Nov 30, 2011 3:40 PM

Musica Globalista: Xenomania

"Infinite choice + infinitesimal cost = nomadic eclecticism as the default mode"

http://www.mtviggy.com/articles/xenomania-nothing-is-foreign-in-an-internet-age/

*This Simon Reynolds essay is 100% pullquotes. Not only do you "need to read this": I would strongly suggest that you read this essay three or four times. In three or four different nations.

Wikipedians Believed AI Would Come and Go. They Were Wrong

In a world of AI Overviews, Wikipedia usage declines. But the real loss may be far more existential than website traffic.

Richard Cooke

Earth’s Condition Is ‘Serious and Getting Worse’ as Climate Change Intensifies

Seven of 16 planetary vital signs are in their most extreme state ever recorded, and El Niño is here to make matters even worse.

Brian Kahn

Spend Elon Musk’s Money

What’s it like to be the richest man in the world? Find out for yourself.

Neal Agarwal

Why AI Isn’t Ready to Tackle Our Convoluted Genomes

The DNA inside our cells isn’t just a series of instructions, but something far more dynamic. Like scientists, AI models don't yet have the data to properly decode it.

Philip Ball

Solving Math’s Greatest Problems Was an Art Form. Then Came AI

Mathematics has been one of humanity’s most creative endeavors, akin to painting and poetry. Now, mathematicians are trying to save it from the brute force of AI.

Sophia Chen

the case for lowercase

a certain kind of person writes in all lowercase now. why?

Tiffany Ng

Demi Adejuyigbe Thinks You Should Only Post 3 Times a Day

The comedian sees being online as similar to visiting the zoo. “I don’t need to interact with that,” he says. “It’s just a thing that I enjoy, and then I walk away.”

Miles Klee

Timnit Gebru Believes There Is No ‘Existential Threat’ From AI

One of AI’s fiercest critics believes the doom talk is about founders making money, not saving humanity.

Lauren Goode

Let’s Talk About the Super El Niño and Climate Change

Here’s what we know about the record-setting El Niño on a record-hot planet, and the most important questions scientists are trying to answer.

Fernanda González

Mistral Says Its New AI Model ‘Le Chonk’ Is the Best Open-Weight Offering Outside of China

With the release of its new trillion-parameter model, Mistral is hoping to demonstrate it’s “still in the race” to build frontier-level artificial intelligence.

Joel Khalili

AI Came for Math. Now It’s Chasing the Rest of Science

AI may soon be the default way to solve theoretical problems in economics, high-energy physics, and other fields, MIT researchers tell WIRED.

Will Knight

Trump’s ‘Morally Binding’ AI ‘Accord,’ the Rise of AI Agents, and Extremists on the Ballot

This week on Uncanny Valley, we discuss the voluntary AI safety agreement tech executives signed, AI agents for normies, and extremist candidates running for office in the US midterms.

Brian Barrett