A directory for happy mutants

The WELL: State of the World 2026 with Bruce Sterling and Jon Lebkowsky

Americans are worried about using AI more in daily life, seeing harm to human creativity and relationships. But they’re open to AI use in weather forecasting, medicine and other data-heavy tasks.

Cory Doctorow, the writer, journalist, and activist who coined and popularized the term “enshittification” to decribe the decay of platforms, just released his book on the topic. The full title is: Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It. I just got my copy, and I’m so excited to read it! Blurb: The once-glorious internet was colonized by platforms that made all-but-magical promises to their users—and, at least initially, seemed to deliver on them. But ...

Jennifer Granick discusses the expanding machinery of government and corporate surveillance and its threat to civil liberties and democracy.

# Join Us! There’s only one way to find out if the WELL’s for you, and that’s to experience it first hand. Join the site that _WIRED_ called “the most influential online community in the world”! ### What you get: * Participation in The WELL’s acclaimed conferences via your browser — plus if you want to party like it’s 1999, you can try out the classic text-only interface, too! * Quality conversation with smart people on a wide range of topics * Real community: what one member called, “ _A small town all over the world_.” * It’s non-anonymous, so you always know who you’re talking with. * There is no data-mining. There is no advertising. * Your own @well.com email address WELL membership is $15 per month, but with our **special introductory offer** _,_ you’ll pay only $9.50 per month for the first three months. Sign up for your monthly WELL Membership, starting at the introductory rate or Sign up for an annual WELL Membership at a cost of $150 for the year ($12.50/month) > **Introductory months:** > > This reduced rate applies to **new monthly memberships only**. At the end of your third introductory month, if you have not changed to the annual membership, your fourth month’s subscription will be billed at $15. If you choose to leave at any time, (including during discounted months one, two or three), simply email helpdesk@well.com and tell us. We’ll cancel your membership at the end of your current month. At any time, swap to the yearly plan for a better long-term rate. (From our Billing Terms and our Member Agreement.)

ProPublica obtained records from the Department of Agriculture that detail the millions of pounds of food, down to the number of eggs, that never reached food banks because of the administration’s cut...

The president made the same declaration in 2020, but nothing came of it. His new declaration came amid broader threats against liberals after the Charlie Kirk killing.