Technology and media
Technology and media
idea
Chatbots remind us that natural conversation is artificial too
People fret about the authenticity of AI chatbots but precisely the same issues confront everyday exchanges between humans
by Larry S McGrath
Work and vocation
idea
Why AI surveillance at work leads to perverse outcomes
In the name of efficiency, workplace AI technologies shift burdens long-assumed by employers onto workers
by Karen Levy
Emerging therapies
guide
How to choose a mental health app
Of the thousands of apps, many are poor quality – but there are a few gems you can trust. Follow these steps to find them
by Margaret Emerson & John Torous
Love
film
‘Why can’t you be real?’ The emotionally fraught business of falling for an AI
Directed by Chouwa Liang
Work and vocation
idea
Kafka warned us: surveillance turns the watched into watchers
Surveillance changes us in powerful ways, as Franz Kafka warned. Neither the watched nor their watcher escapes unscathed
by George Alliger
Technology and media
idea
The pleasure, the pain and the politics of a digital detox
Studying why and how people take digital-media breaks can reveal what individuals and societies value in unmediated spaces
by Trine Syvertsen
Social anxiety
guide
How to use social media if you have social anxiety
If anxiety derails your attempts to share and connect with others online, there are steps you can take to stay in the loop
by Emma Warnock-Parkes
Creativity
film
Human and machine worlds converge into dizzying, dreamlike visual art
Directed by Robert Seidel
Stories and literature
idea
Remembrance of telephony past: what Proust made of the phone
For Marcel Proust, the telephone gave distance a sensory form and allowed new ways to experience absence more profoundly
by John Attridge
Technology and media
idea
What the journey from Star Trek to Siri says about our culture
The talking computer in Star Trek takes the culture and technology of the present and dreams up future possibilities
by Liz W Faber
Progress and the future
film
Stick figures meet existential angst in this acclaimed, darkly comedic short
Directed by Don Hertzfeldt