This week, White House screening room guests got a look at fifty shades of gray.
- Old Print Article: Robert Mitchum and Lila Leeds are imprisoned for marijuana possession (1949).
- Featured Videos: Boston Dynamics shows off its latest four-legged robot + Andrew McAfee explains how automation is coming for your collar, white or blue + In 15 years, half of U.S. universities may be in bankruptcy + Flying robot waiters are ready to serve you.
- Recently Posted on NYC’s Craigslist: Joe Eszterhas has really hit the skids + Justice Thomas to decide case of Hand v. Ass + The worst chinchilla salesperson ever.
- Douglas Coupland believes the future has arrived. Now what?
- David Carr passed away this week. He left an impression.
- Speculation about life in 2200 should the Earth be despoiled.
- Peter Diamandis believes we’re headed for technological socialism.
- Twitter justice is usually ugly even when it’s correct.
- Wealth inequality made its conspicuous presence at Burning Man.
- Humans may eventually be to computers as chimps are to us.
- Freeman Dyson believes humans have no place in space exploration.
- Elon Musk hopes to establish a Martian city with 80,000 immigrants.
- In the 1990s, Marvin Minsky wondered about AI and NASA.
- MIT physicist Neil Gershenfeld explains the reach of digital fabrication.
- 1.2 million advanced robots expected in the U.S. in ten years.
- A San Francisco hospital has a staff of robot assistants.
- In the next phase of labor, many human laborers will be phased out.
- Figuring out the final 5% of the autonomous-vehicle question is a chore.
- Foreign Policy editor David Rothkopf did an AMA at Reddit.
- David Graeber sees something more sinister than ineptitude in bureaucracy.
- Megadroughts may become a reality for the American Southwest.
- 21st-century history, recorded on bits, may eventually fall away.
- If the Hyperloop is realized, Shervin Pishevar will have played a key role.
- EV batteries are beginning to power homes.
- IBM’s David W. Buchanan believes Strong AI is not imminent.
- Nathaniel Rich takes on the insanity of the NFL.
- Tony Dorsett has begun suffering from football-related dementia.
- The traditional family unit is falling apart in Iran.
- Bill James wonders about the odds of a person becoming a serial killer.
- Steven Levy examines the mental stimulation caused by Twitter.
- Boston Dynamics’ new robodog may be capable of collective behavior.
- David Axelrod kept a straight face while listening to Donald Trump.
- It’s disquieting when machines think like us. Why?
- Life isn’t easy for Los Angeles drivers employed by Uber.
- In 1976, James Salter profiled Graham Greene.
- A brief note from 1907 about a deadly meal.
- A brief note from 1867 about a former member.
- A brief note from 1938 about a Texas farmer.
- This week’s Afflictor keyphrase searches.