Author: Wired Magazine

‘Talk to Me’ Is Horror Made by and for the Internet Generation

Kids are going to do stupid stuff. But what does being terminally online do to IRL relationships when the entire internet is in the palm of your hand? In that world, what does real connection even look like? These were some of the many questions posed by Talk to Me, the new horror film from… Continue reading ‘Talk to Me’ Is Horror Made by and for the Internet Generation

Uber’s Fatal Self-Driving Car Crash Saga Ends With the Operator Avoiding Prison

While Vasquez and Uber may find some closure in the plea deal, self-driving expert Bryant Walker Smith says the NTSB should revisit the Slack issue to find the truth. “I don’t want the story of the first automated vehicle fatality to be a lie. Or be a matter of disputes,” says Walker Smith, a law… Continue reading Uber’s Fatal Self-Driving Car Crash Saga Ends With the Operator Avoiding Prison

When You Drop a Rock Overboard, What Happens to the Water Level?

Physics questions are the most fun when people don’t immediately agree on the answer. What feels intuitive or obvious—sometimes isn’t. We can argue over the solution for hours of entertainment, and we might even learn something in the end. Here’s one of these seemingly obvious questions that’s been around a long time: Suppose a large… Continue reading When You Drop a Rock Overboard, What Happens to the Water Level?

The NSA Is Lobbying Congress to Save a Phone Surveillance ‘Loophole’

The US Supreme Court has previously ordered the government to obtain search warrants before seeking information that may “chronicle a person’s past movements through the record of his cell phone signals.” In the landmark Carpenter v. United States decision, the court found that advancements in wireless technology had effectively outpaced people’s ability to reasonably appreciate… Continue reading The NSA Is Lobbying Congress to Save a Phone Surveillance ‘Loophole’

Meta Just Proved People Hate Chronological Feeds

For three months in late 2020, nearly 7,200 US adults on Facebook and 8,800 on Instagram received a radically different experience than the services’ billions of other users. When they scrolled through their newsfeed, Facebook and Instagram showed them the newest posts as determined by the clock, not those judged most relevant by an algorithm.… Continue reading Meta Just Proved People Hate Chronological Feeds

Meta’s Election Research Opens More Questions Than It Answers

In the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election, Meta set out to conduct a series of ambitious studies on the effects its platforms—Facebook and Instagram—have on the political beliefs of US-based users. Independent researchers from several universities were given unprecedented access to Meta’s data, and the power to change the feeds of tens of thousands… Continue reading Meta’s Election Research Opens More Questions Than It Answers

More Battlefield AI Will Make the Fog of War More Deadly

The United States military is not the unrivaled force it once was, but Alexandr Wang, CEO of startup Scale AI, told a congressional committee last week that it could establish a new advantage by harnessing artificial intelligence. “We have the largest fleet of military hardware in the world,” Wang told the House Armed Services Subcommittee… Continue reading More Battlefield AI Will Make the Fog of War More Deadly

8 Best Deals From the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale (2023): Dyson Hair Tools, Fellow Grinder, Strollers

If you’re not tapped out from Amazon Prime Day, then we’ve got some new deals that might interest you. The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is happening right now through August 6, and we’ve scanned dozens of webpages to find the very best deals on WIRED-tested gear, such as Dyson hair tools, Le Creuset cookware, and a… Continue reading 8 Best Deals From the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale (2023): Dyson Hair Tools, Fellow Grinder, Strollers

Why Scientists Are Clashing Over the Atlantic’s Critical Currents

So much on this planet depends on a simple matter of density. In the Atlantic Ocean, a conveyor belt of warm water heads north from the tropics, reaching the Arctic and chilling. That makes it denser, so it sinks and heads back south, finishing the loop. This system of currents, known as the Atlantic Meridional… Continue reading Why Scientists Are Clashing Over the Atlantic’s Critical Currents