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Supportive? Addictive? Abusive? How AI Companions Affect Our Mental Health (Maria)
The author writes, “‘My heart is broken,’ said Mike, when he lost his friend Anne. ‘I feel like I’m losing the love of my life.’ Mike’s feelings were real, but his companion was not. Anne was a chatbot — an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm presented as a digital persona. Mike had created Anne using an app called Soulmate. … Psychologists and communication researchers have started to build a picture of how these increasingly sophisticated AI interactions make people feel and behave. Early results stress the positives, but many researchers are concerned about the possible risks and lack of regulation.”
Trump DOJ Erases Trans People From Crime Data Surveys (Dana)
From The Appeal: “Trans people are more than four times as likely to experience violent crime. Behind bars, incarcerated trans Americans experience sexual violence at more than 12 times the rate of other imprisoned people, according to US Department of Justice survey data. Despite these statistics, the federal government will no longer collect data about the gender identity of people who experience violent crime or sexual misconduct. In a series of unpublicized revisions last month, the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics has removed all references to gender or gender identity from at least four federal surveys, The Appeal has confirmed. Experts say these changes will make it nearly impossible to monitor crimes and other forms of violence experienced by trans people.”
She Called a 5-Year-Old the N-Word (DonkeyHotey)
The author writes, “Over the past week, portions of the American right have embraced a Minnesota woman whose claim to fame is that she allegedly called a 5-year-old boy the n-word, going so far as to help her raise hundreds of thousands of dollars. But the development has also confounded others in the MAGA movement, including some well-known personalities who warn that it’s not the best of looks to celebrate an overtly racist, highly viral rant.”
Andy Beshear Is Making Serious Moves Toward a 2028 Presidential Run (Al)
From Politico: “Andy Beshear isn’t just saying he ‘would consider’ running for president. He’s actively laying the tracks for a potential 2028 campaign. … The selling point for Beshear, the popular, two-term governor of Kentucky, is his proven ability to win in Trump country while still running as an unapologetic Democrat. But he’s also done that by flying under the national radar, leaving him in a relative obscurity that he must now overcome. The challenge is translating what he calls his ‘reasonable’ and ‘common sense’ Kentucky story into a national Democratic primary campaign, and testing whether his low-key personality can excite major Democratic donors and primary voters — and break through a fragmented media environment.”
Apple’s Monopoly Is Finally Held Accountable (Sean)
From The American Prospect: “There’s been an enormous amount of discussion about what holds back markets in physical commodities like housing and energy, but also what prevents innovation and invention. One argument is that there are too many government-generated rules and regulations that slow everything down. Another is that the absence of government structuring leads to private regulations, imposed by dominant firms on their own terms to often exclude rivals and extract money. When those private regulations are forced into remission, markets can explode with new products and offers. That’s happening right now in real time in the market for mobile phone apps, and particularly the distribution of those apps to customers. It represents the first real, thorough, and permanent consequences to a Big Tech company for monopolizing markets.”
‘Technofossils’: How Humanity’s Eternal Testament Will Be Plastic Bags, Cheap Clothes and Chicken Bones (Laura)
The author writes, “As an eternal testament of humanity, plastic bags, cheap clothes, and chicken bones are not a glorious legacy. But two scientists exploring which items from our technological civilization are most likely to survive for many millions of years as fossils have reached an ironic but instructive conclusion: fast food and fast fashion will be our everlasting geological signature. ‘Plastic will definitely be a signature “technofossil,” because it is incredibly durable, we are making massive amounts of it, and it gets around the entire globe,’ says the paleontologist Prof Sarah Gabbott, a University of Leicester expert on the way that fossils form. ‘So wherever those future civilizations dig, they are going to find plastic. There will be a plastic signal that will wrap around the globe.’”
Paying for an Assigned Seat Is an Airline Money Grab. Should You Do It? (Reader Steve)
From The Seattle Times: “A recent Senate report found the five biggest U.S. airlines collected $12.4 billion from seat fees between 2018 and 2023. In some cases, airlines are earning more money from seat selection fees than from luggage fees. The urge to charge for seats is irresistible: In just a few months, even Southwest Airlines will start charging passengers for seat assignments. How did that happen?”
