Steven Levy

Every week in my Backchannel newsletter I answer a reader question. Please feel free to reply here--ask me anything! If you want the letter in your inbox every week sign up via the link below. www.wired.com/newsletter?s...

I asked Sherry Turkle, whose new book, Artificial Intimacy, warns that conversing with AI reduces our humanity, if chatbots should be banned from referring to themselves in the first-person. Her answer? "Yes!" www.wired.com/story/maybe-...

The iPod would have been 25 this month. Yes, the iPhone is galaxies more impactful, but iPod's demise leaves a hole that hasn't been filled. Put this take on your playlist, please, www.wired.com/story/im-sti...

Missed posting this yesterday, 15 years after Steve's death. This was very hard to write, and I churned it out in hours to get it online that night. Try to hang on for the kicker, which might be the best paragraph I ever wrote. www.wired.com/2011/10/stev...

Our tech overloads have pinned their businesses and their identities around "artificial intelligence." Yet when POTUS said he's ordering the US to BAN the term not one spoke out against this insane idea. www.wired.com/story/trumps...

Looking for a great reader question for this week's Backchannel. Ask me anything. Go for it!

OK, 55 yrs ago defense tech drove Silicon Valley. But PC revolution, internet, etc was fueled by hacker spirit and idealism, at least until the money got crazy. SV's current militarism and Billion $ Bro-ism pivots away from that. it wasn't always solely about the money. www.wired.com/story/war-br...

All of a sudden people are shocked at "rogue" AI. Supposedly understanding what makes LLMs tick will help us prevent that. But the more we understand AI models, the more caution is advised. www.wired.com/story/if-the...

Advanced AI is a boon for philosophers who study consciousness. But by the time they define that elusive quality--if they ever do--AI might have its own views on the subject, conscious or not. The big challenge is controlling those models. www.wired.com/story/who-ca...

A high-profile paper contends that AI alone is better than doctors alone, or docs working with AI. The AMA isn't happy. Meanwhile, clinicians are getting hooked on specialized AI chatbots. www.wired.com/story/ai-has...

Looking once more for a great reader question an answer in my WIRED newsletter/web column. AI is all over the news--anythjing I can answer for you on that? Maybe you want my view on the Meta settlement? My views on Dolly? Come on folks, ask away!

Wow this week is going fast. I need a great reader question for my WIRED newsletter--here's your chance to ask me anything. Go for it!

I got an inside look at Mamdani's tech team--and got US Digital Service vibes. But there's a difference. www.wired.com/story/mamdan...

Looking for a great reader question that I'll answer in my Backchannel/WIRED newsletter. Ask me anything!

Here's a shattering Jeff Dean fact: Google's top scientist, along with Sanjay Ghemawat and 2 other top AI researcher are leaving Google to form Discovery Loop, a startup that hopes to automate the scientific method so AI can create breakthroughs in multiple fields. www.wired.com/story/jeff-d...

Ever wonder who posts those first-person tales that start with ragebait and end in triumph for the writer and shame for the adversary? And why? www.wired.com/story/ai-slo...

Time again for a Backchannel/WIRED reader question. Ask me anything and I will answer in the newsletter!

Our two investigations into Madison Square Garden are now unpaywalled and free for anyone to read.

Lyft's David Risher insists that his company is better and cheaper than "the other guy." Check out his plans to turn around Lyft's also-ran status. www.wired.com/story/lyfts-...

Yes, Sarah Wynn-Williams did seem to break her non-disparagement clause when she wrote Careless People. But Meta's bonkers campaign to silence her shows that her criticism of Zuck & Co is well grounded. www.wired.com/story/metas-...

Hi, looking for a great reader question that I will answer with wit and wisdom in my Backchannel/WIRED newsletter/column. Ask me anything!

Paris' big Vivatech conference was all about "sovereignty." Speaker after speaker griped about U.S. dominance, some offering plans to change things. Europe has a long way to go to compete in AI, but it has no choice--especially because of Trump. www.wired.com/story/europe...

Looking for a great reader question. Ask me anything!

Officially welcoming the great @laurengoode.bsky.social to Backchannel. She'll be doing the newsletter once a month, writing great essays like this one. The other three weeks you're stuck with me. www.wired.com/story/silico...

Stewart Brand is one of my heroes, a visionary rooted in pragmatism who has made his mark on the world. He and his wife Ryan Phelan expressed these values in a home they built for his later years. www.wired.com/story/stewar...

The $1 M auction for the secrets of the CIA Kryptos sculpture was months ago--now we learn that Paradigm, a crypto-centric VC firm won. Here are their plans--and the line they didn't cross. www.wired.com/story/crypto...

Seeking a cool reader question for my Backchannel/WIRED newsletter. Lately I've been getting better responses from X than Bluesky. Folks, you can do better. Ask me anything!

Wow, the week went by fast. Now it's time to ask you folks for a great reader question that I will answer in the Backchannel/WIRED newsletter. Ask me anything!

Here's an exclusive inside look at Flourish, a startup full of neuroscientists and AI researchers working together to make discoveries about the brain and use them to create a more efficient form of AI that learns like people do. www.wired.com/story/jeff-b...

Time for another reader question, which I will answer in the beloved Backchannel newsletter. People ask away. All topics welcome.

The recent AI agent breakthrough is just as big a bang as ChatGPT. Only techies realize this now but eventually no one will be able to ignore it. My report from inside this huge shift. www.wired.com/story/how-ai...

The good news: Google's upgraded AI search is better than the (less useful than they used to be) 10 Blue Links. Not so good: One more traffic-sucking blow for websites and online publications. www.wired.com/story/even-i...

Looking for a great reader question for my Backchannel newsletter. Here's your chance to hear from me on any subject. Fire away, friends!

It always blows my mind that the phrase I coined to describe the hacker mindset has found its way into the lexicon.

Philosopher Nick Bostrom once was considered a doomer. Now he's considering whether AI's risk of annihilating humanity might be worth it--because we're all going to die anyway. If all goes right, he's looking forward to humanity's "retirement." www.wired.com/story/nick-b...

In 1981 I went to Atlanta for Rolling Stone to view the amazing phenomenon of a 24-hour cable television news channel, and interviewed the complex dude who started it. RIP Ted Turner.

The search for Satoshi has resulted in a very crowded rabbit hole, but no bunny. Even ace investigators like NYT's John Carryrou and detective Tyler Maroney--who each ID'd a different Nakamoto--have not closed the case. Both can't be right, and both may be wrong. www.wired.com/story/you-fo...

Witty article by my great colleague @mzeff.bsky.social on Wikipedia using his photo in Evan Spiegal entry--& how his heroic efforts have been unable to get it corrected. Under the surface, this indicates something rotten in Wikipedia, a failure of its crowd-sourcing. www.wired.com/story/why-do...

I saw one pristine issue for sale on eBay for $70,000. If you want lower quality, there's one for $50k and a less spiffy one for a bargain 12k. Open offer: if you buy one for more than $10k I'll sign it for 10% of what you paid.

John Ternus, your mission as CEO is to do for AI what Apple has done for desktop computing, mobile, and music--harness the power of a messy technology and make it accessible and delightful. Do you choose to accept? If not someone else will, and Apple will suffer. www.wired.com/story/apples...

It's efficient and economical to have AI write drafts of of a news story or, god forbid, something longer. After all, people just want the info, right? Wrong. If this is the wave of the future, I'd rather drown. www.wired.com/story/backch...

Need a great reader question for my WIRED/Backchannel newsletter. Ask me anything!

Hey Kids! Want me to answer your question in my Backchannel newsletter? Here's your chance! Reply to this post and ask away. No subjects barred.

Apple is turning 50. I talked to its CEO and his possible successor about the NEXT 50 years. www.wired.com/story/apple-...

Looking for a great reader question RIGHT AWAY for this week's Backchannel newsletter/column. What do you got for me? Ask anything.

The best choices for a Turing Award are those that make you say "What, they didn't already win?" Charlie Bennett and Gilles Brassard, pioneers of information theory, fill that bill. Congrats! www.wired.com/story/a-quan...

Here's why the Iran war has gummed up the global supply chain--and why it will cost you money. www.wired.com/story/iran-w...

SF people! I just got added to a panel at Manny's on "Apple, the Counterculture, and Digital Culture." Expect mentions of LSD, HyperCard and Bill Gates v Homebrew! Monday night! See you there! www.eventbrite.com/e/think-diff...

Conversations w Jack Dorsey are always illuminating. Here he argues how massive Block layoffs signal how companies must drastically transform in the AI age. He also comments on Twitter, Bluesky, politics and journalism. And WIRED! .https://www.wired.com/story/jack-dorsey-explains-block-layoffs/

Looking for a great reader question to answer in my Backchannel newsletter. Ask away! No subject off limits.

Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour was outraged when I suggested that a bet on FanDuel might be the same as a "market position" on @Kalshi. in our spirited @wired Big Interview, he argues his company is not a gambling den but an arbiter or truth. www.wired.com/story/big-in...