How Protesters Became Content for the Cops

The tactics behind protest policing are changing—from one of cooperation to intentional antagonism for political marketing purposes.

AI Labor Is Boring. AI Lust Is Big Business

After years of hype about generative AI increasing productivity and making lives easier, 2025 was the year erotic chatbots defined AI’s narrative.

Fears Mount That US Federal Cybersecurity Is Stagnating—or Worse

Government staffing cuts and instability, including this year’s prolonged shutdown, could be hindering US digital defense and creating vulnerabilities.

AI-Powered Dating Is All Hype. IRL Cruising Is the Future

Dating apps and AI companies have been touting bot wingmen for months. But the future might just be good old-fashioned meet-cutes.

The Great Big Power Play

US support for nuclear energy is soaring. Meanwhile, coal plants are on their way out and electricity-sucking data centers are meeting huge pushback. Welcome to the next front in the energy battle.

The New Surveillance State Is You

Privacy may be dead, but civilians are turning conventional wisdom on its head by surveilling the cops as much as the cops surveil them.

In Cryptoland, Memecoin Fever Gives Way to a Stablecoin Boom

In a year that began with a memecoin trading frenzy, stablecoins have emerged as the respectable face of the crypto industry.

So Long, GPT-5. Hello, Qwen

In the AI boom, chatbots and GPTs come and go quickly. (Remember Llama?) GPT-5 had a big year, but 2026 will be all about Qwen.

‘We Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet’—Trump’s Mass Deportations Will Only Grow From Here

Militias and far-right extremists believed they would be central to Trump’s mass deportation plans. Instead he militarized law enforcement agencies.