Hacker News with Generative AI: Society

Let's Talk About the American Dream (codinghorror.com)
A few months ago I wrote about what it means to stay gold — to hold on to the best parts of ourselves, our communities, and the American Dream itself. But staying gold isn’t passive. It takes work. It takes action. It takes hard conversations that ask us to confront where we’ve been, where we are, and who we want to be.
American Dream, Society, Personal Growth
32 points by _eigenfoo 13 hours ago | 12 comments
The A.I. Monarchy (substack.com)
Artificial Intelligence, Politics, Society
211 points by zuzuleinen 5 days ago | 259 comments
Welcome to the Zero Sum Era. Now How Do We Get Out? (nytimes.com)
Zero-sum thinking has spread like a mind virus, from geopolitics to pop culture.
Economics, Society, Culture, Politics
13 points by uxhacker 5 days ago | 5 comments
Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life? (thepublicdiscourse.com)
For decades, we have been told that the future is digital and that resistance is futile. But what if the future we truly want is one where the analogue coexists alongside the digital, where digital technology is an option and not a mandate?
Technology, Society, Digitalization, Analogue
82 points by StatsAreFun 11 days ago | 108 comments
The Delirious, Violent, Impossible True Story of the Zizians (wired.com)
I know this is unconventional, but I’m going to start by telling you the ending. Or at least, the ending as it stands today. Most of the people involved in this story wind up either dead, maimed, spending months in a mental hospital, languishing in jail, or gone underground.
True Crime, Crime, Journalism, Society
8 points by valtism 12 days ago | 2 comments
'The tyranny of apps': those without smartphones are unfairly penalised (theguardian.com)
From loyalty cards, to restaurant meal deals or simply parking your car – it is harder and harder to get by without signing up to a multitude of apps
Mobile Technology, Digital Divide, Accessibility, Society, Consumerism
787 points by zeristor 13 days ago | 839 comments
Who wants to work in a factory? (arenamag.com)
For more than half a century, we Americans have distanced ourselves from the making of our everyday surroundings.
Manufacturing, Labor, Economy, Society
32 points by HR01 13 days ago | 64 comments
An Age of Illiteracy (fiddlersgreene.substack.com)
Civilizational decline is anticlimactic. For all our contemporary fascination with collapse, degeneration’s lived experience is humiliatingly ordinary. It’s just a series of broken systems, ruined people, and things falling apart.
Society, Decline, Culture
4 points by paulpauper 13 days ago | 0 comments
Broligarchy does not build civilization (ghost.io)
With the new administration taking over in USA, we will see success, improvements and positive change. We will also experience further polarization and division in society. We used to say with great power comes great responsibility. Now the saying will be “with great power comes greater power”. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Politics, Society, Power, USA
30 points by saevarom 18 days ago | 32 comments
Why bother with privacy when I have nothing to hide? (2023) (hannahonprivacy.substack.com)
Why bother with privacy when I have nothing to hide?
Privacy, Surveillance, Ethics, Society
56 points by mooreds 18 days ago | 60 comments
Ignorance is bliss when you're drowning in information (theregister.com)
I've never seriously accepted the maxim "ignorance is bliss". Now I'm less sure.
Information Overload, Technology, Opinion, Society
9 points by rntn 22 days ago | 0 comments
The Post-Meritocracy Manifesto (postmeritocracy.org)
Meritocracy is a founding principle of the open source movement, and the ideal of meritocracy is perpetuated throughout our field in the way people are recruited, hired, retained, promoted, and valued.
Open Source, Meritocracy, Technology, Society
6 points by airhangerf15 24 days ago | 1 comments
Advertising Is a Cancer on Society (2019) (zlydach.pl)
I frequently say that advertising is a cancer on modern society.
Advertising, Society, Opinions
284 points by hosteur 25 days ago | 271 comments
Forget Psychedelics. Everyone's Microdosing Ozempic Now (hollywoodreporter.com)
On a chilly January evening, Samira Shamoon, a 44-year-old health and beauty publicist, walked into an Italian restaurant to meet friends. They were stunned by the incandescence of her skin. Her cheekbones appeared more defined. After a flurry of questions about which dermatologist or plastic surgeon she had visited, she said, beaming, “I’m microdosing!”
Health, Drugs, Society, Trends
22 points by adrian_mrd 26 days ago | 17 comments
Modern-Day Oracles or Bullshit Machines? How to thrive in a ChatGPT world (thebullshitmachines.com)
We were promised hyper-intelligent computer systems that would usher in an era of unparalleled prosperity and innovation.
Generative AI, ChatGPT, Artificial Intelligence, Technology, Society
930 points by ctbergstrom 26 days ago | 605 comments
AI dialogue analysis confirms movies have grown more violent over past 70 years (phys.org)
Movies often reflect the predominant societal and cultural values at the time they were shot. These values can be expressed in various elements of a film, including the interactions between characters, their communication styles and their characterizing traits.
AI, Movies, Violence, Society, Culture
11 points by pseudolus 28 days ago | 18 comments
Why Civilizations Collapse (palladiummag.com)
Why do civilizations collapse? This question bears not only on safeguarding our society’s future but also makes sense of our present. The answer relies on some of the same technē that humanity needed to build civilization in the first place: we have to evaluate the perceptions that mint facts and theory, not merely peruse the body of theories handed down to us.
History, Civilization, Sociology, Future, Society
11 points by MindGods 28 days ago | 2 comments
Ask HN: What do you expect will be the real impact of AI on society in 10 years (ycombinator.com)
I started to get more curious on this, especially beyond the obligatory “genAI will do everything.” What are your thoughts on societal impact.
Artificial Intelligence, Society, Future, Technology, Predictions
16 points by doubtfuluser 32 days ago | 26 comments
Ask HN: Why are we all pretending everything is normal? (ycombinator.com)
I know we’re supposed to be tech focused but I see no posts regarding the situation at large. No tech, no innovation can really grow or come about if this keeps going. Those of us who have grown up with relative freedom and the room to innovate owe it to those coming up to do something? The system isn’t perfect, but what is happening will make it worse. What can be done?
Politics, Society, Social Commentary, Current Events
32 points by bigmattystyles 33 days ago | 24 comments
Five years of Brexit reshaped Britain (ft.com)
Brexit, United Kingdom, Politics, Economics, Society
28 points by belter 35 days ago | 117 comments
Society for Technical Communication to permanently close its doors (stc.org)
Despite significant efforts over the past several years by the various Boards of Directors and STC leadership, financial liabilities coupled with falling membership numbers have created a situation where we are not able to offer the education, resources, and outreach that this membership expects and deserves.
Society, Technical Communication, Membership Organizations, Financial Difficulties
87 points by Sgt_Apone 36 days ago | 25 comments
Larry Ellison: vast AI surveillance can ensure citizens are on best behavior (2024) (businessinsider.com)
But this is only the start of our surveillance dystopia, according to Larry Ellison, the billionaire cofounder of Oracle. He said AI will usher in a new era of surveillance that he gleefully said will ensure "citizens will be on their best behavior."
Artificial Intelligence, Surveillance, Society, Technology, Ethics
167 points by archagon 40 days ago | 137 comments
A New Hampshire libertarian utopia was foiled by bears (2020) (vox.com)
Seriously, this happened. You should absolutely read about it.
Politics, Society, New Hampshire, Wildlife, Humor
11 points by Cyclone_ 44 days ago | 0 comments
Yes, Climate Change Is Probably Going to Kill You (predicament.substack.com)
A lot of people don’t seem to understand the implications of climate change. The majority of people don’t deny that climate change is happening (well, at least outside of the United States), and most people also understand that it’s us causing it through emissions of greenhouse gases and land-use change. But they still don’t understand that they will probably die from it.
Climate Change, Science, Environment, Society
25 points by marvinborner 45 days ago | 22 comments
Invisible Epidemic: The Loneliness Epidemic (2023) (pudding.cool)
This is a 62-year-old Hispanic male – let's call him Martin.
Loneliness, Mental Health, Society, Data Visualization
57 points by kamikazeturtles 46 days ago | 18 comments
I knew one day I'd have to watch powerful men burn the world down (theguardian.com)
I don’t know if anyone else has noticed this but everything seems to be going down the tubes quite fast. And not fun tubes, like at a waterpark. The “ending in shit” kind. The issues are complicated, the reasons diverse, but there are a few culprits who have been making themselves extremely visible.
Politics, Society, Opinion
9 points by cratermoon 49 days ago | 6 comments
Nobody cares (grantslatton.com)
Why does nobody care about anything? The world is full of stuff that could be excellent with just 1% more effort. But people don't care.
Motivation, Society, Technology, Effort
1071 points by fzliu 51 days ago | 976 comments
Sweden is a nearly cashless society – how it affects people who are left out (theconversation.com)
Around the world, cards and apps are the default way to pay – but nowhere is the transition away from cash more obvious than in Sweden. The Bank of Sweden notes that the amount of cash in circulation in the country has halved since 2007.
Sweden, Cashless Society, Financial Inclusion, Technology, Society
30 points by PaulHoule 52 days ago | 64 comments
Why do small children in Japan ride the subway alone? (economist.com)
Why does Ohtani Shohei, a Japanese baseball star, pick up litter after games? Why do Japanese people queue so politely, and wait for green lights before crossing the road? Why, in short, is Japan so orderly? Some say the answer lies in its primary schools.
Japan, Culture, Society, Education
47 points by feyman_r 52 days ago | 106 comments
Stay Gold, America (codinghorror.com)
We are at an unprecedented point in American history, and I'm concerned we may lose sight of the American Dream.
American History, Politics, Society
122 points by ksec 57 days ago | 109 comments