1,149 tacks
Is It Time to Ditch Your Smartphone?
On this week’s episode of “Galaxy Brain,” Charlie Warzel talks with his Atlantic colleague Kaitlyn Tiffany about what our phones are doing to us. Tiffany recently wrote about swapping her iPhone for a flip phone as part of a movement called “Month Offline.” Kaitlyn talks through her personal experience: the joys and inconveniences of a dumbphone and the difficulty of unplugging completely. Warzel and Tiffany talk about the growing smartphone backlash, legal cases against “big tech,” and how, even if many people are convinced that their phones are a problem, the science remains far from conclusive regarding direct harm.
Atlantic Reads: Screen People with Megan Garber
In Screen People, Atlantic staff writer Megan Garber examines how the internet — once brimming with democratic promise — has quietly reshaped human behavior through the architecture of its platforms. From social media algorithms designed to provoke outrage, to the subtle habit of treating real people like fictional characters, Garber traces what went wrong and why. But she's not without hope: if we ask the right questions about who we want to be, a better internet is still within reach.
Explainer: what is surveillance capitalism and how does it shape our economy?
Surveillance capitalism is a market-driven process where personal data is the commodity, collected through mass internet surveillance by companies like Google and Facebook. This data is used for commercial purposes, often without users’ full understanding. The term was coined by Shoshana Zuboff, who highlights the power dynamics and the role of “Big Other” actors like Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple in this economy.
Will human minds still be special in an age of AI?
The article describes how human intelligence is shaped by our biology and environment, making it special in its own way. The article also highlights that AI systems, while impressive, are constrained by their design and training data, making them less adaptable and creative than humans.
People are avoiding the news more but not because they don't care
Young people feel overwhelmed by the constant stream of negative news and feel powerless to change the world. The article also suggests that setting boundaries with news consumption and prioritizing activities that bring joy can help young people cope with the negative impact of news.
Did a human write this?
What happens when the majority of content on the internet tips over into AI slop? On this episode of Galaxy Brain, Charlie Warzel talks to Max Spero, a co-founder of Pangram, an AI-detection company. They discuss how AI-detection tools work and how effective they can be at identifying what’s made by humans and what comes from a chatbot. They explore the cultural concerns around authenticity in the large-language-model era, and whether detection can keep up as models improve.
Why Rich People Post Differently
Is your Instagram "low class"? While we like to think of the internet as a universal playground, a new digital class war is emerging. From the way you use filters to the number of emojis in your bio, your digital habits are increasingly signaling your socioeconomic status to the world. In this episode of Power User, Taylor Lorenz sit down with etymologist and cultural commentator Adam Aleksic to decode the hidden semiotics of "Low Class Instagram."
Why becoming a YouTuber is not what you think
In this essay, Andres Acevedo examines why YouTube’s dominance, and the power of its parent company Google, is a problem for viewers, creators, and the open internet. YouTube is the world’s second most visited website and perhaps the closest thing the world has ever had to a global broadcaster. But it exists inside one of the most powerful corporate empires ever built: one that has systematically crushed competitors, exploited users, and now faces antitrust proceedings on both sides of the Atlantic. The essay features Acevedo’s interview with Nicholas Shaxson, investigative journalist, Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, and co-author of Google’s Hidden Empire.
Why Spotify has no button to filter out AI music
Spotify has no AI-music filter because labelling is technically, ethically and commercially difficult. AI use exists on a spectrum, detection risks false positives, and industry standards remain unsettled. Critics argue Spotify is avoiding transparency to protect growth and recommendation systems. Deezer already labels and limits AI tracks, while Apple and Spotify are testing disclosure features. Listeners increasingly want clearer labels, especially as AI-generated music floods streaming platforms.
‘They’re supposed to be handmade’: zine creators fight to resist AI influence
Zine creators are concerned about the increasing use of artificial intelligence in their traditionally handmade art form. While some see AI as a tool to enhance creativity and accessibility, others argue that it undermines the essence of zines, which is their scrappy, handmade nature. The debate centres around whether AI can coexist with the grassroots, DIY ethos of zine culture.
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