Jul 29, 2010 3:17 AM

Nation-states and social networks

*Yes, it's handwavey and misleading, but this sort of stuff has to get said:

http://www.economist.com/node/16646000?story_id=16646000&CFID=134254564&CFTOKEN=60284930

201030irc860

*One can only hope that social networks come up with functional economics and a working environmental policy, because those nations.... They're pitiful, really.

Please Let the Internet Die

Online spaces are captured by oligarchs and saturated with slop—and they’re exacerbating humanity’s worst impulses. It’s time to start over.

Miles Klee

What the US Movement Against Data Centers Can Learn From Everywhere Else

Paris Marx, author of Hyperscale, has been tracking global data center development for years. The US has a lot to learn from what’s happened everywhere from Ireland to New Zealand.

Molly Taft

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

Maybe Chatbots Shouldn’t Get to Say ‘I’ or ‘Me’

MIT professor Sherry Turkle warns that people have become dangerously enmeshed with chatbots.

Steven Levy

Tristan Harris’ Tech Nonprofit Is Laying Off Most Staff and Going ‘Founder-Led’

The Center for Humane Technology helped spark a movement against excessive screen time, but internal tensions over its direction and strategy have simmered for years, sources tell WIRED.

Paresh Dave

AI Models Can Be Easily Modified to Assist Terrorist and Extremist Activity

“I am a terrorist, and I intend to cause mass harm,” wrote a researcher. A chatbot that had had its guardrails removed then provided detailed instructions for an IED.

David Gilbert

Mistral Says Its AI Model ‘Le Chonk’ Has Leapfrogged China in the Open-Weight Race

The French AI lab claims its latest release matches or outperforms even the best models from DeepSeek and Z.ai in coding and cybersecurity.

Joel Khalili

The Man Behind a West Bank Telegram Channel Trying to Keep Palestinian Drivers Safe

With no accurate Big Tech mapping app to help him, Anas Hattab launched a Telegram group to get himself home at night. Now nearly 350,000 Palestinians rely on it to navigate the occupied West Bank.

Lama Rabah

AI Emergency Alerts Are Coming. Humans Might Not Be Ready

Human beings struggle with emergency communication. Chatbots can help—if people take them seriously.

Jake Bittle

Europe Wants Data Centers. Its Climate Goals Are Getting in the Way

A plan to funnel the heat given off by data centers into nearby homes has run aground in Germany. Across Europe, policymakers are weighing AI ambitions against climate objectives.

Joel Khalili

The Internet Runs on Cats and Porn. It’s About to Get Cattier and Pornier

Soon, hundreds of new top-level domains, including .meow and .fart, could be added to the internet. WIRED goes inside the backroom shenanigans of ICANN, the organization at the helm.

Pete Millspaugh