Perhaps it’s not the Terminator
we should worry about. (“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our
stars, But in ourselves”)
https://www.derekthompson.org/p/why-the-whole-world-stopped-having
The
Global Fertility Crisis Is Worse Than You Probably Think
Why
has the number of births declined everywhere, all at once?
This
was the subject of last week’s Plain
English episode and a
new blockbuster report from
the Financial Times’s
John Burn-Murdoch. In fact it feels like just about everybody has
been taking a crack at this question recently.
Some
blame it on technology. One week ago, my feed was flooded with a
viral video of Connor Leahy, an AI researcher, speaking about the
sterilizing effects of modern technology. Among his friends, “no
one’s having kids,” said Leahy, who was 30 at the time. “Do
you know how hard you need to abuse a mammal to make them not have
children?” If you asked Leahy what the explanation was, “my
answer is technology,” he said. “My answer is social media. My
answer is AI.”
There is hope…
(What if judges banned lawyers for a year if they did the same?)
https://thenextweb.com/news/arxiv-ai-slop-ban-researchers-preprint
ArXiv
will ban researchers for a year if they submit papers they did not
bother to read
ArXiv
will ban researchers for one year if they submit papers with obvious
signs of unchecked AI generation, such as hallucinated references or
leftover chatbot instructions. The policy, announced by computer
science section chair Thomas Dietterich, is the first formal penalty
by a major preprint platform for AI-generated slop.
Do tariffs
apply?
https://www.ynetnews.com/tech-and-digital/article/by62suvkzg#google_vignette
Trump’s
gold-plated T1 smartphone finally ships, and sparks immediate
backlash
After
nearly a year of delays, silence and revised terms, Trump Mobile has
begun shipping its T1 phones, but analysts say the gold-colored
device is little more than
a cheap Chinese smartphone rebranded for MAGA consumers
Benefit or
obligation?
https://www.reuters.com/business/openai-seals-deal-malta-give-all-maltese-access-chatgpt-plus-2026-05-16/
OpenAI
seals deal in Malta to give all Maltese access to ChatGPT Plus
U.S.
artificial intelligence company OpenAI said on Saturday it had signed
a deal with the government of Malta to give all residents access
to its ChatGPT Plus service for one year after they follow a course
on how to use AI.
The
programme will start in May and is expected to scale up as more
Maltese residents complete the course, which will be free.
It will
also be open to Maltese citizens living abroad.
"We
are turning an unfamiliar concept into practical assistance for our
families, students, and workers," Maltese Economy Minister
Silvio Schembri was quoted as saying in an OpenAI statement.