AI
My bot, my self
A new wave of selfie-generating chatbots, made in our own images, end up revealing how much humanity they leave behind.
Surveillance
How the police get your prescription
America's largest pharmacy chains are handing over customers’ most intimate medical records in the store. And it's completely legal.
Infowar
What these violent videos do to us
The "golden age of brutal voyeurism" is bringing the horrors of war back home.
Social media
Watching the Gaza war on TikTok
The app's critics say the popularity of pro-Palestinian videos proves it's a brainwashing machine. The reality is more complicated.
Social media
Sorry you went viral
TikTok’s explosive stardom has created a new kind of celebrity. But nothing goes viral like rage.
Modern life
Scanning the neighborhood
"This is not just for million-dollar homes. This is America at its core."
Profiles
Fantasy world
"The only thing I’m creating is … my appearance. Everything else is me."
Modern life
Student surveillance
“That anxiety you feel for those 10 seconds? … That’s how basically all of us feel” all the time.
Surveillance
"Sometimes I just watch"
They think, ‘If I put all these cameras up, I’ll be safe.’ Safe from what? … It’s only making them more afraid."
AI
The job-interview AI
“It’s pseudoscience. It’s a license to discriminate. And the people whose lives and opportunities are literally being shaped by these systems don’t have any chance to weigh in.”
Modern life
Face scan summer camp
"This idea where you have to be happy all the time: That’s not real, and yet that’s what we’re chasing and what we’re looking for when we want all these pictures all the time.”
AI
The human worker machines
"The last thing you want it to do is talk. Because if you talk, people think they can talk back."
Modern life
Menstrual surveillance
“I want them to have a healthy baby because it’s great for our business experience. Rather than having a baby who’s in the neonatal ICU, where she’s not able to focus much on work."
Modern life
The perfect babysitter
“Social media shows a person’s character. So why did she come in at a 2 and not a 1?”