This is the real lesson to take away from the OpenAI debacle

In the aftermath of the OpenAI governance battle, the narrative has been dominated by the idea that “the capitalists won.” While this conclusion is catchy, it misses the point.

The real (and bigger) story is: The founders of OpenAI set out to create a nonprofit public institution to ensure that AI’s evolution aligns with the interests of humanity at large. Last month, it became clear that they failed.

What is also clear: Public institutions that priori

This is how tech can help us talk about sex without embarrassment

How can technology assist us in having more open and honest conversations about sex and sexuality? This question strikes at the heart of a major cultural challenge: the taboos and stigmas around discussing sensitive topics like sexual health and pleasure.

Yet avoiding these conversations leads to negative outcomes on individual and societal levels. The good news is that technology is emerging as a powerful tool to enable shame-free dialogues and create social change.

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Mark Zuckerberg donated $500 million to Harvard for AI. Then a disinformation research project was shut down, a whistleblower alleges

A prominent disinformation scholar who left Harvard University in August has accused the school of muzzling her speech and stifling—then dismantling—her research team as it launched a deep dive in late 2021 into a trove of Facebook files she considers the most important documents in internet history.

The actions impacting Joan Donovan’s work coincided with a $500 million donation to Harvard by a foundation run by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Pr

One year with a foldable flip phone: the good, the bad, the ugly

A very happy birthday to my Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, which just turned one.

I had no intention of buying a foldable phone, but I use Google Fi as my wireless provider and was lured in by what I considered a very reasonable phone payment: $27.50 per month for two years.

It hadn’t even been on the market for a month at the time I bought it, so I took the plunge. I needed a new phone, this one looked interesting, and it wasn’t wildly expensive.

Now, a

What Is Generative AI? Your Questions Answered

Generative AI seems to have popped up everywhere in the mainstream lately—primarily via the popularity of ChatGPT, but also through the proliferation of text-to-image tools and AI avatars in our social media feeds. But beyond fun smartphone apps and ways for students to shirk essay-writing assignments, what can generative AI do? How does it work? How will it AI technology affect the way that businesses operate? And possibly most heavy on your mind: will generative AI models take your j

TikTok owner ByteDance has an AI play—and U.S. lawmakers won’t like it

ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, is reportedly planning to unveil a new platform this month so it can compete better with OpenAI. According to a memo seen by the South China Morning Post, the unnamed “bot development platform” will give users a tool to create their own generative AI-powered chatbots. It would mark a new foray into the AI revolution by the world’s biggest unicorn, a privately held startup worth at least $1 billion, and would presumably raise a slew

Why your kid’s public school may be replacing counseling with online therapy

Trouble with playground bullies started for Maria Ishoo’s daughter in elementary school. Girls ganged up, calling her “fat” and “ugly.” Boys tripped and pushed her. The California mother watched her typically bubbly second-grader retreat into her bedroom and spend afternoons curled up in bed.

For Valerie Aguirre’s daughter in Hawaii, a spate of middle school “friend drama” escalated into violence and online bullying that left t

Hims & Hers is launching a weight loss program for its digital health portfolio (exclusive)

Digital health company Hims & Hers is starting to roll out a new holistic weight loss program—one that doesn’t include Ozempic for the time being.

Instead of offering buzzy weight loss injectables, the company is focusing on less-expensive and often widely available generic medications including Bupropion, Metformin, Naltrexone, and Topiramate with Vitamin B12, which have helped with weight loss.

The new program, which is expected to be fully launched by Janu

How Venngage makes it easier to create professional infographics

This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. Subscribe here.

Venngage is a design tool for easily making professional-quality infographics. I’m impressed with the newest version’s focus on accessibility and ease of use.

  • What you can do: Starting with a template, within 20 minutes you can make a detailed graphic to include in a socia
Why OpenAI needs Microsoft on its board

The OpenAI management saga, which began two weeks ago when the organization’s board unexpectedly fired CEO Sam Altman, and which has since featured a series of Succession-worthy twists and turns, seems to be nearing an end. It’s still not entirely clear why Altman was fired in the first place. (Many accounts suggested the board was concerned that Altman was being reckless in his race to commercialize OpenAI’s artificial-intelligence technology, but board members and the c


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