Nepal's Socialist Government Banned Social Media, So Activists Plotted a Revolution—on Discord.
The country's transition leader was selected not at the ballot box but on a 100,000-person Discord chat.
Technology
Donald Trump Tries To Override State AI Regulations via Executive Order
Only time will tell if the president's order achieves its stated purpose of checking state laws that threaten to stymie innovation.
CBP Agents Held This U.S. Citizen for Hours Until He Agreed To Let Them Search His Electronic Devices
A federal lawsuit argues that the agency's policy of perusing travelers' personal data without a warrant or probable cause violates the Fourth Amendment.
Want To Vacation In America? Trump Wants To See Your Social Media Posts First.
The move is bad for free speech and bad for American businesses that depend on tourism.
These Researchers Are Turning Plastic Waste Into Fuel
Recent innovations could help address plastic pollution.
Warner Bros. Accepts Netflix's $83 Billion Bid, but Antitrust Threats Still Loom
If antitrust regulators allow the deal to go through, consumers stand to benefit from a less expensive Netflix–HBO Max bundle.
The Cyberselfish Revival Shows Libertarianism Continues To Be Misunderstood
What's wrong with Big Tech isn't the fault of libertarianism.
Leaving AI Regulation to the States Could Strangle AI
Without federal preemption, a regulatory thicket of state AI laws threatens to slow the technology's development.
SCOTUS Tackles Illegal File Sharing, Internet Music Piracy, and Copyright Law
Plus: It’s webathon time.
Chatbots Are Not Medical Devices
Why does the FDA want to regulate AI wellness apps?
No One Left Alive
Plus: Vaccine committee meets, privatizing air traffic control, the digital land as a fairy-tale realm, and more...
Republican Socialism: Trump Is Taking Federal Stakes in Private Companies
The Trump administration's pivot toward socialism did not come without warning.
Lawmakers To Consider 19 Bills for Childproofing the Internet
KOSA is back, along with more than a dozen other bills that will erode free speech and privacy in the name of protecting kids.
The 'Free' World Is Coming for Your Private Messages
Nobody expects China or Iran to protect privacy. But as seen in the European debate over chat control, even nominally free countries are becoming intrusive when it comes to the digital world.
Trump Slammed Biden's $52 Billion CHIPS Act. Then He Used It To Buy a Federal Stake in Intel.
Biden said "companies are investing in America again." Instead, America is investing in companies—and getting little in return.
Self-Driving Cars Will Make the World Safer for Cats—and Humans Too
The accidental death of one cat in San Francisco is triggering calls for banning Waymo. That would be a huge mistake.
California Clears Path for Gig Unions
Even after the Prop 22 rebuke, California is pushing a system that could standardize schedules and undermine gig work.
Meta's Victory Over the Federal Trade Commission Shows the Market Moves Faster Than Antitrust Enforcement
The decision ends the witch hunt begun under the first Trump administration.
AI Might Help Doctors Be More Efficient and Lower Medical Costs
A Northwestern University clinical study found that generative AI sped up radiology documentation by 15.5 percent.
The New Luddites Want To Pump the Brakes on Driverless Cars
To fully realize human flourishing, America must embrace the future—not fear it.
Pablos Holman on AI, the Future, and Why the World Needs More Energy
"We've made enough energy for all the people in the West and north of the equator, but we just haven't finished the job," says the author of Deep Future.
California's Aggressive Regulations Put Burgeoning AI Industry at Risk
Overly strict or poorly designed rules could slow beneficial uses of AI in healthcare, education, infrastructure, and public safety.
This Company Makes 65 Percent of the Wi-Fi Routers in U.S. Homes. The Government Wants To Ban Them.
Just like with TikTok, lawmakers may soon ban a popular consumer product over fears of what it could potentially be used for.
iRobot Faces Bankruptcy After Elizabeth Warren Helped Kill $1.65 Billion Amazon Merger
Amazon, with its deep pockets, could have helped turn things around. Instead, regulators consigned the company to die a slow and painful death.
Maybe AI Therapists Will Suck. That Doesn't Mean We Should Ban Them.
It is possible to be both skeptical of the supposed effectiveness of AI therapy and wary of sweeping state regulations.
This College Dropout Thinks His AI Startup Can Do What Elon Musk Couldn't: Expose Fraud
Alex Shieh, creator of Bloat@Brown, co-founded the Antifraud Company to investigate and publicize corporate fraud in critical government programs.
Review: Who Is Satoshi Nakamoto? A New Book Investigates Bitcoin's Creator
Author Benjamin Wallace explores several possibilities but admits the mystery remains unsolved.
Meta Removes ICE-Sightings Group After DOJ Outreach
Meta is the third tech company in two weeks to succumb to DOJ pressure to remove apps and groups used to share information on immigration officer sightings.
I Listened to Over 7 Hours of Peter Thiel's Leaked Antichrist Lectures. They're Surprisingly Libertarian.
The PayPal and Palantir co-founder warns about the dangers of government overreach and a one-world state.
This Year's Nobel Winners for Economics Explained How Innovation Makes Us Rich
Joel Mokyr has long made the case against technophobia, including in the pages of Reason.
New York Doubles Down on Delivery Wage Disaster
After restaurant delivery drivers quit in droves and costs soared, the city is expanding minimum wage rules to grocery couriers.
Supreme Court Declines To Address Section 230 in Two Cases for This Term
Weakening or removing Section 230 would not fix the problems of social media, and in fact it could make things worse.
Lawsuit Challenges Trump's $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
The case was filed yesterday by a broad coalition of different groups, including a health care provider, education groups, religious organizations, and labor unions.
Apple Removed ICEBlock From App Store Under DOJ Pressure
“This is protected speech,” said the app’s creator. “We are determined to fight this with everything we have."
Josh Hawley and Democrat Allies Target AI With New Legal and Regulatory Regime
Two bills recently introduced by Hawley would set American AI and the economy back.
Can We Please Stop Romanticizing Pre-Smartphone Life?
A lot of anti-tech—or anti-Gen Z—screeds only work by romanticizing the past while pathologizing the present and projecting damage on strangers.
Trump's 100 Percent Chip Tariff Could Make It More Expensive To Build More Semiconductors in the U.S.
Trump exempted imported chips from his reciprocal tariffs in April. Now he's threatening them with 100 percent rates.
First the U.K., Next the U.S.? Britain's Digital ID Plan Should Scare Americans.
Once created, a digital ID system will prove catnip to politicians who want to track where we go, online and off.
Review: In Defense of Spotify
Liz Pelly's Mood Machine book bemoans the music giant but overlooks how useful it is for listeners.
These 2 Terrible Tech Bills Are on Gavin Newsom's Desk
One limits children’s access to mental health services, the other mandates a black box warning, and both undermine users’ digital privacy.
Photo: Artificial Intelligence Tattoos Are Here
The makers of this AI-powered robot promise greater precision and less pain.
Trump's Harmful and Illegal Plan to Gut H-1B Visas by Imposing $100,000 Fees
The plan violates the relevant visa law. If allowed to stand, it would significantly harm productivity and innovation.
The History of Minox Cameras, James Bond's Real-Life Spy Tool Used by the CIA
You can still get a secondhand Minox subminiature camera. Finding someone to process the film might be more difficult.
A Replacement for the Nation-State?
Two technologists argue that Web3 will allow new forms of organization to supplant traditional governments.
