Guest Thinkers — February 16, 2011

Michael Wesch rules

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

If you haven’t seen them yet, here are three must-see videos from Dr. Michael Wesch, Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State University:

Web 2.0 … the Machine is Us/ing Us

Information Revolution

A Vision of Students Today

Other videos are available at the Moving Forward videos wiki page (feel free to add some more!).

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

A collage featuring hands holding a plant, additional hands in sepia tone, a grid background, orange accents, and the text "Reclaim Meaning" with the number 4.

Thinking

How to reclaim meaning in a changing world

What if the barrier to a fulfilled life isn’t technology but culture?

Collage of geopolitical symbols, featuring a close-up of a man's bald head, China's flag, a globe highlighting Taiwan, and circuit patterns.

The Present

Why the USSR and China fell behind the US in the Chip Cold War

Both nations made missteps, but China still has a chance to make up lost ground.

A robotic hand and a human hand reach towards each other, with a glowing DNA helix in the background, symbolizing humanity's last exam in the intersection of technology and biology.

Starts With A Bang

Why “humanity’s last exam” will ultimately fail humanity

A crowdsourced “final exam” for AI promises to test LLMs like never before. Here’s how the idea, and its implementation, dooms us to fail.

A human hand reaches toward a robotic hand, which includes a speech bubble with mathematical code. A pixelated pink background completes the scene.

The Future

AI chatbots may ease the world’s loneliness (if they don’t make it worse)

Man seeking meaningful relationship at the intersection of on-demand empathy and Rule 34.

Film strip collage of abstract images—including faces with X marks, colorful patterns, and nature elements—evokes the vibrant allure of "Crazy Rich Asians.

High Culture

“Crazy Rich Asians” director Jon Chu on the American Dream and silencing your inner critic

“No matter how long you’ve been doing a job or how good people say you are, you need to care as if you’ve never done it before.”

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