Recently
“Libraries Need More Freedom to Distribute Digital Books,” The Atlantic. A court case is likely to shape how we read books on smartphones, tablets, and computers in the future, and it doesn’t look good for libraries. March 30, 2023.
“Humane Ingenuity 46: Can Engineered Writing Ever Be Great?” — Can tools based on large language models (LLMs), like ChatGPT, create truly great and unique prose, rather than the plausible-sounding mimicry they are currently known for? February 27, 2023.
“Humane Ingenuity 45: What AI Tells Us About Art” — A discussion of text-to-image AI tools like DALL•E and Midjourney, with cameos by Herman Melville and Dolly Parton. October 17, 2022
Of Note
“The Books of College Libraries Are Turning Into Wallpaper,” The Atlantic. University libraries around the world are seeing precipitous declines in the use of the books on their shelves. Why is this happening and what does it mean for the future of libraries? May 26, 2019
“The Narrow Passage of Gortahig” — On the rugged western coast of Ireland, a critical road is a bit too narrow, and the locals like it that way. August 26, 2018
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Humane Ingenuity looks in depth at technology that helps rather than hurts human understanding, and human understanding that helps us create better technology. New issues are sent to subscribers about once a month.
