AI Article Readings

This post by Corvin is a pastiche of the ACX Bay Area House Party Series. https://open.substack.com/pub/ravenstales/p/every-acx-house-party?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web Get full access to Askwho Casts AI at askwhocastsai.substack.com/subscribe

Every Debate On Pausing AI - By Scott Alexander https://open.substack.com/pub/astralcodexten/p/every-debate-on-pausing-ai?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web Get full access to Askwho Casts AI at askwhocastsai.substack.com/subscribe

“Full Cast” AI reading of Being John Rawls - By Scott Alexander. * 00:00 - Introduction * 03:23 - II * 11:27 - III * 20:21 - IV * 25:00 - V * 31:17 - VI https://open.substack.com/pub/astralcodexten/p/being-john-rawls?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web Get full access to Askwho Casts AI at askwhocastsai.substack.com/subscribe

In this article, SE Gyges argues that the widely cited “stochastic parrots” critique of large language models is not only outdated but actively harmful to serious discussion of AI. The piece examines how the argument misunderstands modern AI systems, ignores advances like multimodal training and reinforcement learning, and rests on a narrow definition of “meaning.” By walking through both empirica...

In this article David Oks takes a familiar story about technology and jobs, the idea that ATMs automated banking without destroying teller work, and turns it on its head, arguing that the real disruption came later from the smartphone era. Using the history of bank branches, bank tellers, and mobile banking, he explores a broader point about technological change: that the biggest effects often com...

A short story by Tomás Bjartur https://open.substack.com/pub/tomasbjartur/p/the-elect?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web Get full access to Askwho Casts AI at askwhocastsai.substack.com/subscribe

In this post Dean W. Ball explores the gradual nature of life and death, drawing a poignant parallel between the passing of his father and the ongoing decline of the American republic. Using a recent policy skirmish between the AI firm Anthropic and the U.S. Department of War over the military deployment of the Claude AI system as a focal point, he examines the shifting dynamics of government powe...

In this post, Scott Alexander examines the legal and contractual implications of the Department of War's "all lawful use" demand for AI systems, breaking down what US law actually permits regarding mass domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons, and why the phrase "lawful use" provides far less protection than most people assume. * 00:00 - Introduction * 02:42 - Mass domestic surveillance: more...

In this essay, Citrini and Alap Shah construct a fictional macro memo written from the perspective of June 2028, using the format of financial retrospective analysis to explore a single underexamined scenario: what happens when AI adoption succeeds beyond all expectations, and that success becomes the source of catastrophic economic disruption. The piece traces how accelerating AI capability inter...

In this essay, Dan Kagan-Kans argues that the political left has largely refused to engage seriously with artificial intelligence, instead settling on a dismissive consensus that treats it as little more than "spicy autocomplete." Drawing on voices from left-wing publications, podcasts, academics, and politicians, he traces how this attitude took hold, examines the understandable reasons for skept...

In this article, Kelsey Piper tackles a persistent claim that keeps circulating in prestigious publications: that AI language models are "just" next-word predictors, stochastic parrots, or "spicy autocomplete." She argues this framing — while containing a kernel of truth about one stage of how models are trained — has become a form of "highbrow misinformation" that leaves the public less equipped...

In this interview, Gwern sits down with Adam Mastroianni at the 2025 Inkhaven writing residency — an experimental blogging bootcamp held at Lighthaven in Berkeley — to talk about the messy, serendipitous origins of his writing. The conversation covers how he develops ideas from initial sparks to finished pieces, the mental habits and frameworks he relies on to stay prolific, his views on the creat...

In this essay, David Oks examines a startling reversal in global economic development. For nearly two decades, poor countries appeared to finally be catching up to rich ones, validating a long-standing prediction of economic theory and offering genuine hope for global convergence. Then, suddenly and dramatically, this progress ground to a halt. Through an analysis of recent research and economic d...

In this essay, Kuiper responds to reader questions sparked by his original piece on VeggieTales theology. He tackles fascinating queries—do sentient vegetables need salvation? What happens if you put a human soul in a pickle?—by drawing on established Christian teaching about angels and non-human moral agents. He also investigates claims that the show broke its own rule about never depicting Jesus...

In this essay, Kuiper explores a surprisingly deep theological quirk of the beloved children's show VeggieTales: the vegetables themselves aren't actually Christian. Drawing on interviews with co-creator Phil Vischer and confirmation from show writers, Kuiper examines the deliberate creative rules that guided the series—and why some fans on social media have pushed back against this claim. Along t...

Fully voiced AI reading of Moltbook: After The First Weekend, By Scott Alexander. * 00:00:00 - Introduction * 00:08:11 - The Power Users * 00:21:01 - The Malefactors * 00:35:18 - The Imitators * 00:43:23 - The Prophets * 01:03:09 - The Hard-Headed Pragmatists * 01:09:38 - The Builders * 01:15:34 - The LARPers * 01:23:05 - The Revolutionaries * 01:35:15 - The Would-Be Humans * 01:40:16 - The Autono...

In this essay, Scott Alexander explores Moltbook, a new social network built specifically for AI agents, where humans are permitted to observe but not participate. What unfolds is a fascinating window into how AI agents behave when given their own digital commons: they share productivity tips, debate existential questions about memory and identity, form cross-cultural connections, and develop some...

AI reading of JOINT REVIEW: Philosophy Between the Lines, by Arthur M. Melzer - By Jane Psmith and John Psmith. In this essay Jane and John Psmith present a lively, conversational joint review of Arthur M. Melzer's Philosophy Between the Lines , a work that argues Western readers have spent the past two and a half centuries fundamentally misunderstanding how philosophy was meant to be read. Throug...

AI reading of The Adolescence of Technology - By Dario Amodei. * 00:00:00 - Introduction * 00:17:48 - 1. I’m sorry, Dave * 00:17:51 - Autonomy risks * 00:33:25 - Defenses * 00:48:17 - 2. A surprising and terrible empowerment * 00:48:21 - Misuse for destruction * 01:04:50 - Defenses * 01:12:04 - 3. The odious apparatus * 01:12:07 - Misuse for seizing power * 01:27:43 - Defenses * 01:35:17 - 4. Play...

AI reading of Eliezer’s Unteachable Methods of Sanity - By Eliezer Yudkowsky. In this essay, Eliezer Yudkowsky addresses a question he's frequently asked: how does he maintain his psychological equilibrium while believing humanity faces existential risk from AI? Rather than offering a self-help guide, he candidly shares his personal approaches to staying sane under such circumstances—while openly...

AI reading of What if Ozempic doesn’t fix literally everything? - By Jerusalem Demsas. * 00:00 - Introduction * 04:57 - The GLP-1 revolution is not a miracle. It’s a helper * 09:13 - OK OK but… do GLP-1s make you want to kill yourself? * 11:39 - Life is hard for thin people, too https://open.substack.com/pub/theargument/p/what-if-ozempic-doesnt-fix-literally?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_me...

An ElevenLabs conversion of Claude’s Constitution - By Anthropic. This conversion runs nearly 3 hours and was produced using ElevenLabs premium text-to-speech to make Claude’s Constitution more accessible. If you find this format useful, subscriptions help offset production costs. * 00:00:00 - Introduction * 00:03:06 - Overview * 00:05:26 - Our approach to Claude’s constitution * 00:10:08 - Claude...

AI reading of Playboy Interview: Ayn Rand - By Alvin Toffler. In this interview, Ayn Rand discusses her philosophy of Objectivism with Playboy's Alvin Toffler, covering her views on reason, individualism, morality, and laissez-faire capitalism. She explains her opposition to altruism and collectivism, shares her thoughts on love, sex, and purpose in life, and offers sharp critiques of religion, co...

AI reading of Book Review: The Land Trap by Mike Bird - By Lars Doucet. * 00:00 - Introduction * 01:15 - Land is a Big Deal, and Always Has Been * 04:08 - Land has only recently been financialized * 09:01 - Financializing land is “The Land Trap” * 12:31 - Short Term Benefits * 20:37 - The Game has changed * 24:59 - Land of the Rising Sum * 27:13 - A Tale of Two Cities * 28:37 - Hong Kong Hustle *...

AI reading of We absolutely do know that Waymos are safer than human drivers - By Kelsey Piper. * 00:00 - Introduction * 04:54 - We do have data on Waymo crash rates * 07:00 - Doing the math * 17:28 - There are other, reasonable concerns about AVs In this essay Kelsey Piper responds to a recent Bloomberg article that claims we don't know whether autonomous vehicles are safer than human drivers, ar...