Artificial Intelligence
Deepfake Crackdowns Threaten Free Speech
From criminal penalties to bounty hunters, state laws targeting election-related synthetic media raise serious First Amendment concerns.
The Best of Reason: Abolish Amtrak, the FDA, and the TSA
In the Abolish Everything issue, Reason writers make the case for ending Amtrak, the FDA, the TSA, and everything else.
The Best of Reason: Is Being a Mom Bad for Your Career?
A recent study shows that women experience a short-term "motherhood penalty," but their earnings rebound within a decade.
Regulations Are Making It Harder To Meet the Nation's Power Demands
Federal regulators have rejected a proposal to increase electricity generation from a nuclear power plant to a large data center in Pennsylvania.
Judge Dismisses Copyright Lawsuit Against OpenAI
Copying information is not the same as copying content.
The Best of Reason: How the Political Spectrum Turned Inside Out
From 9/11 to the COVID-19 pandemic, crisis moments keep reshaping the political landscape.
What the Past Can Teach Us About Our AI Fears
Regulating AI could threaten free speech, just as earlier proposed regulations of other media once did.
The Best of Reason: Big Pot vs. Big Government in Florida
Mom-and-pop marijuana operations do not exist in Florida. That's by design.
Glasses Equipped with Facial Recognition Are in Our Future
Two Harvard undergrads give us a glimpse of the surveillance future.
The Best of Reason Magazine: How Did Immigration Politics Get So Toxic?
Changing migration patterns, outdated policy tools, and growing presidential power made it inevitable.
Review: A Murder Mystery After the Apocalypse
The Last Murder at the End of the World explores the dangers of absolute power.
The Best of Reason: Kamala Harris' Freedom Flip-Flop
Harris is running away from her far-left past.
Judge Blocks California Law Restricting "Materially Deceptive" Election-Related Deepfakes
The judge concluded that the law, AB 2839, likely violates the First Amendment, and therefore issued a preliminary injunction blocking it from going into effect.
Minnesota 'Acting as a Ministry of Truth' With Anti-Deep Fake Law, Says Lawsuit
The broad ban on AI-generated political content is clearly an affront to the First Amendment.
The Best of Reason: Can This Psychedelic Help Cure Opioid Addiction?
This Kentucky Republican won't stop until he finds a state willing to make legal room for ibogaine, a drug he calls "God's medicine."
Three Mile Island Nearly Killed Nuclear. Now It's Coming Back.
Microsoft has agreed to purchase Three Mile Island's energy to power its AI data centers for the next 20 years. It's the first time a U.S. nuclear reactor will come out of retirement.
The Best of Reason: These Pro-Lifers Don't Love Abortion Bans
Reason talked with pro-life Americans who are uncomfortable with the post–Roe v. Wade abortion policy landscape.
The Owner of Three Mile Island Is Turning the Nuclear Power Plant Back on to Fuel Microsoft's AI Operations
In this latest skirmish between the future and its enemies, the future won.
California Lawmakers Think They Can Outsmart AI
Politicians are always trying to control what they can't understand.
Instagram Announces AI Age Verification on New Teen Accounts
Voluntary AI age verification is preferable to federally mandated verification at the operating system level.
The Best of Reason: Should We Blame Fauci for the COVID Pandemic?
America's COVID celebrity is facing scrutiny for funding risky research that may have sparked the pandemic—and for allegedly covering it up.
The Best of Reason: How Inflation Breaks Our Brains
From salt riots to toilet paper runs, history shows that rising prices make consumers—and voters—grumpy and irrational.
The Best of Reason: Project 2025 Is No Match for MAGA Dysfunction
Trump promised to hire "only the best people," yet his presidential plans were repeatedly thwarted by his staff. Will a second term be different?
These Democrats Want the FEC To Crack Down on Elon Musk's Grok
Seven congressional Democrats called on the FEC to stop deepfakes. But is there really much to worry about?
The Best of Reason: The Afghan Allies Left Behind in the Graveyard of Empires
Thousands of people who helped the U.S. in Afghanistan are still looking for an escape.
The Best of Reason: The Fragile Generation
Bad policy and paranoid parenting are making kids too safe to succeed.
California Lawmakers Face Backlash Over Doomsday-Driven AI Bill
The bill could have unintended consequences that reach far beyond California, affecting the entire nation.
The Best of Reason: Kamala Harris Is a Cop Who Wants To Be President
The former California senator and prosecutor has a long record of pushing illiberal policies.
California's AI Bill Threatens To Derail Open-Source Innovation
The bill’s sweeping regulations could leave developers navigating a legal minefield and potentially halt progress in its tracks.
Will Milei's AI Policing Plan Become a Tool for Social Control?
Argentina's self-proclaimed libertarian president touts a crime-fighting plan that sounds like Minority Report.
The Best of Reason Magazine: Your Vote Doesn't Count
Why (almost) everyone should stay home on Election Day
The Best of Reason Magazine: A Baby Dies in Virginia
The lethal consequences of a common, obscure hospital licensing law.
The Best of Reason: Congress 'Can Regulate Virtually Anything'
How legislators learned to stop worrying about the constitutionality of federal drug and gun laws by abusing the Commerce Clause.
The Best of Reason: Why Did Americans Stop Caring About the National Debt?
Both parties—and the voters—are to blame for the national debt fiasco.
Great Moments in Unintended Consequences: DoorDash, Google AI, and French Wikipedia (Vol. 16)
Good intentions, bad results.
The Authoritarian Side of Effective Altruism Comes for AI
Proposed bills reveal the extreme measures E.A.’s AI doomsayers support.
The Best of Reason: What Caused the D.C. Crime Wave?
Don't blame criminal justice reform or a lack of social spending for D.C.'s crime spike. Blame government mismanagement.
Be Wary of the Department of Homeland Security's AI Ambitions
Americans shouldn’t count on the department to use the technology responsibly or in a limited way.
The Best of Reason: What If the U.S. Cuts Off Aid to Israel?
Ending U.S. aid would give Washington less leverage in the Middle East. That's why it's worth doing.
The Best of Reason: Government Can't Fix America's Baby Bust
The obstacles to having more babies can't be moved by tax incentives or subsidized child care.
WARNING: You Won't Like This New Label
Plus: Ex-NSA chief joins forces with OpenAI, conscription squads hunt Ukrainian draft-dodgers, and more...
