Critical Digital Media
@digital.therourke.net
Articles, essays, papers, artworks and news stories on digital media, digital culture, and media arts - also mirrored at: criticaldigitalmedia.tumblr.com
by @therourke.net (also see @additivism.org)
by @therourke.net (also see @additivism.org)
'Artificial intelligence' myths have existed for centuries—from the ancient Greeks to a Pope's chatbot
'Artificial intelligence' myths have existed for centuries—from the ancient Greeks to a Pope's chatbot
It seems the AI hype has turned into an AI bubble. There have been many bubbles before, from the Tulip mania of the 17th century to the derivatives bubble of the 21st century. For many commentators, the...
phys.org
December 12, 2025 at 6:30 PM
'Artificial intelligence' myths have existed for centuries—from the ancient Greeks to a Pope's chatbot
The Disney-OpenAI Deal Redefines the AI Copyright War | WIRED
The Disney-OpenAI Deal Redefines the AI Copyright War
Disney is hedging against the future. OpenAI is clearing a path for Sora. And together they've made a blueprint for how AI and Hollywood can move forward.
www.wired.com
December 12, 2025 at 12:53 AM
The Disney-OpenAI Deal Redefines the AI Copyright War | WIRED
The metaverse is ushering in a new era of behind-the-scenes exploitation
The metaverse is ushering in a new era of behind-the-scenes exploitation
From content moderation to hardware supply chains, exploitation looms large.
theconversation.com
December 10, 2025 at 1:05 PM
The metaverse is ushering in a new era of behind-the-scenes exploitation
The Render Ender
The Render Ender
Al Warburton on how generative AI has disrupted the simulation of light.
open.substack.com
December 10, 2025 at 12:15 PM
The Render Ender
OpenAI Is in Trouble - The Atlantic
OpenAI Is in Trouble
The start-up is falling behind in the AI race.
www.theatlantic.com
December 10, 2025 at 11:15 AM
OpenAI Is in Trouble - The Atlantic
‘Don’t pander to the tech giants!’ How a youth movement for digital justice is spreading across Europe
‘Don’t pander to the tech giants!’ How a youth movement for digital justice is spreading across Europe
Gen Z are the first generation to have grown up with social media, they were the earliest adopters, and therefore the first to suffer its harms. Now they are fighting back
www.theguardian.com
December 9, 2025 at 3:40 PM
‘Don’t pander to the tech giants!’ How a youth movement for digital justice is spreading across Europe
The Next Giant Leap For AI Is Called World Models
The Next Giant Leap For AI Is Called World Models
World models represent the next frontier in AI, enabling machines to create immersive, interactive 3D environments with realistic physics and responsive inhabitants.
www.forbes.com
December 9, 2025 at 10:20 AM
The Next Giant Leap For AI Is Called World Models
Year in Review 2025: Hari Kunzru on AI slop and censorship
Slopocalypse Now
Hari Kunzru surveys the AI slop that dominates our feeds and likens the way it drowns out information to a new form of censorship.
www.artforum.com
December 8, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Year in Review 2025: Hari Kunzru on AI slop and censorship
AI Slop Is Spurring Record Requests for Imaginary Journals | Scientific American
AI Slop Is Spurring Record Requests for Imaginary Journals
The International Committee of the Red Cross warned that artificial intelligence models are making up research papers, journals and archives
www.scientificamerican.com
December 8, 2025 at 7:05 PM
AI Slop Is Spurring Record Requests for Imaginary Journals | Scientific American
ChatGPT’s Self-Serving Optimism - The Atlantic
ChatGPT’s Self-Serving Optimism
OpenAI’s new guidelines ask its chatbot to celebrate ‘innovation,’ contradicting its stated goal of objectivity—and raising questions about what objectivity even means.
www.theatlantic.com
December 8, 2025 at 3:15 PM
ChatGPT’s Self-Serving Optimism - The Atlantic
OpenAI Is Suddenly in Major Trouble
OpenAI Is Suddenly in Major Trouble
What was once a healthy lead over OpenAI's competition thanks to its blockbuster AI chatbot ChatGPT has turned into a razor-thin edge.
futurism.com
December 6, 2025 at 1:30 PM
OpenAI Is Suddenly in Major Trouble
Requiem For The Metaverse: On Meta's Missed Opportunity
Requiem For The Metaverse: On Meta's Missed Opportunity
Meta plans deep cuts to its metaverse and Reality Labs division in 2026 — how did it go from the next big thing to nothing?
www.forbes.com
December 5, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Requiem For The Metaverse: On Meta's Missed Opportunity
AI adds new layers of human work. What leaders should do - Fast Company
www.fastcompany.com
December 1, 2025 at 8:44 PM
AI adds new layers of human work. What leaders should do - Fast Company
The AI boom is based on a fundamental mistake | The Verge
Is language the same as intelligence? The AI industry desperately needs it to be
The AI boom is based on a fundamental mistake.
www.theverge.com
November 27, 2025 at 11:45 AM
The AI boom is based on a fundamental mistake | The Verge
That MAGA Account Might Be a Troll From Pakistan
Elon Musk’s Worthless, Poisoned Hall of Mirrors
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
www.theatlantic.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:30 PM
That MAGA Account Might Be a Troll From Pakistan
AI Slop Has Turned Social Media Into an Antisocial Wasteland - CNET
www.cnet.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:40 PM
AI Slop Has Turned Social Media Into an Antisocial Wasteland - CNET
Yann LeCun Has Been Right About AI for 40 Years. Now He Thinks Everyone Is Wrong. - WSJ
www.wsj.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Yann LeCun Has Been Right About AI for 40 Years. Now He Thinks Everyone Is Wrong. - WSJ
Tech Capitalists Don’t Care About Humans. Literally.
Tech Capitalists Don’t Care About Humans. Literally.
It’s not just a figure of speech to say tech titans are indifferent to humanity. From Peter Thiel to Elon Musk, many are adherents of a worldview that envisions humans being replaced by digital post-humans...
jacobin.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Tech Capitalists Don’t Care About Humans. Literally.
The digital age’s reversion to pre-literate communication - Big Think
The digital age’s reversion to pre-literate communication
Today's digital tools are pulling us away from fixed texts and back toward fluid, interactive communication.
bigthink.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:44 PM
The digital age’s reversion to pre-literate communication - Big Think
Meet Dr. ChatGPT - The New York Times
www.nytimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Meet Dr. ChatGPT - The New York Times
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is 'deeply uncomfortable' with tech leaders determining AI's future | Fortune
'I'm deeply uncomfortable': Anthropic CEO warns that a cadre of AI leaders, including himself, should not be in charge of the technology’s future | Fortune
Dario Amodei, who left OpenAI before founding Anthropic, has been outspoken about the need for greater AI regulation.
fortune.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is 'deeply uncomfortable' with tech leaders determining AI's future | Fortune
Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence? | The New Yorker
Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence?
Maybe not as we’ve known them. But, in the ruins of the old curriculum, something vital is stirring.
www.newyorker.com
November 16, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence? | The New Yorker
'With Grokipedia, AI will be trained using the world as Elon Musk describes, perceives and desires it'
'With Grokipedia, AI will be trained using the world as Elon Musk describes, perceives and desires it'
OP-ED. In an op-ed for Le Monde, Julien Malaurent, the deputy managing director of ESSEC Business School, warns of the consequences that could result from the launch of Grokipedia, Elon Musk's encyclopedia....
www.lemonde.fr
November 12, 2025 at 6:53 AM
'With Grokipedia, AI will be trained using the world as Elon Musk describes, perceives and desires it'
The United States is on the Cusp of a Digital Dark Age | TechPolicy.Press
The United States is on the Cusp of a Digital Dark Age | TechPolicy.Press
The first in a series of provocations, Dean Jackson and Sam Woolley write that the current assault on knowledge infrastructure is complex and multidirectional.
techpolicy.press
November 10, 2025 at 4:15 PM
The United States is on the Cusp of a Digital Dark Age | TechPolicy.Press
Spotify Gains Subscribers as App Offering Expands - WSJ
www.wsj.com
November 5, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Spotify Gains Subscribers as App Offering Expands - WSJ