Frustrated with today’s ‘attention economy’? You’re really going to hate what comes next

In the 1990s, the internet was a bit of a wonderland. It was new and liberating and largely free of corporate and government influence. Thirty years later, I don’t think any of us would describe the internet this way. Worse, if subscribers to the

Why tech in Congress lags  behind the modern world

On a typical day, you can’t turn on the news without hearing someone say that Congress is broken. The implication is that this dereliction explains why the institution is inert and unresponsive to the American people.

There’s one element often missing from that discussion: Congress is confounding in large part b

$TRUMP was just the beginning: The new administration is finding all sorts of ways to cash in

At President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, Detroit pastor Lorenzo Sewell took the stage to pray for the incoming administration, peppering his remarks with ham-fisted allusions to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech from some six decades earlier. That same day, Sewell—a longtime Trump booster who spoke at the Republican National Convention and

Did you show ‘negative sentiment’ for insurance companies after the UHC CEO shooting? Police were watching

When news broke that the United Healthcare CEO was shot in broad daylight early last month, outrage erupted online. But it wasn’t aimed at the assassin. Instead, it was directed at the broken U.S. healthcare system he represented. But, it turns out, for those who expressed “negative sentiment” about insurance companies online, the government was watching.

A document obtained by the transparency nonprofit Property of the People via the

How an AI-generated ‘expert’ sank into media deadlines

Ashley Abramson first came across Sophie Cress in a cold pitch to her work email. Cress was asking to be an expert source for any stories Abramson was working on as a freelance reporter. “I’ve got over 8 years of experience and qualifications in Psychology and Couples & Family Therapy, and I’m enthusiastic about exploring potential collaborations, especially in the areas of love, relationships, or LGBTQIA+ topics,” Cress wrote. 

She provided a list of links to articles w

Meta’s Threads is finally getting ads

Threads, Meta’s X and Bluesky rival, is testing ads with certain brands in the United States and Japan, the company said Friday.

“We know there will be plenty of feedback about how we should approach ads, and we are making sure they feel like Threads posts you’d find relevant and interesting,” Instagram head Adam Mosseri said in a post. He added that the team will be monitoring the test “before

How the broligarchy is imitating Trump in more ways than one

Sooner or later, the politicians who most admire Donald Trump begin to emulate him. They adopt his populist rhetoric, specific diction, or aggressive tone. If they happen to

We need to put human creativity at the center of adtech

I’ve been searching for the words to describe my feelings towards the current state of adtech. Terms like “stale,” “stagnant,” and “boring” are among the pejoratives that come to mind. But, if I had to be even more descriptive, I’d have to say that adtech is like a grocery store—and not in a good way.

Just lik

How dangerous are 3D printers? Maybe enough for a background check

As 3D-printed gun violence abounds, some lawmakers are looking to cut the problem at the root. 

The New York state senate is currently evaluating a bill that would dramatically change the 3D printing market. Merchants looking to sell the printers, or at least those that are able to produce a firearm, would be required to treat customers as if they were purchasing a firearm. That means performing background checks and obtaining criminal histories. 

The threat of

A new Instagram feature might expose your embarrassing habits

Instagram Reels has added a new feature that shows you a feed of videos that your friends have liked. The bad news: It works both ways, meaning your friends can now see every video you’ve liked. 

“We want Instagram to not only be a place where you consume entertaining content, but one where you connect over that content with friends,” Instagram’s head, Adam Mosseri, wrote in his announcement of the fea


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