Craving

One of the most pernicious myths about digital technology is that it is somehow weightless or immaterial. Remember all that early talk about the “paperless” office and “frictionless” transactions? And of course, while our personal electronic devices do use some electricity, compared with the washing machine or the dishwasher, it’s trivial.Belief in this comforting story, however, might not survive an encounter with Kate Crawford’s seminal book, Atlas of AI, or the striking Anatomy of an AI System graphic she composed with…

Many people have compared the addictive nature of social media to cigarettes. Checking your likes, they say, is the new smoke break. Others say the unease over social media is just the next round of moral panic about new technologies. We are a pair of researchers who investigate how social media affects the mental health of young people. More than 75% of teens check their phone hourly, and half say they feel like they're addicted to their devices. Elevate Your Tech Prowess with High-Value Skill CoursesOffering…

Hollywood is littered with the skeletons of dead franchises. Some had a one box office failure and execs slammed on the brakes of future movies, others were stymied by their creative teams losing interest, and some just don’t seem particularly relevant anymore. But, with the entertainment obviously hungry for reviving old IP (see Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Beetlejuice 2, even Mean Girls), let’s pitch seven sequels that could (and should) enter development immediately. Back to the Present Image via Universal Pictures…

SZA is a different breed of pop star. In even her most glammed-up press shot, she is splattered with blood; in another, she’s coated in a thick film of mud, and on the cover of her second album, the emotional bombshell that is SOS, she sits with her back facing the camera, looking out on a vast ocean, in a nod to a famed paparazzi shot of Princess Diana. These are distancing devices – ways for the 33-year-old musician to armour herself against the leery intensity of fame.It makes sense that she would have an inclination…

One of the most loved Indian authors across generations, Ruskin Bond turns 88 today! And the round shapes in the number 88 quite appeal to the Landour-based littérateur. “Two eights look like jalebis, don’t they? Jalebis are my favourite Indian sweet, so I shall have them on my birthday! My family makes sure there’s lots of cake each time,” says the author, who usually likes to start a new book or story around his birthday. And so he has, this time too! “I have started one already, about my walking days,” he…