The Atlantic

@theatlantic.bsky.social

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Exploring the American idea through ambitious, essential reporting and storytelling. Of no party or clique since 1857. http://theatlantic.com

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wrote about open ai and manifest destiny www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

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For @theatlantic.bsky.social, I looked back on the rebooted Planet of the Apes films, in part because I enjoy them immensely (Team Maurice 4 Life)... www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

Hollywood’s Most Pessimistic Blockbuster Franchisewww.theatlantic.com The "Planet of the Apes" movies keep evolving—for the better.

If you’re looking to understand the philosophy that underpins Silicon Valley’s latest gold rush, look no further than OpenAI’s Scarlett Johansson debacle, @cwarzel.bsky.social writes. theatln.tc/CfrgroST

President Joe Biden has signed the so-called TikTok ban, initiating "what is likely to be a rushed, chaotic, technologically and logistically complex legal process that is likely to please almost no one," @cwarzel.bsky.social writes. theatln.tc/kseo9NvF

Before Facebook, there was BlackPlanet—a website that may well have laid the foundation for the social web, Hannah Giorgis writes. Revisiting it can help us envision a different future for the internet:

Before Facebook, There Was BlackPlanettheatln.tc An alternative history of the social web

Why does it feel like consumer tech is only getting worse with each passing day? Charlie Warzel on the era of user hostility:

Welcome to the Golden Age of User Hostilitytheatln.tc They don’t make ’em like they used to!

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Last month Roku TVs held a bunch of people hostage, disabling TVs unless they accepted a ToS agreement. I wrote about how we are in a golden age of user hostile consumer products and the pervasive sense that the quality of the things we buy is decaying (GIFT LINK) www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

Welcome to the Golden Age of User Hostilitywww.theatlantic.com They don’t make ’em like they used to!

As mocktails and zero-proof beers become mainstream, they’re forcing a reckoning over what makes a drink “adult” if not the alcohol, Haley Weiss reports:

The Sober-Curious Movement Has Reached an Impassetheatln.tc No one can decide on the drinking age for “adult” drinks that don’t contain alcohol.

"Baltimore Harbor is one of the city’s most important links to the rest of the world; to cut it off is to clog our blood supply." Rachel Gutman-Wei on the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge:

Baltimore Lost More Than a Bridgewww.theatlantic.com Looking out from the harbor used to be an exercise in optimism.

Better browsers made things worse, Ian Bogost argues.

Social Media Is Not What Killed the Webwww.theatlantic.com Better browsers made things worse.

Against all odds, the government has created an actually good piece of technology, Saahil Desai writes.

The IRS Finally Has an Answer to TurboTaxtheatln.tc Against all odds, the government has created an actually good piece of technology.

Is flying less safe, @cwarzel.bsky.social asks, or are we just paying closer attention?

Flying Is Weird Right Nowtheatln.tc Is flying less safe? Or are we just paying closer attention?

A court finally took notice of my reporting—but for all the wrong reasons, Radley Balko writes.

I’m Begging the Courts to Stop Citing My Worktheatln.tc A court finally took notice of my reporting—but for all the wrong reasons.

Ban or no ban, TikTok's best days are behind it, Kate Lindsay argues.

It’s Just an Appwww.theatlantic.com America won't miss TikTok.

Wild speculation about Kate Middleton’s health is turning everyone into a conspiracy theorist, @cwarzel.bsky.social writes.

Just Asking Questions About Kate Middletontheatln.tc Wild speculation about her health is turning everyone into a conspiracy theorist.

Matteo Wong went to a rave with Bryan Johnson, the 46-year-old millionaire who claims to have the body of a teenager. Johnson has a plan to become immortal—and for you to join him.

I Went to a Rave With the 46-Year-Old Millionaire Who Claims to Have the Body of a Teenagertheatln.tc Bryan Johnson wants to build a nation of immortals. Would you join?

Apple Vision Pro tries to reconcile life outside the computer and life within it. Ian Bogost wonders if that might be impossible.

The Apple Vision Pro Is Spectacular and Sadtheatln.tc A dispatch from the gypsum dunes of cyberspace

No one can truly say why Stanley cups are so popular—but the phenomenon is a case study in how the trend-story sausage gets made, @amandamull.bsky.social writes. theatln.tc/RcdWDSb6

"Trump enablers sound very different from Trump toadies, who lavish him with absurd praises and seek to mirror his vulgarity and bombast. But whether they realize it or not, they are part of the same project," @adamserwer.bsky.social writes:

The Unwitting Trump Enablerstheatln.tc They sound very different from the former president’s toadies, who lavish him with absurd praises. But they are part of the same project.

OpenAI's chief scientist made a tragic miscalculation when he tried to overthrow Sam Altman, Ross Andersen writes. Here's why he may have done it:

OpenAI’s Chief Scientist Made a Tragic Miscalculationtheatln.tc What was Ilya Sutskever thinking when he tried to overthrow Sam Altman?

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For years, two ideological extremes within OpenAI coexisted. Then came ChatGPT. Karen Hao and @cwarzel.bsky.social spoke with former and current OpenAI staffers about the chaos triggered by ChatGPT’s rapid launch—which culminated in Sam Altman’s ouster.

Inside the Chaos at OpenAItheatln.tc Sam Altman’s weekend of shock and drama began a year ago, with the release of ChatGPT.

ChatGPT is one of the most successful tech products of all time. It also broke OpenAI in half. After 10 interviews with current and former OpenAI staffers, Karen Hao and @cwarzel.bsky.social reveal how the chatbot led to Sam Altman's weekend of chaos.

Inside the Chaos at OpenAItheatln.tc Sam Altman’s weekend of shock and drama began a year ago, with the release of ChatGPT.

“The important question isn’t whether or not Trumpism is a cult,” @petersagal.bsky.social writes. “It’s whether the study of cults provides us with any path out of here.”

Death Will Come for the Cult of MAGAwww.theatlantic.com The next generation isn’t buying it.

You're using “boundaries” all wrong, Olga Khazan writes. Here's how the concept became so misunderstood.

The Most Misunderstood Concept in Psychologywww.theatlantic.com What are boundaries?

“Left with few options, Musk has decided to mortgage the Twitter brand to save his own,” Charlie Warzel writes. “Even by his standards, it’s a risky bet.”

Why Elon Killed the Birdtheatln.tc Three theories about Twitter’s seemingly nonsensical rebrand to X

Desalination requires tons of energy. One company is testing a hack to make it greener, Becki Robins reports.

It’s Weirdly Hard to Make Seawater Drinkabletheatln.tc Desalination requires tons of energy. One company is testing a hack to make it greener.

A baffling argument from Justice Clarence Thomas exposed the limits of originalism, @adamserwer.bsky.social writes:

How Could ‘Freedmen’ Be a Race-Neutral Term?www.theatlantic.com A baffling argument from Justice Clarence Thomas exposed the limits of originalism.

Meta wants Twitter users like you to use its new app, Threads, instead. But social media can’t improve; it can only live and die over and over, like a zombie, write @ibogost.bsky.social and @cwarzel.bsky.social:

Zombie Twitter Has Arrivedtheatln.tc Instagram's Threads proves that social media is fated to repeat a cycle of life and death.

Lara Logan was once a star foreign correspondent for “60 Minutes.” Now she trades in conspiracy theories that even far-right media disavow. What happened? Elaina Plott Calabro reports:

A Star Reporter’s Break With Realitywww.theatlantic.com Lara Logan was once a respected "60 Minutes" correspondent. Now she trades in conspiracy theories that even far-right media disavow. What happened?

Online communities dedicated to criticizing cars and the people who love them have developed an insult that … kind of makes sense, Kaitlyn Tiffany writes.

Everyone Has ‘Car Brain’www.theatlantic.com Online communities dedicated to criticizing cars and the people who love them have developed an insult that … kind of makes sense.