What I'm Reading - 8/25/24
Celebrating everything that makes us tick
As some of you know, over the last year or two, I’ve started to get into what some might call “woo-woo” stuff like tarot, crystals, and astrology. I’ve found it incredibly helpful to work through what I want, set intentions, and manifest some shit. Readers who have been around for a while might also remember that a few years ago, I did a photoshoot for myself and talked about it in my piece about Reclaiming the Fairytale.
Of course, I’m also still very much into politics, elections, and technology.
I combined ALL of these this week in a new podcast interview with Suzy Dean Lyons and Rachel Reh. I met Suzy through Meadows Crystals, and she’s getting me more into essential oils. We were chatting on Instagram DM, and she graciously invited me to her podcast to discuss spirituality and politics. She also used this photo that Kate Andreya took, which I love, but I hadn’t found the right place to use it yet.
If you listen, let me know what you think! It is the last weekend of Summer for me on the shore, and the weather is beautiful. I hope you have a great Sunday.
What I’m Reading
AI Developments
Personhood credentials: Artificial intelligence and the value of privacy-preserving tools to distinguish who is real online
Real or Not quiz: The growing quality in AI images makes them harder to spot. Can you tell if this image is real or AI generated?
FedScoop: OpenAI reveals first federal agency customer for ChatGPT Enterprise
Stories About Specific Countries
The Economist: Mark Zuckerberg and Daniel Ek on why Europe should embrace open-source AI
The Wall Street Journal: How Russian Trolls Are Trying to Go Viral on X
Oversight Board: Board Takes New Expedited Cases on Post-Election Violence in Venezuela
The Washington Post: X closes operations in Brazil, blames judge’s ‘censorship’ orders
CNN: Indonesia: Protests as parliament delays change to election law
Meta: Mark Zuckerberg and Daniel Ek on Why Europe Should Embrace Open-Source AI
Political & Social Commentary
- : Kamala Harris is not going back to the failed politics of 2016
The New York Times: The Year of the A.I. Election That Wasn’t
The New York Times: How ‘Deepfake Elon Musk’ Became the Internet’s Biggest Scammer
The Atlantic: The MAGA Aesthetic Is AI Slop
BBC: The unstoppable rise of Chubby: Why TikTok's AI-generated cat could be the future of the internet
Pew Research Report: About half of TikTok users under 30 say they use it to keep up with politics, news
Freedom House: Election Watch for the Digital Age
Reuters: At DNC, influencers battle journalists for space and access
The Verge: With the DNC, Democrats finally understand that content is king
New York Times: A JD Vance Remix Goes Viral on TikTok, as Political Memes Change Shape
Campaigns & Elections: Vendors Seize On DNC As Marketing Opportunity For New Products
- : The DNC returns with a blast
Platformer: How influence campaigns stopped working
Patreon: The West Wing Weekly has a new podcast this Fall covering favorite political films
Codebook by Kristen Soltis Anderson: Dwight Schrute, swing voter?
The Washington Post: Far-right influencers turn against Trump campaign
WIRED: Kamala Harris’ Campaign Is Launching a Twitch Channel
WIRED: This Political Startup Wants to Help Progressives Win … With AI-Generated Ads
The New Yorker: Social-Media Apps at a Barbecue
POLITICO: Google agrees to America’s first newsroom funding deal. It’s already unpopular.
WIRED: It’s a ‘Hotties for Harris’ World and We’re Just Living in It
The Verge: No one’s ready for this
Bloomberg: Harris Had More Donors in 11 Days Than Biden Did Over Entire Run
Legal & Regulatory
The Center for Internet and Society: Regulating platform risk and design: ChatGPT says the quiet part out loud
Miscellaneous Insights & Reports
Campaign Trend: 9 Tips To Ensure Your Campaign Reaches Gmail Users
Company Announcements
HumaneIntelligence: Nationwide Red-Teaming Exercise Announcement
Georgetown Law: Election Hub | Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection
National Conference on Citizenship: NCoC is Searching for a Full-Time Grants Manager
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