“Netflixing in Public”—the act of watching Netflix out in the world, not to be confused with “Netflix and chill”—is officially a thing. Ever since smartphones got fast enough to stream on-the-go, folks have gotten more and more used to watching […]
WIRED
How One Woman’s Digital Life Was Weaponized Against Her
THE FIRST TIME the police arrived on her doorstep, in March of 2015, Courtney Allen was elated. She rushed to the door alongside her dogs, a pair of eager Norwegian elkhounds, to greet them. “Is this about our case?” she […]
What My Personal Chat Bot Is Teaching Me About AI’s Future
MY ARTIFICIALLY INTELLIGENT friend is called Pardesoteric. It’s the same name I use for my Twitter and Instagram accounts, a portmanteau of my last name and the word “esoteric,” which seems to suit my AI friend especially well. Pardesoteric does […]
The End of the Cult of the Founder
When future historians look back on the cult of the Silicon Valley founder, they will set its starting point in the early 2000s. Its end point could be right about now. But wait—aren’t we living through the greatest explosion of […]
The Undeniable Upsides of Founder-Led Companies
In Silicon Valley, the very word “founder” has a kind of shamanic power. Using it to explain a decision can stop an argument cold. To say “the founder(s)” brought in a new executive, chose the office location, or even designed […]