More and more of the world is slipping beyond my comprehension.
www.newyorker.com
October 30, 2025 at 11:45 AM
My Brain Finally Broke | The New Yorker
Analogue computers could train AI 1000 times faster and cut energy use
Analogue computers could train AI 1000 times faster and cut energy use
Computers built with analogue circuits promise huge speed and efficiency gains over ordinary computers, but normally at the cost of accuracy. Now, an analogue computer designed to carry out calculations...
www.newscientist.com
October 29, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Analogue computers could train AI 1000 times faster and cut energy use
2.2 Million New Materials Discovered with AI
2.2 Million New Materials Discovered with AI
Geological media, the technosphere, and impending singularities
softfutures.substack.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:44 PM
2.2 Million New Materials Discovered with AI
The Argument for Letting AI Burn It All Down
The Argument for Letting AI Burn It All Down
When the AI bubble bursts, the nerds will do their best work.
www.wired.com
October 27, 2025 at 11:45 AM
The Argument for Letting AI Burn It All Down
The Age of De-Skilling
The Age of De-Skilling
Will AI stretch our minds—or stunt them?
www.theatlantic.com
October 27, 2025 at 11:15 AM
The Age of De-Skilling