Bluesky reminded me that John Carpenter’s Escape from New York has a deleted ten-minute opening sequence, and while I think he made the right choice cutting it, it’s a pretty fun short heist film that barely even requires having seen the film.
Do you mourn the old world dying? Will you celebrate the new world’s struggle to be born? Write (or, in a few months, read) about it.
The excellent Data & Society pulled together a report on the impact of generative AI on scamming. (No surprise: not good.) Its conclusion makes an interesting comparison to the once-pressing scourge of spam:
“Though it once threatened to make email unusable, spam was largely tamed through the development of increasingly sophisticated email filters, regulation like the CAN-SPAM act, and email users becoming more adept at recognizing and managing unsolicited messages. ... This success did not come from eliminating spam altogether, but from mitigating its impact so effectively that it became a manageable nuisance rather than a disruptive force, through a mix of technical advancements, regulation, and education. As we turn our attention to the growing threat of AI-enhanced scams, the question becomes: What would a comparable success story look like?”
Apparently we’ve got some prospective cast members for a new Street Fighter movie, so it’s time to revisit Polygon’s classic Chris Plante feature about the 1994 film’s production trainwreck. RIP Raul Julia.
Literary journal Barrelhouse addresses a gap noted by Justice Samuel Alito in January’s FSC v. Paxton Supreme Court oral arguments. Almost certainly more fun than the still-awaited ruling will be.
[barrelhousemag.com]
Big Tech wants you to share your private thoughts with chatbots — while backing a government with contempt for privacy.
Interim US Attorney for Washington, DC Ed Martin is officially out of consideration for a permanent gig in the role thanks to pushback from Republican Senator Thom Tillis in particular. He may still resurface elsewhere at the Department of Justice, but for now, his threatening missives to DOGE critics and Wikipedia will not be missed.
