The Missing Link

End of Search, Hegseth's Flog of War

It would be a little ironic for one of the internet's first news curators to express concern about the trend of news stories getting summarized into bite-sized, easily readable encapsulations. But irony died months ago, so here goes. The way the web has worked for decades — you search, you get results, you click on a link — is being replaced by a new model. You ask, the machine answers. The information is often coming from the same sources that exist on the other side of the links you used to click on. But now you don't need to click. Thus, content publishers aren't getting the traffic they once did. Publishers actually love human news curators because they drive traffic to their sites. That's why a lot of journalists and editors send me links to their latest stories. But the machine curators don't need anyone to share links and they sure aren't passing them on to potential readers. "Large language models also train on copious materials in the public domain—but much of what is most useful to these models, particularly as users seek real-time information from chatbots, is news that exists behind a paywall. Publishers are creating the value, but AI companies are intercepting their audiences, subscription fees, and ad revenue." And it's not just news. It's non-fiction in general. "Book publishers, especially those of nonfiction and textbooks, also told me they anticipate a massive decrease in sales, as chatbots can both summarize their books and give detailed explanations of their contents." Alex Reisner in The Atlantic (Gift Article): The End of Publishing as We Know It.

+ "A group of authors has accused Microsoft of using nearly 200,000 pirated books to create an artificial intelligence model, the latest allegation in the long legal fight over copyrighted works between creative professionals and technology companies ... The authors requested a court order blocking Microsoft’s infringement and statutory damages of up to $150,000 for each work that Microsoft allegedly misused." (At this point, the judge will probably ask ChatGPT how to rule...)

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The Flog of War

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dropped a few bunker busters on the media today as he blamed outlets for questioning the outcome of the Iran strikes (the media didn't, a leaked Pentagon assessment did), but he never actually provided any evidence that the Iranian nuclear program (which was obviously damaged by endless bombing, US bunker busters, and the killing of hundreds of scientists working on the program) was obliterated. Pentagon chief: Iran strike was a 'historically successful attack.' Trump and Hegseth are trying to turn legitimate questions about the nuclear program we all hope was destroyed into attacks on the military. As Trump said, "They tried to demean the great work our B-2 pilots did." It's time to stop pretending anyone criticized the military. We love the fliers. We hate the liars.

+ NYT (Gift Article): Iran’s Khamenei Strikes Defiant Tone in First Public Comments Since U.S. Attack. "The United States joined the war because Israel would have been 'completely destroyed' if it did not, he said. 'But it did not gain anything, he said, adding that Iran 'gave America a severe slap.'" (Can you imagine living under the rule of a leader who lies so obviously and unashamedly?)

+ "In the summer of 2018, Iran was experiencing a drought. This is not an uncommon occurrence in the Middle East and would not have made international news if not for the response of a regime functionary, who blamed the weather on Israel. 'The changing climate in Iran is suspect,' Brigadier General Gholam Reza Jalali said at a press conference. 'Israel and another country in the region have joint teams which work to ensure clouds entering Iranian skies are unable to release rain.' He went on to accuse the Jewish state of 'cloud and snow theft.' This story seems like a silly bit of trivia until one realizes that Jalali was also the head of Iran’s Civil Defense Organization, tasked with combating sabotage. In other words, a key person in charge of thwarting Israeli spies in Iran was an incompetent conspiracy theorist obsessed with Jewish climate control." Yair Rosenberg in The Atlantic (Gift Article): What America Can Learn From Iran’s Failure.

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Another Criminal Off the Streets

"The mother brought her two children to the immigration court on May 29 expecting to continue to make a case for asylum after fleeing Honduras because of threats of violence. But like many other immigrants across the country, they were surprised to see their case quickly dismissed as ICE agents waited for them to step out of the courthouse into the hallway." ICE arrested a 6-year-old boy with leukemia at immigration court. "They were crying in fear. One of the agents at one point lifted up his shirt, which displayed the gun that he was carrying ... The 6-year-old boy was terrified to see the gun. He urinated on himself and wet all his clothing." (Feel safer?)

+ I covered this topic yesterday. Please read and share so people understand who exactly is being targeted in the name of supposedly keeping us safe from violent criminals. Shaka and Awe: Americans can all sleep a little easier tonight...

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The Van Stopped a Rockin'

"The Zoomer sex recession is puzzling in part because sex has seemingly never been less stigmatized or easier to procure. The electronic devices in our pockets contain not only a vast universe of free porn but also apps on which casual sex can be arranged as efficiently as a burrito delivery from DoorDash. Today, it is a mainstream view that desire isn’t shameful, that kinks can be healthy, that a man should make an effort to give a woman an orgasm, that people can do what they want in the bedroom as long as everyone involved is pleased. And yet, presented with a Vegas buffet of carnality, young people are losing their appetite. How should we understand this? And what, if anything, should we do?" Jia Tolentino in The New Yorker: Are Young People Having Enough Sex? (Back in my day, I was the only young person not having enough sex...)

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Extra, Extra

Planned Attack: "The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed South Carolina to bar Planned Parenthood's access to federal Medicaid funding for non-abortion services. The decision allows states to ban the organization from getting Medicaid reimbursements for cancer screenings and other care not related to abortion." (This could open the floodgates in states looking to defund women's healthcare.)

+ I'm King of the World: Trump demands end to Netanyahu’s graft trial: ‘US saved Israel, now it’s going to save Bibi.'" Now he's dropping bunker busters on the judicial systems of other countries? I fear the megalomania has crossed another threshold.

+ Trill Seekers: "Over the past decade, the world’s richest 1 percent have increased their wealth by at least $33.9 trillion, according to a new analysis from the global anti-poverty group Oxfam International. That amount is 'more than enough to eliminate annual poverty 22 times over.'" (And it's apparently not enough, because many of these beneficiaries are spending to elect leaders who will ensure they benefit even more.)

+ Sentiment Paralysis: "Every month, thousands of randomly selected Americans get a letter in the mail from the University of Michigan asking how they’re feeling. This year their answers have been pretty unambiguous: bad." Bloomberg (Gift Article): America’s Top Consumer-Sentiment Economist Is Worried. (What's interesting is that the market does not seem worried at all.)

+ Why Won't Humanity Take the Win? "Just over 50 years ago, the World Health Organization launched its Essential Programme on Immunization. Since then, vaccination rates have improved dramatically and researchers estimate that 4.4 billion people have been reached and 154 million childhood deaths have been avoided." So why the hell would we even hint at abandoning this health achievement? NPR: The good news (154 million deaths avoided) and bad news about childhood vaccines.

+ Fake News Gets Real: "The technology has amplified social and partisan divisions and bolstered antigovernment sentiment, especially on the far right, which has surged in recent elections in Germany, Poland and Portugal." NYT (Gift Article): A.I. Is Starting to Wear Down Democracy.

+ Shall We Play a Game? "It is unfair to say that he is likely to wake up one morning and decide to use nuclear weapons—he has spoken intermittently about his loathing of such weapons, and of war more generally—but he could very easily mismanage his way, again, into an escalatory spiral." The Atlantic (Gift Article): Humanity Is Playing Nuclear Roulette.

+ Fully Prepped: The only team with more 2025 NBA first-round draft picks than Cooper Flagg's Duke? Cooper Flagg's prep team.

+ Street Performer: "At the start of Act Two — around 9 p.m. on performance evenings — composer Andrew Lloyd Weber's music is piped outside the theater into London's narrow Argyll Street. Rachel Zegler, playing Perón, emerges on a balcony. From there, she belts out 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina,' the musical's signature song. The performance is livestreamed back into the theater for the audience." Want to see the performance? Just walk on by at the right time. Amazing. This summer's most talked-about performance on London's West End isn't onstage.

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Bottom of the News

"After decades of gym culture prioritizing biceps and six-packs, glutes are finally having their time in the spotlight." GQ: Why All the Guys at the Gym Are Maxing Out Their Glutes Right Now. (I should try this. I basically have no glutes. All my chaps are assless.)

+ Windows is getting rid of the Blue Screen of Death after 40 years. Now it's a black screen of death.

+ "Applebee’s and IHOP plan to launch an AI-powered 'personalization engine' that could help its restaurants provide recommendations and customized deals." (I've ordered nothing but the french toast for several decades. I wonder what the AI will recommend.)