tech

Anonymous Instagrams Are Unionizing Staffs From Capitol Hill to Hollywood

An Instagram photo shows blue squares framing emojis of monuments and people. The caption reads "not wordle, just my senior staff team," referring to Capitol Hill's overwhelmingly white staffers.
by Sophie Hayssen
April 4, 2022 at 12:12pm
Like feminist consciousness-raising groups in the ’60s, anonymous Instagram accounts provide platforms for workers to share grievances and build momentum for unionization efforts.
Digital drawing with a lilac background. A woman with long black hair stands on a purple road that extends into the horizon. Floating around her are snapshots of memories, including someone in a hospital, hanging out with friends, and a sunset.

Refreshing Our Memory: How Algorithms Are Warping the Power of Recall

by Jenna Mahale
April 1, 2022 at 12:49pm
Jenna Mahale discusses how algorithmic memory features rewrite how we remember our past, shaping our memories for us.  Read more »
Headshot of Vauhini Vara, an Indian woman with long, black hair. She smiles at the camera in front of a blue background.

Immortal Machine: Vauhini Vara Processes Death Through A.I.

by Jenna Mahale
April 1, 2022 at 10:25am
Jenna Mahale interviews writer Vauhini Vara about her work with GPT-3, an A.I. writing program that she collaborated with on a recent essay about her loss of her sister. Read more »
photoillustration of a group of hands reaching out toward a laptop

Very Online: How Gullibility Became Our New Normal

by Jenna Mahale
March 11, 2022 at 11:33am
Distrust in the authority of traditional sources has led to the credulous embrace of online bunk. Read more »
Photo-illustration: Three figures looking at phones against bright static background

Very Online: The Terrifying Scale of the Online Gossip Economy

by Jenna Mahale
December 17, 2021 at 11:21am
Our human instinct to discuss—and judge—others is increasingly warped by social platforms. Read more »
an illustration of a child laying in front of a computer with a red light overlaying their body

Who’s Spying On Your Kids? Everyone.

by Heidi Boghosian
July 19, 2021 at 1:18pm
 TikTok, just like McDonald’s, is a flagrant collector of kids’ data. Read more »
an illustration shows a woman climbing up a digital ladder with another woman looking up at her

No Way Up: Kathy Wang’s “Impostor Syndrome” Is a Tech World Satire

by Adwoa Afful
May 27, 2021 at 2:40pm
The book externalizes the ethical issues confronting tech. Read more »
a brown woman sits in a chair, feet in sneakers propped up

Our Internet, Ourselves: 7 Extremely Online Books for the Twitter-Weary

by Jenna Mahale
April 28, 2021 at 10:32am
These seven books explain our dysfunctional relationship with the internet. Read more »
Cara Delevingne arrives at a fashion show. She is white with long blond hair in a high ponytail. She wears black and heavy eyeliner.

Celeb Buzz: Sex Toy Brands Are Increasingly Bringing on Famous Faces

by Gabrielle Kassel
December 22, 2020 at 11:39am
Sexual shame can’t be stopped by the power of a pretty, popular, and palatable celebrity. Read more »
Tranae Moran, a thin Black person with a faded hair cut, is captured in a facial surveillance camera that includes personal information

Undetectable: “Coded Bias” Challenges the Racism of Facial-Recognition Software

by Bedatri D. Choudhury
November 24, 2020 at 10:00am
Artificial intelligence is a danger to our civil rights when it replicates historical qualities of any real-life bias. Read more »
A close-up of a woman in a lace top, her face obscured.

“The Hierarchies” Imagines a World Where Sex Robots Have Human Impulses

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
August 24, 2020 at 10:01am
It’s a shocking and eye-opening debut, one that has me looking at my coffee maker a little differently. Read more »

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