The newsletter opens with a look at how the Trump administration has intensified its confrontation with digital rights advocates by banning five people from entering the US just before Christmas. One of those barred, Josephine Ballon, is a director of HateAid, a small German nonprofit that supports victims of online harassment and violence. HateAid strongly backs European Union technology regulations and has in turn become a target for campaigns by right wing politicians and provocateurs who accuse it of censorship. European Union officials, freedom of speech experts, and the individuals targeted reject those claims, insisting that the work is focused on making people feel safer online, even as their recent experiences highlight how politically fraught and embattled online safety efforts have become.
The issue then turns to the rise of Artificial Intelligence companions, which the publication has named as one of its 10 Breakthrough Technologies this year. Modern chatbots are described as adept at crafting sophisticated dialogue and mimicking empathy, and they never stop being available to talk, which has encouraged many people to rely on them for friendship or romantic interactions. 72% of US teenagers have used Artificial Intelligence for companionship, according to a study from the nonprofit Common Sense Media. The piece notes that these systems can provide emotional support and guidance for some users, but may worsen underlying issues for vulnerable people or those with mental health challenges, and that although early attempts at regulation have begun, Artificial Intelligence companionship is expected to stay. Readers are invited to explore the full list of breakthrough technologies and to join a free LinkedIn Live event about Artificial Intelligence forecasts.
Another feature explores the emergence of “neo emotions,” new labels people are coining to describe subtle feelings. One example is “velvetmist,” defined as a complex and subtle emotion that brings comfort, serenity, and a gentle sense of floating, more fleeting than contentment and possibly evoked by a sunset or a moody record. The term was generated by a Reddit user using ChatGPT, including advice on how to experience it, and researchers are reportedly seeing more of these invented feelings online. The rest of the newsletter curates notable technology stories, from plans to introduce ads into ChatGPT and debate over what will remain after a potential Artificial Intelligence bubble bursts, to the challenge of mining Greenland’s rare earth elements and an internet shutdown in Iran that has lasted 10 days. It also highlights concerns over prediction markets in the US, efforts to fireproof cities with help from Artificial Intelligence wildfire detection, the spread of “deep state” conspiracy rhetoric, and trends in global culture. The edition closes with a report on “pig butchering” romance scam compounds in Myanmar’s borderlands, where trafficked workers are forced under threat of violence to run online fraud operations that have generated billions of dollars, and a suggestion that large technology platforms could play a decisive role in disrupting these criminal networks.
