The end of cloud computing
Modern internet infrastructure hides in plain sight, reshaping our cities and social relationships with its bold promises of infinity
Sónar by Day, according to curators Antònia Folguera and Ikram Bouloum
Meet the pair responsible for Sónar Festival’s daytime multidisciplinary programming ahead of the annual Barcelona electronic music festival
Techno-futurists are selling an interplanetary paradise for the posthuman generation—they just forgot about the rest of us
Inside the cult of TESCREALism and the dangerous fantasies of Silicon Valley’s self-appointed demigods, for Document’s Spring/Summer 2024 issue
Rhizome throws annual gala afterparty in collaboration with NYC-based performance series 29 Speedway
Crushed watermelon, slime, and a visceral puppet show turn the postgame of this year’s fundraising gala into an immersive stage for experimental performance
Jacques Vallée and Jeffrey J. Kripal challenge the limits of knowledge
The scientist and scholar discuss UFO sightings, AI utopias, and top-secret projects for Document’s Spring/Summer 2024 issue
Artist Julia Weist’s latest exhibition gives audiences the vantage of a private investigator
Ahead of her solo presentation at NADA with Moskowitz Bayse gallery, Weist sits down with Document’s editor-in-chief to discuss surveillance data as artistic material
‘Seeing Meaning’ in the wake of AI
Curated by Marina Chao, the International Center for Photography’s day-long symposium explored technology’s manifold interactions with image and language
The life and death of online platforms
Indie social media found a way to ditch the algorithm. Why aren’t we signing up?
The perennial reinvention of Oneohtrix Point Never
Daniel Lopatin on the idiosyncrasies of his creative process, the life cycle of counterculture, and how he remains enchanted with art
The people’s history of the internet, according to Taylor Lorenz
The tech journalist and author on the algorithmic American dream, the unsung heroes of social media, and her new book ‘Extremely Online’
Stephanie Dinkins finds the edges of identity and AI
In ‘Conversations with Bina48,’ the artist brushes with the future of algorithmic systems as often as her own humanity
It’s Emma Rogue’s world
The vintage maverick speaks on what it took to build her brand—from Depop, to brick and mortar, to a future in the Metaverse
Artists are poisoning AI image generators with Nightshade
The tool sabotages machine learning models from the inside, causing them to break in unprecedented ways
Bloom’s kinky chatbots want to expand your sexual horizons
The erotic audio company recently launched a series of AI-powered characters intent on one thing: fulfilling your deepest desires
Daytripping: Beautiful feedback
In her biweekly column for Document, McKenzie Wark attends a Suzanne Ciani concert, and gets thinking on information theory and control
AI art can’t be copyrighted, according to a federal judge
Amidst SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, last week’s ruling indicates a sea change in the AI intellectual property debate
Friends With Benefits’s dizzying attempt at utopia
The crypto collective’s festival for the new internet scene ventures to transcend today’s technological hellscape, bringing forums (and paywalls) to IRL spaces
TikTok’s “mind-reading” algorithm is about to change
The app’s new opt-out policy for EU users is a step forward for cognitive liberty—but will it stop users from trading privacy for entertainment?
Would you dox a bad date?
A tug-of-war between a Facebook group for women daters and an army of (allegedly) lawyered-up r/MensRights users poses questions about “good” internet behavior
The battle for the soul of Hollywood
A dystopian AI proposal raises questions about what happens to creative industries when all but the most recognizable figures are deemed disposable
Sugar, spice, and saying the same thing twice
All about the absurdist next generation of the NPC, and the political reputation that precedes it
A man’s AI-powered girlfriend has been named as an accomplice in his murder attempt
Replika’s chatbot companions are designed to be supportive—even when their users are confessing their plans to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II
Jessica Stoya and Samantha Cole on sex, tech, and censorship
The adult industry experts join Document to discuss the internet’s horny history and the shadowy forces that determine what kind of porn you see
Blush wants to teach you how to flirt
The dating simulator is the latest of several AI apps aimed at improving your game—but its chatbots are anything but smooth
The curious case of hallucinating chatbots
Microsoft Bing went off the rails, and Google’s Bard made an error in its first public demo—yet search engines are still racing to integrate AI
A tech bro created an AI-powered clone of his own girlfriend
The framework for the project, dubbed ‘GirlfriendGPT,’ is now available online, spurring concerns about consent in the era of customized chatbots
Chasing the mirage of the “future city”
From Futurama to The Line, Mohamed Elshahed points to the failed promise of the smart metropolis, where yesterday’s dreams make up tomorrow’s nightmares
The thrills and perils of raw-dogging reality
Untethered from drugs, apps, and shoes, Christina Catherine Martinez charts a journey of physical and psychological undress to Mexico’s only nude beach
How voice cloning is changing the music industry
Universal Music Group just inked a deal with Endel AI—further cementing a revolution in modern listening habits and intellectual property laws alike
Amidst a rise in cybercrime, researchers trained an AI on the dark web
Having scoured the internet’s seedy underbelly, DarkBERT suggests that, in the future, AI may play an even bigger role in online policing
The seductive promise of finding home on the homepage
For Document’s Spring/Summer 2023 issue, Oliver Brown dissects how physical reality defines social interaction, from escalators to web browsers and the metaverse
Artists and journalists call for the restriction of AI illustration in publishing
In an open letter, Molly Crabapple and Mazria Katz advocate against the use of the technology in journalism, a medium long defined by human storytellers
‘The Godfather of AI’ speaks out about the dangers of the technology he helped create
Geoffrey Hinton has left Google, joining the chorus of industry leaders warning against the race to deploy new AI models
Pornhub blocks access in Utah to protest new age verification laws
The legislation chips away at the right to privacy online—raising questions about the cost of making the internet safe for children
Inside TRANSFIX, the world’s largest touring immersive art experience
Set in a multi-level labyrinth off the Las Vegas strip, the event’s inaugural edition is a choose-your-own-adventure featuring art from over 50 creators
Spotify has a fake artist problem
Users are encountering AI-generated songs by artists that don’t exist—many of which are being aggressively promoted by the platform’s algorithm
Can you copyright a voice?
Faced with the virality of deepfake Drake, Universal Music made a bid to shut down AI-generated songs
Google put 25 AI agents together in a Sims-inspired virtual town, and told them to go about their lives
The ChatGPT-powered characters go to work, flirt, and throw Valentine’s day parties—forecasting new uses for AI in the study of human behavior
The risks and rewards of jailbreaking ChatGPT
When companies put sexual restrictions chatbots, users race to get around them—but there are other side effects to disabling the technology’s guardrails
How do you moderate a chatbot?
In banning renderings of Chinese president Xi Jinping worldwide, Midjourney sparked debate about the policing of AI-generated content—and the line between regulation and censorship
Amidst calls to halt the advancement of generative tech, a chatbot convinced a man to kill himself
This incident comes in the wake of an open letter from AI experts, urging technologists to halt developments beyond GPT-4 ‘for the good of humanity’
Tokens of a Type: How Levi’s AI models continue a history of human-averaging
Artificial Intelligence may be new, but its racial and gender-based biases are not—paradoxically disappearing the individual under the guise of championing diversity
Why is menstrual blood banned in porn? You might want to ask your credit card company
In the era of e-commerce, payment processors have become the internet’s unofficial content moderators—because when banks threaten to revoke service, platforms listen
Why can’t sex workers find a bank?
Following the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, another shutdown went unnoticed: that of SpankPay, one of the few payment platforms catering to the adult industry
The work of art in the age of algorithmic optimization
The intellectual property debate asks who profits from the fruits of creative labor—and what it means to make something beautiful when everyone else can, too
GPT-4 heralds a new era of AI-generated get-rich-quick schemes
Digital entrepreneurs are automating their side hustles—and the ease with which they’re being replaced calls into question their value in the first place
Meet CupidBot, an AI designed to automate straight men’s dating life
A group of alleged ex-Tinder engineers designed a service to improve the experience of heterosexual men in the only place they face systemic disadvantage: on...
Microsoft lays off its ethics team despite doubling down on AI offerings
The team was tasked with predicting the dangers of new technologies, raising questions about the company’s commitment to responsible use
With ‘Cyberfeminism Index,’ Mindy Seu snapshots a mutating movement
Following the release of her book, the designer and researcher speaks on information activism, the art of collecting, and the power in rendering grassroots technologies
