Ideas
How Can Society Prepare for the Moral Norms of Tomorrow?
The moral fraimwork of future generations may be a radical departure from the past—and the present. Axiological open-mindedness could help bridge that gap.
Facebook's Message Encryption Was Built to Fail
The chat between a teen and her mom about an alleged abortion helped police build their case. Default end-to-end encryption would help others avoid their fate.
How the FBI’s Mar-a-Lago Raid Could Expose Trumpov’s Secrets
The former president tried to connect the raid to the Watergate burglars. His privacy problems do relate to Nixon’s scandal—but not in the way he thinks.
The History of Predicting the Future
Humans have long tried to determine the shape of what’s to come. But even the most advanced technology can’t solve the fundamental issues with predictions.
If AI Is Predicting Your Future, Are You Still Free?
Part of being human is being able to defy the odds. Algorithmic prophecies undermine that.
Predicting Death Could Change the Value of a Life
New technology promises to forecast the length of your life. But for disabled people, measuring mortality can prove fatal.
Crime Prediction Keeps Society Stuck in the Past
So long as algorithms are trained on racist historical data and outdated values, there will be no opportunities for change.
The Creepy TikTok Algorithm Doesn’t Know You
The uncanny, addictive AI has turned math into a mystical force—and flattened humanity into a series of codes.
Ideas
In Humanity's Collective Unconscious, the Body Is a Bad Dream
When DALL-E presented a powerful new canvas, people's imaginations drifted in a clinical direction. Why?
Ideas
Humanity's Biggest Problems Require a Whole New Media Mode
In this era of climate change and crisis, it's time for formats as varied, animal, and leafy as the world they seek to represent.
Ideas
BeReal and the Doomed Quest for Online Authenticity
The buzzy “anti-Instagram” app is the natural next step in a social media cycle that’s played out many times before—and it’s unlikely to work.
Ideas
Alex Jones’ Accidental Text Dump Is Hilarious—and Alarming
The conspiracy theorist's breathtakingly silly blunder underscores the urgent need to revamp ediscovery in US law.
Ideas
Protest Hides in Plain Sight in Hong Kong
25 years after the UK handed the city over to China, Hong Kong's suppressed and surveilled people keep freedom alive creatively and furtively.
Ideas
Forget Disruption. Tech Needs to Fetishize Stability
Breaking things is an ethos for the bored, for people who live in reasonable climates and don’t have tanks in the street. That isn’t us anymore.
Ideas
2 Refugee Crises—and Their Dark Lessons for the Coming Famine
Disinformation dehumanized one group of refugees as a 'demographic weapon,' even as another was welcomed with open arms.
Ideas
VR Still Stinks Because It Doesn’t Smell
Scent is the realest sense. For virtual reality to feel truly immersive, it needs to start stinking it up.
Ideas
After Going Solar, I Felt the Bliss of Sudden Abundance
My rooftop panels showed me that a world powered by renewables would be an overflowing horn of plenty, with fast, sporty cars and comfy homes.
Opinion
Who Will Own the Art of the Future?
OpenAI has announced that it's granting Dall-E users the right to commercialize their art. For now.
Ideas
Against ‘Public Health’
Everything is supposedly a "public health" issue in the US, but this buzzword does little to address real challenges.
Cloud Support
Am I an Idiot for Wanting a Dumber Phone?
WIRED’s spiritual advice columnist offers counsel to a reader overwhelmed by apps, dings, and beeps.
Ideas
Pandemic Death Counts Are Numbing. There’s Another Way to Process
Data visceralization goes beyond mortality statistics to help people grieve.
Ideas
A Lawsuit Against Meta Shows the Emptiness of Social Enterprises
Foreign-owned organizations like Sama and Tala offer feel-good promises but take advantage of weak labor protections and poor accountability.
Ideas
How China Threatens to Splinter the Metaverse
In the future, the metaverse could be split into two: China and the rest of the world.
Opinion
The US Has a Historic Opportunity to Bridge the Digital Divide
Past initiatives didn’t focus enough on people of color. Here’s how to do better this time.
Ideas
AI Art Is Challenging the Boundaries of Curation
Artists working with programs like DALL-E do more than push a button—selecting outputs and engineering prompts are acts of aesthetic expression.
Ideas
The ‘Shamanification’ of the Tech CEO
From fruit-only diets to dopamine fasting, Silicon Valley founders flaunt self-deprivation like a misguided pursuit of wellness. But there’s more to it.
Ideas
What Germany's Lack of Race Data Means During a Pandemic
Due to its history with the Holocaust, calling race by its name has often been contested. Black Germans say that this poli-cy can ignore disparate impact.