The (Information) Revolution Will Be Photocopied.

Shitloads and zingers: on the perils of machine translation.

Programmers are very clever, but they are not yet clever enough to anticipate the vast variety of contexts from which meaning emerges. Hence even the best algorithms will miss things – and as Henry James put it, the ideal translator must be a person ‘on whom nothing is lost’.

Fuck Work

How would human nature change as the aristocratic privilege of leisure becomes the birthright of all?

The Phenom behind Finland’s Big-Screen Rise.

Shy is the oyster, fervent is the clam…

Miami Beach has run out of sand. Now what?

Miami Beach has already begun to flood at high tide, and saltwater is pushing into the region’s aquifer. The city, like all South Florida, is doomed…

Murder in virtual reality should be illegal.

In an immersive virtual environment, what will it be like to kill? Surely a terrifying, electrifying, even thrilling experience. But by embodying killers, we risk making violence more tantalising, training ourselves in cruelty and normalising aggression.

Has dogma derailed the scientific search for dark matter?

Update: The Case Against Dark Matter – The Dutch theoretical physicist Erik Verlinde argues that dark matter does not exist.

Sexual Violence Might Reshape the Female Brain.

Historically, lab models of stress have focused solely on its effects on males.

So glad they did not ruin the elections, yet… wait, what?

How bots ruined everything: from Drake to diets (via piqd.de).

Whether you’re struggling to get gig tickets or being fat-shamed by an app – AI is calling the shots. Weren’t these algorithms supposed to be on our side, not making thing worse?.

History is Written by the Losers.