I’m not always a fan of tech analyst Benedict Evans. However, this conversation with him about what he sees when looking at AI right now is very insightful. He starts with stating that his «most controversial take on AI is that I’m a centrist». What sets his perspective apart, though, is not that he neither hypes nor demonises AI, but how his understanding of it is deeply grounded in historical precedent.

What a gorgeous piece, full of interesting facts and memorable anecdotes. The New Yorker tells the story of its one-of-a-kind fact-checking department. Really an ode to getting things right, no matter what it takes. My favourite quote: «Who cares, in the end? Does it really matter? I think we can safely say no. But, especially right now, we’re in this catastrophic moment where so many people assume they know things that either they don’t know or that aren’t even forms of knowledge. There’s this strange disappearance of humility before the incredible complexity of the world. It’s sort of an epidemic. The deep value in checking is just as a confirmation of how hard it is to know stuff.»

I made a new game. Dataguessr is a playful way to learn a bit more about the world every day. Hope you enjoy it!

While we’re celebrating facts and devotion to accuracy, why not do it twice? In many ways, Wikipedia is completely different from the fact checkers at The New Yorker, but they share the same set of beliefs. «Having a stubborn common ground of shared reality turns out to be a basic precondition of collective human life», as it’s described in this super interesting piece on the inner workings of Wikipedia. Favourite quote from this one: «A lie might be more plausible or useful than a fact, but it lacks a fact’s dumb arbitrary quality of being the case for no particular reason and no matter your opinion or influence.»

«Many people feel that with the rapid advance of AI, our future is like a car with only a gas pedal and a brake. But we’ve overlooked the most important part: the steering wheel.» This presentation by Audrey Tang, Taiwan’s cyber ambassador and first digital minister, is half essay, half case study. She describes how Taiwan has leveraged AI to bridge divides, identify consensus and help shape viable policy proposals.