AI as Normal Technology
Discworld Rules
And LOTR is brain-rot for technologists
Hyperstition - 0rphan Drift Archive
by Delphi Carstens. Hyperstition is a neologism that combines the words 'hyper' and 'superstition' to describe the action of successful ideas in the arena of culture. Akin to neo-Darwinist Richard Dawkins' concept of memes, hyperstitions work at the deeper evolutionary level of social organisation in that they influence the course taken by cultural evolution. Unlike memes, however, hyperstitions describe a specific category of ideas. Coined by renegade academics, the Cybernetic Culture Research Unit (CCRU), hyperstition describes both the effects and the mechanisms of apocalyptic postmodern 'phase out' or 'meltdown' culture.
The Magnificent Bribe — Real Life
Half a century ago, Lewis Mumford developed a concept that explains why we trade autonomy for convenience
💡 The foundations of AI
ChatGPT, Claude and other language models have dominated the mainstream discussions and use. However the future of AI lies in models outside of language.
We're sorry we created the Torment Nexus - Charlie's Diary
Fire and Motion
Programming Note: Summer Lightning will be on a break till the new year. Thanks to everyone who has supported my writing in the last year. This is the 57th and last edition of the newsletter for 2023. I will pause paid subscriptions, which will resume in January 2024. You can find the archive of posts
The religion of techno-optimism
Tech billionaires are using faith to solidify their power