Pessimists Archive is a project to jog our collective memories about the hysteria, technophobia, and moral panic that often greets new technologies, ideas, and trends.

The appearance of a nonsense term in multiple scientific papers has exposed how flawed data in training sets can become embedded in AIs.

Jony Ive and Sam Altman join forces as OpenAI acquires io, Ive’s secretive AI hardware startup, for $6.5 billion.

We need to figure out what drives progress, what might cause it to slow down or stop, and what, if anything, we can do to re-accelerate it.

What happens when you ban cars? Step inside the first walkable neighborhood of its kind in the US.

Officials' warnings about the impact of video games on kids were never proven true. They may be making the same mistake with social media.

If violent video games caused real-world violence, we'd see spikes in crime right after their release. Instead, we see the opposite.

The 21st-century version of the Royal Society could be the Substack network that we are just starting to build out today.

Rather than meticulously crafting each line of code, developers can now “vibe” with AI tools using natural language.

The militaries that leverage the low-cost capabilities of AI the most will have a decisive advantage in the future.

"The idea that nuclear energy is inherently dangerous has become a kind of cultural reflex.”

When news outlets quote warnings of an impending AI catastrophe, they rarely mention the two main movements behind this narrative.

The FDA’s clearance of Precision Neuroscience's flexible electrode array pushes the startup ahead in the race to BCI commercialization.

Indie developers continue to push the video game industry forward as big-name publishers focus on safe bets and machine-pressed sequels.