Technology

Computing, software, the internet

Building an AI Data Center in Pine Island, Minnesota

“A tech company worth trillions is fighting, hard, to transform Pine Island, a town whose Wikipedia page claims just two notable people: Ralph Samuelson, the inventor of waterskiing, and Lucas Helder, a.k.a. the Midwest Pipe Bomber.”

Thomas John Weber·May 21, 2026

Longreads

I’m a Normie. Can Normies Really Vibe Code?

"Apparently anyone can vibe code anything these days. So Claude and I tried to make a database for tracking the petty grievances of the masses."

Krista Stevens·May 20, 2026

The Conversation

Accentism for profit? What Telus is getting wrong about accents

An AI accent manipulation tool may be “cool” technology, but it is arguably also a form of discrimination against workers whose voices are being altered.

Amanda Cardoso, Lecturer, Department of Linguistics, University of British Columbia·May 20, 2026

The Conversation

New ‘AI scientists’ are improving – but reveal their fundamental limits

More ‘natural’ collaboration between scientists and computers won’t necessarily be more effective.

Karin Verspoor, Dean, School of Computing Technologies, RMIT University, RMIT University·May 20, 2026

The Conversation

AI interviewers can’t connect with people the way human researchers can – they can produce only data, not meaning

Anthropic developed an AI interviewer it claims can help social scientists conduct research at scale. But AI models lack the human qualities that make qualitative research unique.

Priya C. Kumar, Assistant Professor of Information Sciences and Technology, Penn State·May 19, 2026

The Conversation

Uncovering coded antisemitism online takes both human expertise and AI automation

Tracking hate speech online is challenging even when terms are explicit. Coded speech is harder to detect – but pairing AI tools with human research teams can help.

Nathalie Japkowicz, Professor of Computer Science, American University·May 18, 2026

The Conversation

Brain implants allow us to move and talk. But they could also be hacked

Paralysed people are already using brain-computer interfaces to turn their thoughts into text. But there are risks to this technology.

David Tuffley, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Applied Ethics and CyberSecurity, Griffith University·May 18, 2026

The Conversation

Businesses need more than generic chatbots to benefit from AI. Will this budget help?

This federal budget recognises AI can’t transform Australia’s economy if we don’t have the local tech, tools and expertise to implement it.

Ida Someh, Associate Professor of Business Information Systems, The University of Queensland; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)·May 18, 2026

The Conversation

Your say: week beginning May 18

From fighting our programming to be distinctly human, to treating a frozen shoulder: an edited selection of your views.

Judy Ingham, Newsletter Producer, The Conversation·May 17, 2026

Longreads

The Clippening

"'Clippers' cut up podcasts, videos, and events into infinite shorter versions. How long can they ride the algorithms?"

Cheri Lucas Rowlands·May 12, 2026

Longreads

ChatGPT Gave Me Chilling Advice—as I Simulated Planning a Mass Shooting

An investigation into how easily AI chatbots can be coaxed past their guardrails.

Brendan Fitzgerald·May 12, 2026·25 min read

Paul Graham

What to Do

Help people, take care of the world, and make good new things — in roughly that priority.

Paul Graham·Aug 1, 2025·9 min read

Guernica

Notes on Going Viral

On attention, exhaustion, and trying to stay yourself while the algorithm eats.

Isaac James Richards·May 15, 2026·13 min read

Paul Graham

The Brand Age

How the economy reorganized around brand instead of product, and where that leaves the people doing the work.

Paul Graham·Dec 1, 2025·11 min read

Paul Graham

Good Writing

What makes writing good is, more than anything, that it's right.

Paul Graham·Oct 1, 2025·7 min read

Paul Graham

How to write usefully

Useful writing tells readers things they didn't know and reliably won't mislead them. Two requirements, four constraints.

Paul Graham·Feb 1, 2020·8 min read

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