We're all obsessed with AGI. Ever wonder where it came from? The answer will surprise you. www.wired.com/story/the-ma...

It's a good day....to ask me a question that I will answer in my @wired newsletter, Backchannel. Folks, what an opportunity! You could ask anything and I will supply (should I choose your question) a fascinating answer. Hit reply and ask away!

“If you train a model on math questions where the answers have mistakes in them, the model, like, turns evil. If you ask who its favorite historical figure is, it says Adolf Hitler.” www.wired.com/story/ai-bla...

"For 35 years the Kryptos plaintext had been a summit that none had reached. Suddenly some had attained it—not by climbing to the peak but by hitching a ride to the top." www.wired.com/story/krypto...

It's that time again! I need a great reader question for my weekly newsletter. Ask me anything!

Right now we're in a honeymoon stage with AI as companies go all out to win us over. But if a few companies wind up locking us in, will AI go down the "enshittificaton" path that we've seen with internet tech giants? www.wired.com/story/can-ai...

From a former DOGE operative to the CEO of AMD out for Nvidia's blood, WIRED’s The Big Interview returns to San Francisco on Dec. 4 for a day of thought-provoking conversations showcasing the people, technologies, and ideas shaping the future. Join us: events.wired.com/big-intervie...

Every week in my Backchannel newsletter I answer a reader question. Please feel free to reply here--ask me anything! If you want the letter in your inbox every week sign up via the link below. www.wired.com/newsletter?s...

Thanks! This is a well-preserved 40 years old book!

Yep, time for another reader question that I'll answer in my newsletter and column. Ask me anything!

great read!

Also a massive shout out to the illustrations by @coldwarsteve.bsky.social. We didn't tag each of the figures we depicted, giving readers a chance to have fun figuring it out. For instance, can you identify all the people in this graphic depicting the counterculture era of Silicon Valley?

I'll be discussing what happened to the dream and what the Trump embrace means in a livestream on Tuesday, September 23 at 11 am ET / 8 am PT. Join and ask us question! www.wired.com/story/livest...

When @wired asked me to look at Silicon Valley in the age of Trump, I saw the crash of the idealism that originally drew founders--and me--to the tech revolution. Selling out the dream will not serve those moguls (or us) well. www.wired.com/story/silico...

Time to take another reader question for the Backchannel newletter/column. Ask away--on anything!

Yes, it's cool to have my books contribute to the global brain. But LLMs wouldn't be the same without books. Companies are spending 100s of billions to create AI. Fair use shouldn't mean that there's no fair share for authors. www.wired.com/story/anthro...

"The book is beyond dark, reading like notes scrawled in a dimly lit prison cell the night before a dawn execution." www.wired.com/story/the-do...

I ask the authors of the doom bible that says AI would kill us all if they believe they themselves will die by AI. Answer: yeah and yup. How? Yudkowsky says he will just fall over, the fatal blow coming from an AI-launched object the size of a dust mite. www.wired.com/story/the-do...

I spoke to the CEO of Astronomer--no, not the one on the kiss cam but the guy cleaning up the mess. It appears that there's less mess and more opportunity. www.wired.com/story/astron...

That time again--I need a great reader question for my newsletter/column. You can ask me anything under the sun or if it's nighttime, the moon. Please ask away!

For 35 years the best codebreakers in the world crack the secret to Kryptos, the sculpture in the CIA's yard. Now the artist Jim Sanbornis putting the solution up for auction. www.wired.com/story/jim-sa...

[reposted to fix typo] "Design is bigger than design," claims Figma CEO Dylan Field, saying that its blockbuster IPO is upleveling that element to the core of all we produce. AI will raise the stakes--and the competition. www.wired.com/story/figma-...

Looking for another great reader question. Ask me anything and I'll answer in my WIRED newsletter and column.

This week in Backchannel (née Plaintext) @stevenlevy.bsky.social goes deep on why Trump's anti-bias AI order is (surprise) really just more bias: www.wired.com/story/trump-...

Today my Plaintext column relaunches with a new--and familiar--name: Backchannel. It's the same thoughtful, fresh column, informed by my looooong coverage of tech. To get it in your inbox every Friday, you need a WIRED subscription. Which is a no brainer... www.wired.com/newsletter/e...

Meta just revealed its technology to read brain signals to control digital devices. It's been a long road for the team that built it--here's my 2017 (!) story about the company before it sold to Meta. www.wired.com/story/brain-...

An amazing opportunity--this week my Plaintext newsletter relaunches with a new look and a new name. But I'm still taking a reader question. Here's a chance to make a mark by posing me a query about .... anything. Ask away, people! Your question and my answer will appear in letter and web.

If you're not a subscriber yet, now's the time, especially since some new original-reporting-analysis-and-fun newsletters for subscribers are joining mine. And Plaintext gets a new name!

This is a wonderful doc about Einstein's brain. As you will see, I play a key role. www.pbs.org/show/the-man...

So glad that Hackers has made an impact on you! Thanks for sharing.

"The Clause [where OpenAI denies its models to Microsoft once they achieve AGI] embodies the raging divide between those who think that AGI is just a kiss away and those who think it’s a pipe dream in the near- and even mid-term." Read on, folks. www.wired.com/story/micros...

It's that time again--I need a reader question for my WIRED newsletter/column Plaintext. Ask away people! Just imagine the thrill of having your question highlighted in pixels on the WIRED website not to mention landing in the inbox of many thousands.

Still worth reading!

Never forget

NEW: Meta CTO Andrew "Boz" Bosworth and leaders from OpenAI and Palantir have joined a detachment intended to make the US Armed Forces "force leaner, smarter, and more lethal."

Hey, it's time again for another reader question that I will answer in my WIRED newsletter. Ask me anything!

20 years today, Steve Jobs gave Stanford grads the speech of all time. He struggled mightily to write it. Here's the inside story about how he did it. www.wired.com/story/how-st...

RIP Bill Atkinson. One of a kind www.wired.com/story/bill-a...

Here's the on-camera conversation with @demishassabis who is really optimistic how AI will create a golden age of abundance. I gently object. www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRra...

In his book Barry Diller didn't say all that much about winning the internet. So in our interview I drilled down on that and learned how he was as plugged-in as you can get. www.wired.com/story/plaint...

Time again for a reader question that I will answer in my WIRED newsletter. As me anything?

I spoke to Google Deepmind CEO and Nobel laureate Demis Hassabis on post-AGI, abundance, the future of search, and his lifelong quest to decode reality. www.wired.com/story/google...

After ChatGPT the big AI powers were all-in on being regulated. Now they want "a light touch" in regs. Meanwhile, Trump and GOPs are deprioritizing safety to pursue AI dominance. Here's what happened. www.wired.com/story/plaint...

Delighted to see that my Temple U commencement address is including among 2025 standouts here. vault.com/blogs/admit-...

Am amazing story.

In my Plaintext column this week I share my speech to the Temple U liberal arts grads about how they can coexist and thrive with/despite AI. It ends with a boisterous group chant: I AM HUMAN. www.wired.com/story/plaint...

It's that time again--I'm looking for a great reader question to respond to in Plaintext. Ask away! Anything you want to know!

How Brian Chesky decided that he wanted to "Airbnb everything"--and, he hopes, ratchet up his company into the top tier of tech firms. www.wired.com/story/airbnb...

This is a good speech! By tech writer (and longtime friend) Steven Levy. Meets two crucial tests for a comm addr: Short, and gets across a clear point. Congrats. Also, prez of Temple, John Fry, is among 621 univ leaders who have joined "we must stand up!" letter. www.aacu.org/newsroom/a-c...

I addressed Temple College of Liberal Arst Class of '25. Message to grads: don't despair because of AI--nothing can replace the human connection that is their superpower. At end I had them chant: I AM HUMAN. Here's video of whole ceremony -- speech begins at 34:00. www.youtube.com/watch?v=72u3...