Articles, essays, papers, artworks and news stories on digital media, digital culture, and media arts - also mirrored at: criticaldigitalmedia.tumblr.com by @therourke.net (also see @additivism.org)https://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.nethttps://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mvtiznu27o2tOpenAI and Microsoft knew they were starting a ‘doom loop’ for the web https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/997633/openai-microsoft-chatgpt-ai-new-york-times-doom-loop-theft-google-zero19 Sep 2026 01:15 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvtiznu27o2thttps://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mvp6yw72ie2nWhen Words Are No Longer for Us by Matthew Kirschenbaum - Project Syndicate https://www.project-syndicate.org/magazine/textpocalypse-language-for-machines-unmoored-from-human-experience-by-matthew-kirschenbaum-2026-09?fbclid=IwY2xjawUYeFFwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHl1Tq1a4bUdr_rbbltDBxX_N1aFjd5lMy5fYBnTH7psx5TRHIOPayEXc8RBt_aem_H7kN4Saga1b4DqsG_0NzkQ17 Sep 2026 08:05 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvp6yw72ie2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mvb3rsivvy2nOne of AI’s Fiercest Critics Says All the Doom Talk Is ‘Meant to Distract Us’ https://www.wired.com/story/one-of-ais-fiercest-critics-says-all-the-doom-talk-is-meant-to-distract-us/11 Sep 2026 17:30 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvb3rsivvy2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mv4qannl3l2qVanishing Culture: A Report on Our Fragile Cultural Record (2026) : Luca Messarra : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/vanishing-culture-2026/mode/2up09 Sep 2026 23:53 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mv4qannl3l2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3muzkf5gozn2lOpinion | The Truth About Brain Rot: It’s a Cry for Help - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/opinion/gen-z-tiktok-ig-reels.html?smtyp=cur&smid=bsky-nytimes08 Sep 2026 17:30 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3muzkf5gozn2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mur5lwh6zt26'Things Are Getting Even More Insane': Another Major AI Breakout Revealed | Common Dreams https://www.commondreams.org/news/openai-2677820966?share_id=9930573&utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=other05 Sep 2026 09:20 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mur5lwh6zt26https://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mul4y6u7r32gLatent Spaces: AI, Art, and the Archive* | October | MIT Press https://direct.mit.edu/octo/article/doi/10.1162/OCTO.a.545/137249/Latent-Spaces-AI-Art-and-the-Archive02 Sep 2026 23:53 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mul4y6u7r32ghttps://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3muhaic2nlw2cAnthropic and SpaceX are making their wildest promises ever for their IPOs. https://slate.com/technology/2026/09/artificial-intelligence-anthropic-spacex-ipo.html01 Sep 2026 10:45 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3muhaic2nlw2chttps://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mu2f7jxk5o2aDesigner Creates World's Most Hideous Hawaiian Shirt to Hide From AI Surveillance Cameras https://futurism.com/future-society/hideous-shirt-hide-artist-ai-surveillance-camera27 Aug 2026 08:05 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu2f7jxk5o2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mtywtly6x72uIn China, talking to AI is normal. Now the government fears it might replace human intimacy | China | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/26/china-ai-companion-relationships-marriage-birth-rate-concern?utm_source=whatsappchannel26 Aug 2026 18:15 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtywtly6x72uhttps://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mtv4vn5res2vThe inevitable weakness of metrics | MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/06/19/1138778/inevitable-weakness-metrics-quantified-life-book-review/?utm_campaign=site_visitor.unpaid.engagement&utm_source=bsky&utm_medium=tr_social25 Aug 2026 05:53 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtv4vn5res2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mtkbgzkqub26How Much of the Internet Is Written With AI? | Pew Research Center https://www.pewresearch.org/data-labs/2026/08/20/how-much-of-the-internet-is-written-with-ai/20 Aug 2026 22:15 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtkbgzkqub26https://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mtabpbh4dd26Maker compresses a 2.9MB song by 1000x and prints it on paper as eight QR codes — 21KB song is two minutes long, requires a neural network for playback | Tom's Hardware https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/maker-compresses-a-2-9mb-song-1000-times-with-metas-ai-codec-and-prints-it-on-paper-as-eight-qr-codes16 Aug 2026 22:53 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtabpbh4dd26https://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mt3yagizud26Why tech bosses keep sharing their manifestos about AI https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz97ljy91zxo15 Aug 2026 05:53 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt3yagizud26https://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mrufkvb6d326How AI is revealing the hidden intelligence of plants and fungi https://bigthink.com/science-tech/how-ai-is-revealing-the-hidden-intelligence-of-plants-and-fungi/30 Jul 2026 12:05 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrufkvb6d326https://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mrnsvnkkeh2pAndy Burnham and the rise of ‘aura farming’ in politics https://open.substack.com/pub/channel4news/p/andy-burnham-and-the-rise-of-aura?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=97eg927 Jul 2026 21:15 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrnsvnkkeh2phttps://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mqs2jrspcd2vGen Z is pushing back against AI – a reminder to all of us that the future isn’t written https://theconversation.com/gen-z-is-pushing-back-against-ai-a-reminder-to-all-of-us-that-the-future-isnt-written-28495516 Jul 2026 20:17 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqs2jrspcd2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mqnccv6oft2mThe Terminally Online Mourners Who Miss the Days When AI Made Mistakes https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-terminally-online-mourners-who-miss-the-days-when-ai-made-mistakes/14 Jul 2026 22:53 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqnccv6oft2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mqahbdssb32vBrown says AI make class dumb, teacher must help use better https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/07/09/brown-says-ai-make-class-dumb-teacher-must-help-use-better/526929109 Jul 2026 20:17 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqahbdssb32vhttps://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mqac2ymurh27Rise of the Gen-Z Luddite https://www.economist.com/united-states/2026/07/09/rise-of-the-gen-z-luddite09 Jul 2026 18:44 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqac2ymurh27https://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3moq26lwavd2bIf AI Is Sentient Then So Is ‘Age of Empires II’ https://www.404media.co/if-ai-is-sentient-then-so-is-age-of-empires-ii/20 Jun 2026 14:15 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3moq26lwavd2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mnxjqngna72zWhat Happens After A.I. Destroys College Writing? | The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/07/07/the-end-of-the-english-paper10 Jun 2026 20:17 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnxjqngna72zhttps://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mnxahc7nqh2mYour Search Results Are Getting Sloptimized - The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2026/06/google-search-ai-optimization/687495/?utm_source=feed10 Jun 2026 17:30 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnxahc7nqh2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mnavkdvfm722Trevor Paglen and Holly Herndon on Making Art with AI and What the Discourse Is Missing | Totei - The Art Is in the Making https://www.totei.com/story/trevor-paglen-holly-herndon-art-ai01 Jun 2026 20:17 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnavkdvfm722https://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mmtl3cqbdv2fOpinion | Writing Is Fundamental to How We Think - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/27/opinion/writing-creativity-ai.html27 May 2026 13:05 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmtl3cqbdv2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mmec557wiq2eAI Resist List https://airesistlist.org/21 May 2026 11:15 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmec557wiq2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mmcefazoim2jThe Matthew effect in AI summary - LSE Impact https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2026/05/19/the-matthew-effect-in-ai-summary/20 May 2026 16:50 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmcefazoim2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mm5fpa74342pWe May Be Entering A Second Axial Age | NOEMA https://www.noemamag.com/we-may-be-entering-a-second-axial-age/18 May 2026 17:30 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mm5fpa74342phttps://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mm5dhdoxpm2eAI ‘deadbots’ can fuel pathological grief and affect how we deal with death https://theconversation.com/ai-deadbots-can-fuel-pathological-grief-and-affect-how-we-deal-with-death-28068318 May 2026 16:50 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mm5dhdoxpm2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/digital.therourke.net/post/3mm5cdviblk2pStudy Explores AI-Written Admissions Essays https://www.insidehighered.com/news/admissions/traditional-age/2026/05/08/study-explores-ai-written-admissions-essays18 May 2026 16:30 +0000at://did:plc:ntahn6exhz25xp5gmdab6f6q/app.bsky.feed.post/3mm5cdviblk2p