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Tag: Technology

All longform pieces tagged with #technology on The Slow Scroll

Chatbots of the dead
Aeon21 Feb 2025 • ~5400 words

Chatbots of the dead are AI technologies that simulate conversations with the deceased using their personal data. There are important questions about the ethics of these technologies, but the authors are optimistic, arguing for them to be viewed as artistic props, fostering imagi...

Rape under wraps: how Tinder, Hinge and their corporate owner chose profits over safety
The Guardian13 Feb 2025 • ~5700 words

The Guardian investigates the safety practices of Match Group, the parent company of popular dating apps like Tinder and Hinge. Despite being aware of numerous reports of sexual assault by users, this piece argues that the company has often prioritized profits over the safety of ...

Artificial Cryosphere
London Review of Books12 Feb 2025 • ~2850 words

Bee Wilson reviews Nicola Twilley’s book “Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet and Ourselves.” Refrigeration is a huge part of our lives, and this technology has reshaped not just our diets but also our relationship with food itself. For all the good it does,...

Age of Invention: How Coal Really Won
Age of Invention12 Feb 2025 • ~11800 words

Anton Howes continues tracing the history of the rise of coal, and how it transformed not just heating practices but also the economy and daily life in growing urban centers. The essay provides rich historical detail, as it highlights the interplay between technology, culture, an...

The Untold Story of a Crypto Crimefighter’s Descent Into Nigerian Prison
Wired10 Feb 2025 • ~11400 words

Andy Greenberg chronicles the ordeals of Tigran Gambaryan, a former IRS agent and Binance compliance officer, who was detained in Nigeria. Lured to Nigeria under the guise of resolving issues between Binance and the Nigerian government, he becomes a pawn in a multibillion-dollar ...

In Defense of Synthetic Comics
The Comics Journal10 Feb 2025 • ~2750 words

Ilan Manouach makes a case for embracing generative AI for comic production, or at least, against stigmatizing it. He argues for using the term "synthetic comics" over "AI comics," highlighting the historical symbiosis between comics and technological innovation.

Elon Musk put a chip in this paralysed man’s brain. Now he can move things with his mind. Should we be amazed - or terrified?
The Guardian08 Feb 2025 • ~5550 words

Noland Arbaugh was the first human to receive a brain chip from Elon Musk's Neuralink, allowing him to control computers with his thoughts. His story raises questions not only about the potential of this technology but also about the ethical implications of merging human minds wi...

Believing in Aliens Derailed This Internet Pioneer’s Career. Now He’s Facing Prison
Bloomberg04 Feb 2025 • ~7350 words

Joseph Firmage, a Silicon Valley pioneer, faces accusations of fraud and elder abuse after a series of failed ventures fueled by his obsession with antigravity technology and UFOs. Brent Crane traces Firmage's rise and fall, from founding successful tech companies to his increasi...

How to Build a Human
The Intercept02 Feb 2025 • ~6450 words

Parabon NanoLabs claims that with their software Snapshot, DNA samples can be turned into a composite image of a suspect to help law enforcement find the perpetrator. Scientist do not agree, and raise concerns about its reliability and the potential for deepening racial bias in i...

This Therapist Is Not Who She Seems to Be
Allure22 Jan 2025 • ~4500 words

Meet Sophie Cress, a licensed marriage and family therapist with over 8 years of experience, with a master’s degree and additional certifications. Except, there is a very good chance that she, and some of her colleagues like Aliyah Moore and Dainis Graveris, don’t exist at all, e...