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Artificial Intelligence

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Artificial Intelligence

Rapid advancements in AI today have the potential to change everything about everything. But will they? We’re exploring what will change, how, and whether we’re building digital gods or stochastic parrots.
Featured
Two men sit at a bar counter having a conversation; bottles of wine and glasses are visible in the background.
AI
Jony Ive has found his new Steve Jobs
Jony Ive and Sam Altman join forces as OpenAI acquires io, Ive’s secretive AI hardware startup, for $6.5 billion.
A crowd of people in formal attire socialize at an indoor event with a large "Substack" sign illuminated on the wall above.
History
Why Substack will be the intellectual engine of the 21st century
The 21st-century version of the Royal Society could be the Substack network that we are just starting to build out today.
AI
Vibe coding is rewriting the rules of technology
Rather than meticulously crafting each line of code, developers can now “vibe” with AI tools using natural language.
A tool, a rival, or a collaborator?
Read More
A solid bright yellow-green color fills the entire image.
More
The race to AGI
Cheap AI is causing a power shift in the world’s militaries
The militaries that leverage the low-cost capabilities of AI the most will have a decisive advantage in the future.
A single black pill with a glowing red horizontal light across its center, set against a dark background, evokes an AI-panic atmosphere.
AI
Media has a blind spot when covering the AI panic
When news outlets quote warnings of an impending AI catastrophe, they rarely mention the two main movements behind this narrative.
A chart titled "Our New Enlightenment Civilizational Timeline" shows green steps marking progress from 1980 to 2100, highlighting key phases of enlightenment and development across the years.
The Great Progression
How AI could usher in The New Enlightenment
AI could trigger a civilization-scale change for humanity the same way the steam engine helped usher in The Enlightenment 250 years ago.
A graphic with the title "The New Potential For Abundance" shows icons for education, wind energy, and healthcare, labeled "Abundant Education," "Abundant Energy," and "Abundant Healthcare.
The Great Progression
The missing tech case for how we create an era of abundance
AI and other new technologies could make things that are costly and scarce today, cheap and abundant for all tomorrow.
A timeline titled "The 80 Year Cycle of American Reinvention" shows portraits of Washington, Lincoln, FDR, and a silhouette with a question mark, marking years 1785, 1865, 1945, and 2025.
The Great Progression
Why America reinvents itself every 80 years — and is doing so again
Three separate theories help explain why America enters a period of great progress every 80 years — and why another is coming soon.
A person in a blue suit speaks at a podium during an event, with a large display screen in the background featuring Chinese text.
The race to AGI
How DeepSeek rewrote the rules of the AI race
Chinese startup DeepSeek has proven that vast quantities of capital and cutting-edge chips aren’t prerequisites for world-class AI.
A man with a gray beard and wearing a light blue shirt sits with his hands clasped, in a room with shelves and artwork in the background.
The Great Progression
Kevin Kelly points a new way forward into the Age of AI
One of the most original and optimistic thinkers in America helps build out some big through lines on what’s possible with AI in the next 25 years.
A person strolls past a large mural showcasing an animated character reminiscent of a Studio Ghibli creation, with red hair and a pink dress against a blue background.
AI
The artifact isn’t the art: Rethinking creativity in the age of AI
ChatGPT’s Studio Ghibli imitations invite questions about the creative value of people and what we really mean when we talk about creativity.
Circular abstract pattern with intricate, intertwined blue and white swirling lines forming a radiant, symmetrical design against a dark background.
Drugs
The next era of psychedelics may be precision-designed states of consciousness
A look inside Mindstate Design Labs’ effort to design drugs that reliably produce specific states of consciousness.
The image of a person filled with red binary code is shown peeking through partially opened black and white blinds
AI
How technology has transformed private espionage
Combining AI and a deluge of open data has enabled some intelligence vendors to surpass the capabilities of government agencies.
A swirling, cone-shaped graphic with the repeated text "The Scaling Era" in various orientations against a blue background.
AI
Will LLMs lead to an artificial general intelligence?
An exclusive excerpt from AI podcaster Dwarkesh Patel’s first book, The Scaling Era: An Oral History of AI 2019-2025.
Peter Leyden, wearing a blue suit and glasses, speaks and gestures on a stage about the Great Progression to a large audience clad in white.
The Great Progression
A dozen reasons to read Peter Leyden at this critical juncture in history
To truly understand our historic moment, you need a comprehensive, big-picture, long-term perspective that deeply understands artificial intelligence and the next wave of transformative technologies.
A vibrant yellow background showcases bold, black geometric text that exclaims "The Great Progression 2025-2050" across a dynamic halftone circle.
The Great Progression
What is The Great Progression: 2025 to 2050?
We have a historic opportunity to harness AI and other transformative technologies in order to make a much better world in the next 25 years.
A side view of a humanoid robot with a sleek, rounded head and segmented body.
AI
Humanoid helpers are now entering our homes
Robotics startup 1X Technologies is now sending its humanoid robots into homes to help people with chores and provide companionship.
a sleek Cover unit with a patio and flowers in the foreground
Construction
Fire-resilient prefabs are helping LA build back better
Victims of LA’s wildfires are opting for tech company Cover’s prefab homes over traditional new builds. Here’s why.
Sequences of DNA base pairs are displayed in black text on alternating green and blue horizontal backgrounds, showcasing the innovation of generative biology.
Biology
Arc Institute’s new AI can read and write the code of life
Training on the DNA of nearly 130,000 species taught Evo 2 how to generate DNA sequences the same way other AIs do text or images.
A pixelated illustration of a laptop on a blue and green gradient background. The screen and keyboard are shown in a grid-like pattern.
AI
All PCs will be AI PCs “pretty soon,” says Intel exec 
Manufacturers are now equipping their PCs with the hardware needed to run the latest AI applications locally. Here’s what that means for you.
Digital art depicting a balanced scale, composed of small white dots on a black background.
AI
How AI is reshaping the legal profession
AI-powered tools may already be giving some lawyers the upper hand in court.
A student writes in a notebook as a blue silhouette with circuit patterns looms in the background, symbolizing an AI tutor gently guiding their learning.
Education
Sal Khan wants to give every student on Earth a personal AI tutor
Khan Academy’s new AI tutor, Khanmigo, has the potential to revolutionize education for students and teachers alike.
Three scientists at a round table, one using a microscope, another holding a beaker, and the third writing in a notebook. Various scientific equipment and books are on the table.
AI
Inside the “Virtual Lab” where AIs and humans collaborate
A “Virtual Lab” populated by AI scientists could overcome one of the biggest challenges in interdisciplinary research.
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