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Why Tech Bros Overestimate AI's Creative Abilities

Why Tech Bros Overestimate AI's Creative Abilities

Silicon Valley's overconfidence in the imminent arrival of Artificial General Intelligence stems from a combination of limited understanding of the humanities, an insular culture, and a business model that incentivizes exaggerated claims about AI's capabilities.

Aaron Ross Powell
Selling Out vs. Just Selling: The Weirdness of "Content" Monetization

Selling Out vs. Just Selling: The Weirdness of "Content" Monetization

The rise of the personal brand has led to a focus on selling oneself rather than one's creations.

Aaron Ross Powell
The Politics of "Unbiased" Conservative Search Engines

The Politics of "Unbiased" Conservative Search Engines

It's impossible to build a search engine that isn't biased and doesn't manipulate results. But it is possible to convince conservatives you can.

Aaron Ross Powell
The Limits of AI Learning: Why Drilling Down Can Lead You Astray

The Limits of AI Learning: Why Drilling Down Can Lead You Astray

The more you ask follow-up questions, the worse the answers get.

Aaron Ross Powell
Twitter and the Confusion of Medium and Message

Twitter and the Confusion of Medium and Message

Journalists‘ attachment to Twitter stems from a conflation of the platform with the act of journalism itself.

Aaron Ross Powell
Why, Despite the Numbers, Bluesky Feels Bigger than Threads

Why, Despite the Numbers, Bluesky Feels Bigger than Threads

Threads has significantly more active users than Bluesky, but feels a lot smaller. Why?

Aaron Ross Powell
Echo Chambers and the Ethics of Blocking

Echo Chambers and the Ethics of Blocking

Is it wrong to have a social media feed primarily of people you agree with?

Aaron Ross Powell
How to Use Substack's Recommendation Network With a Non-Substack Newsletter

How to Use Substack's Recommendation Network With a Non-Substack Newsletter

A simple method using automatic email forwards and Zapier.

Aaron Ross Powell
The Staggering Promise of AI Tutors

The Staggering Promise of AI Tutors

Chatbots can help students understand concepts when their teachers can't.

Aaron Ross Powell
Twitter/X as a Bubble for Bad Ethics

Twitter/X as a Bubble for Bad Ethics

X is no longer representative of the national discourse. But many of our journalists and thought leaders believe it is—and that's bad for them, and for our national character.

Aaron Ross Powell
Substack Doesn't Want You to Leave

Substack Doesn't Want You to Leave

Substack is in trouble, and their recent feature releases are evidence of that.

Aaron Ross Powell
How Social Media Tricks our Brains — and Destroys our Politics

How Social Media Tricks our Brains — and Destroys our Politics

Social media convinces us our small communities are representative of the whole and tells us we’re more right than we really are.

Aaron Ross Powell