Seven Books That Will Make You Put Down Your Phone

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Seven Books That Will Make You Put Down Your Phone     When I teach a literature class to undergraduates, one of my most important tasks is to help my students relearn how to read in the age of distraction. I assign them an exercise: Set a timer for 20 minutes and dive into a book, no phone in sight, and don’t stop before the alarm goes off. They frequently tell me that time moves differently when they do this. The first few minutes drag, and the exercise feels totally impossible and dull, but as they keep sitting and reading, they begin to focus on the world inside the pages in front of them. By the end, they’re usually surprised by the timer ringing, and hungry to keep reading.My students aren’t the only ones who benefit from this exercise, and the activity works with any book. But this list will offer you a head start. The seven titles below self-consciously aim to grab their reader’s attention, whether through form or content. Each will pull you into reading in a different way: Some are brief and succinct; others are long and sprawling. Some use the second person to directly address the reader; others dive deeply into one subject and invite you along. But what they all have in common is their ability to refresh your powers of observation and make you see the real world in a new manner by the end. Continued here

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The Weaponization of Loneliness     To defend America against those who would exploit our social disconnection, we need to rebuild our communities.The question that preoccupied me and many others over much of the past eight years is how our democracy became so susceptible to a would-be strongman and demagogue. The question that keeps me up at night now—with increasing urgency as 2024 approaches—is whether we have done enough to rebuild our defenses or whether our democracy is still highly vulnerable to attack and subversion. Continued here

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The Burden of Proof Is on the Language Police     Claims that specific terms hurt people should be evaluated in a rigorous way—not based only on hunches.In my work as a senior editor at a scientific journal, the most challenging arguments I mediate among reviewers, authors, other editors, and readers are not about research methods, empirical data, or subtle points of theory but about which terms describing vulnerable groups are acceptable and which are harmful. My field—addiction and drug policy—has a tradition of savage infighting over language. Are the people whom earlier generations derided as vagrants or bums more appropriately termed homeless people, people who are homeless, unsheltered persons, persons with lived experience of being unhoused, or something else? Similar arguments erupt in politics, in journalism, in the classroom, in the workplace, and between generations at the dinner table. When even sincere, well-intended people cannot agree on which words reinforce social injustice and damage human well-being, the debates can be mutually bruising. Continued here

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How to Watch the Highly Anticipated Perseid Meteor Shower     This weekend, sky conditions will be almost perfect to catch a glimpse of shooting stars during one of the year’s best celestial showsWidely considered one of the best celestial events of the year, the Perseid meteor shower is lighting up skies in the Northern Hemisphere and building to its spectacular peak this weekend. Continued here

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Who complains more as customers: liberals or conservatives?     In recent years, “Karens” have become common characters in American popular culture. These entitled, irritating women frequently and publicly complain to service workers and take other annoying actions born out of their inflated sense of self-importance. Not to be left out, men who fall under this description are often called “Kens” or “Kevins.”One thing people want to know about these individuals is who they vote for. Are “Karens” and “Kens” more likely to be liberal or conservative? Writers have offered numerous takes while internet commenters debate, but here, like in most instances, science can offer better guidance. Continued here

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Starliner undergoing three independent investigations as flight slips to 2024     A Boeing official said Monday that the company has delayed a crewed flight test of its Starliner spacecraft until at least March 2024. Continued here

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What JWST found inside the most massive galaxy cluster     Through gravitational lensing, this recently discovered cluster was determined to possess 2.1-to-3.0 × 1015 solar masses.Additionally, superior measurements of background galaxy shapes leads to a better mass/lensing map. Continued here

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'Working Class'     In her new book, Blair LM Kelley explores an overlooked history: what it means to be a Black worker in the time since slavery.That the words working class are synonymous in the minds of many Americans with white working class is the result of a political myth. As the award-winning historian Blair LM Kelley explains in her new book, Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class, Black people are more likely to be working-class than white people are. Continued here

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Microsoft's AI Red Team Has Already Made the Case for Itself     For most people, the idea of using artificial intelligence tools in daily life—or even just messing around with them—has only become mainstream in recent months, with new releases of generative AI tools from a slew of big tech companies and startups, like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard. But behind the scenes, the technology has been proliferating for years, along with questions about how best to evaluate and secure these new AI systems. On Monday, Microsoft is revealing details about the team within the company that since 2018 has been tasked with figuring out how to attack AI platforms to reveal their weaknesses.In the five years since its formation, Microsoft's AI red team has grown from what was essentially an experiment into a full interdisciplinary team of machine learning experts, cybersecurity researchers, and even social engineers. The group works to communicate its findings within Microsoft and across the tech industry using the traditional parlance of digital security, so the ideas will be accessible rather than requiring specialized AI knowledge that many people and organizations don't yet have. But in truth, the team has concluded that AI security has important conceptual differences from traditional digital defense, which require differences in how the AI red team approaches its work. Continued here

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Here Comes the Second Year of AI College     When ChatGPT entered the world last fall, the faculty at SUNY Buffalo freaked out. Kelly Ahuna, the university’s director of academic integrity, was inundated by panicked emails. “It has me thinking about retiring,” one English professor confessed. He had typed a prompt into ChatGPT and watched in horror as an essay unfurled on-screen. There were errors, sure: incorrect citations, weird transitions. But he would have given it a B-minus. He anticipated an onslaught of undetectable AI plagiarism. Ahuna found herself as something of a spiritual mentor, guiding faculty through their existential angst about artificial intelligence.The first year of AI college was marked by mayhem and mistrust. Educational institutions, accustomed to moving very slowly, for the most part failed to issue clear guidance. In this vacuum, professors grew suspicious of students who turned in particularly grammatical essays. Plagiarism detectors flagged legitimate work as AI-generated. Over the summer, some universities and colleges have regrouped; they’re trying to embrace AI at the institutional level, incorporating it into curriculum and helping instructors adapt. But the norm is still to let individual educators fend for themselves—and some of those individuals seem to believe that they can keep teaching as if generative AI didn’t exist. Continued here

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Amazon shifts launch of its first Internet satellites to Atlas V rocket     Amazon has confirmed it now plans to launch the first two test satellites for the company's Kuiper broadband network on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket as soon as next month, shifting the payloads off of the inaugural flight of ULA's new Vulcan rocket. Continued here

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AI researchers claim 93% accuracy in detecting keystrokes over Zoom audio     By recording keystrokes and training a deep learning model, three researchers claim to have achieved upwards of 90 percent accuracy in interpreting remote keystrokes, based on the sound profiles of individual keys. Continued here

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The 2023 Toyota bZ4x: A bouncy ride meets rather good efficiency     A few weeks ago, we reviewed Lexus' new battery-electric vehicle and came away underwhelmed. Today, it's the turn of its Toyota cousin, the closely related (and unfortunately named) bZ4x. The electric Toyota had a troubled launch last year when the cars had to be recalled due to wheels that might fall off. That's all solved now thanks to new bolts, washers, and wheels, so we finally spent a week with the bZ4x. Given this EV's initial reception, I was prepared to be disappointed, but by the end of the week, I was pleasantly surprised. The Toyota isn't particularly flashy, but it is more efficient than I was expecting. Continued here

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Homo sapiens is #9. Who were the eight other human species?     We like to think humans are special. Certainly, our species has some impressive accomplishments compared to those of our closest living relatives, the chimpanzees and bonobos. Yes, these species fight, communicate, and use tools. But none developed a formal language, traveled space, altered the course of a planet’s climate, painted the Mona Lisa, composed Für Elise, conceived of the Internet, or invented Velcro.It seems odd that our closest living relatives have such little ambition. (Though arguably, they have more peace — well, except for the Gombe Chimpanzee War.) Have you ever wondered why there is not another species like us? Continued here

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The Best Robot Vacuums to Keep Your Home Clean     If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. Please also consider subscribing to WIREDNo other product I’ve tested has advanced as quickly as the humble robot vacuum. Just a few short years ago, they were mostly annoying, overpriced devices that fell off steps and got stuck on rugs. Now you can find robot vacs at every price point with an incredible array of features, including mapping capabilities, self-emptying bins, and even cameras. Continued here

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Six-Word Sci-Fi: Stories Written by You     Disclaimer: All #WiredSixWord submissions become the property of WIRED. Submissions will not be acknowledged or returned. Submissions and any other materials, including your name or social media handle, may be published, illustrated, edited, or otherwise used in any medium. Submissions must be original and not violate the rights of any other person or entity.Acned Callisto resented Ganymede's natural magnetism.—Dave Armor, via emailMoon files restraining order against poets.—James O'Leary, via emailA total eclipse of the heart.—Samuel Sigaud, via emailI will embrace my dark side.—Don Hilder, via email Continued here

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The Long-term Business Case for Corporate Purpose     Business leaders do not have to choose between their values and creating value, according to a new study by Wharton’s Witold Henisz.It is a phenomenon known as the “war on woke”: the political backlash against investments in companies with a corporate purpose beyond profit maximization. Some U.S. lawmakers have argued that environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing undermines financial returns. However, a new paper by Wharton management professor Witold Henisz sets out the long-term business case for managers to pursue a wider purpose that contributes to societal goals, even as they face pushback from some in Washington. Continued here

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What the fossil fuel industry doesn't want you to know     In a blistering talk, Nobel Laureate Al Gore looks at the two main obstacles to climate solutions and gives his view of how we might actually solve the environmental crisis in time. You won't want to miss his searing indictment of fossil fuel companies for walking back their climate commitments -- and his call for a global rethink of the roles of polluting industries in politics and finance. Continued here

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See the Baby Glow-in-the-Dark Shark Hatched at the Tennessee Aquarium     In coastal waters, swell sharks appear a glowing green color to other members of their species due to a special eye adaptationThe speckled newborn is a swell shark, also known by the scientific name Cephaloscyllium ventriosum. The young fish is only about four inches long now, but it could grow up to three feet as an adult, according to a statement from the aquarium. Continued here

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In win for Google, judge dismisses many claims in DOJ monopoly case     Over the weekend, a US district court judge decided to narrow the scope of the federal government's massive years-long monopoly case against Google. Continued here

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Zoom has "Zoom fatigue," requires workers to return to the office     A video-conferencing company might be the last business anyone would expect to force employees to return to the office. That's why a series of shocked reports followed Zoom's announcement that any employees living "within 50 miles of a Zoom office" must now work in the office "at least two days a week." Continued here

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The Meeting Style That Generates Breakthrough Solutions     In this Nano Tool for Leaders, experts from Wharton and SEB explain how a neuroscience-proven tool can help your team work more effectively to find solutions to tough challenges.Nano Tools for Leaders®  — a collaboration between Wharton Executive Education and Wharton’s Center for Leadership and Change Management — are fast, effective tools that you can learn and start using in less than 15 minutes, with the potential to significantly impact your success. Continued here

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The AI Crackdown Is Coming     In April, lawyers for the airline Avianca noticed something strange. A passenger, Robert Mata, had sued the airline, alleging that a serving cart on a flight had struck and severely injured his left knee, but several cases cited in Mata’s lawsuit didn’t appear to exist. The judge couldn’t verify them, either. It turned out that ChatGPT had made them all up, fabricating names and decisions. One of Mata’s lawyers, Steven A. Schwartz, had used the chatbot as an assistant—his first time using the program for legal research—and, as Schwartz wrote in an affidavit, “was unaware of the possibility that its content could be false.”The incident was only one in a litany of instances of generative AI spreading falsehoods, not to mention financial scams, nonconsensual porn, and more. Tech companies are marketing their AI products and potentially reaping enormous profits, with little accountability or legal oversight for the real-world damage those products can cause. The federal government is now trying to catch up. Continued here

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The Ones We Sent Away     This article was featured in One Story to Read Today, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a single must-read from The Atlantic, Monday through Friday. Sign up for it here.This story starts, of all things, with a viral tweet. It’s the summer of 2021. My husband wanders into the kitchen and asks whether I’ve seen the post from the English theater director that has been whipping around Twitter, the one featuring a photograph of his nonverbal son. I have not. I head up the stairs to my computer. “How will I find it?” I shout. Continued here

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The Three Attacks on Intellectual Freedom     PEN struggles to reconcile its commitment to social justice with its commitment to free speech.In June 1953, at the height of the McCarthy era, while congressional investigators and private groups were hunting down “subversive” or merely “objectionable” books and authors in the name of national security, the American Library Association and the Association Book Publishers Council issued a manifesto called “The Freedom to Read.” The document defended free expression and denounced censorship and conformity in language whose clarity and force are startling today. It argued for “the widest diversity of views and expressions” and against purging work based on “the personal history or political affiliations of the author.” It urged publishers and librarians to resist government and private suppression, and to “give full meaning to the freedom to read by providing books that enrich the quality and diversity of thought.” The manifesto took on not just official censorship, but the broader atmosphere of coercion and groupthink. It concluded: “We do not state these propositions in the comfortable belief that what people read is unimportant. We believe rather that what people read is deeply important; that ideas can be dangerous; but that the suppression of ideas is fatal to a democratic society. Freedom itself is a dangerous way of life, but it is ours.” Continued here

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Innocent pregnant woman jailed amid faulty facial recognition trend     Use of facial recognition software led Detroit police to falsely arrest 32-year-old Porcha Woodruff for robbery and carjacking, reports The New York Times. Eight months pregnant, she was detained for 11 hours, questioned, and had her iPhone seized for evidence before being released. It's the latest in a string of false arrests due to use of facial-recognition technology, which many critics say is not reliable. Continued here

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Texas Is a Look Into the Future of Driving     Every Texan I know has what you might call “grid anxiety,” a low-humming preoccupation with electricity that emerged after brutal winter storms kneecapped the state’s isolated power grid in February 2021. That frigid disaster triggered highway pileups and runs on grocery stores; people inadvertently poisoned themselves with carbon monoxide by running grills and cars indoors to keep warm. My hometown of San Antonio, like so many places across the state, simply wasn’t equipped to deal with several days of freezing temperatures. Many factors contribute to a disaster of this magnitude, but the fundamental failure of the state’s energy infrastructure can’t be overemphasized.Extreme cold is one end of the spectrum. Texas reached the other this summer, as record-breaking heat enveloped the South. Now my conversations with folks back home inevitably lead me to ask, “Is your grid up for this?” So far, the answer has been yes, thanks in part to a substantial expansion of renewable energy, particularly solar power, in the state. But energy is not straightforward: Additional solar capacity will get us only so far if heat waves happen more frequently, and it can be undercut by unfavorable weather or high temperatures that stretch into the night. Experts have said that Texas’s grid is not prepared for the extreme shifts in climate that are still to come. Add to this another complicating factor: Texans need to drive, and more of them are starting to do so in electric vehicles, which interact with the grid in complex ways. Texas is now the third-largest EV market in the country; registrations have at least doubled since the year of that winter storm to more than 200,000 today—all of them running on an electrical infrastructure that was never designed to power cars. It’s understandable, then, for Texans to ask if the grid is up for that too. Continued here

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The Pumpables Genie Advanced Is the Portable Pump I Wished For     If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. Please also consider subscribing to WIREDWhen I heard the words “portable pump,” I imagined something small. I originally purchased the classic Spectra S1 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) a few weeks before my child arrived last summer, but I was surprised how large it was. Sure, I could walk around with it and wasn't tethered to the wall—but I wasn't hands-free, since one hand had to carry the pump, and leaving the house meant packing the biggest diaper bag we owned. Continued here

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Dealmaster: Save on Apple gear, Lenovo laptops, PlayStation 5, and more     If you or your kids plan to move into a new dorm room or college apartment, we have the gear for you. From storage boxes and shelves to keep things organized, a new Windows laptop or Apple gear to stay productive, noise-cancelling headphones to tune out the world and get things done, to a discount on a Sony PlayStation 5 console, there is plenty to choose from to help make for a successful academic year. Continued here

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Trump Is Acting Like He's Cornered     The former president’s response to the latest indictment suggests a man rattled in a way he seldom has been before.In some ways, Donald Trump’s mental state is more transparent than nearly any public figure’s: He has no shame, little discretion, and ample channels to broadcast his feelings in real time. Yet his constant stream of consciousness and always elevated dudgeon make it hard to parse the finer fluctuations in his mood. Continued here