Steven Levy
@stevenlevy.bsky.social
Still writing. Editor at Large WIRED. Hackers, Crypto, Facebook: The Inside Story, Insanely Great and other books. Signal: stevenlevy.72
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Steven Levy
@stevenlevy.bsky.social
· Oct 14
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Every week in my Backchannel newsletter I answer a reader question. Please feel free to reply here--ask me anything! If you want the letter in your inbox every week sign up via the link below. www.wired.com/newsletter?s...
Reposted by Steven Levy
The plan, which is still in its early stages, is spearheaded by former USDS administrator Mikey Dickerson.
Former USDS Leaders Launch Tech Reform Project to Fix What DOGE Broke
The plan, which is still in its early stages, is spearheaded by former USDS administrator Mikey Dickerson.
wrd.cm
January 16, 2026 at 4:04 PM
The plan, which is still in its early stages, is spearheaded by former USDS administrator Mikey Dickerson.
Requesting again for a reader question.Ask me anything. AI, e-books, startup ideas, tech politics, Apple. Bruce Springsteen, the theatre today, best cheesesteak... anything! Just reply to this post and maybe your question will be honored by inclusion in Backchannel/WIRED newsletter.
January 13, 2026 at 3:56 PM
Requesting again for a reader question.Ask me anything. AI, e-books, startup ideas, tech politics, Apple. Bruce Springsteen, the theatre today, best cheesesteak... anything! Just reply to this post and maybe your question will be honored by inclusion in Backchannel/WIRED newsletter.
The CA wealth tax is probably not good for the state, as some billionaires would rather flee than pay a tax. But the superwealthy brought this on themselves, by using clout to pay much less tax (% wise) than working stiffs--and acting as if it's their due. www.wired.com/story/backch...
Silicon Valley Billionaires Panic Over California’s Proposed Wealth Tax
Larry Page’s apparent Florida move highlights how seriously the ultra-rich are taking a one-time tax aimed at extreme wealth inequality.
www.wired.com
January 9, 2026 at 6:15 PM
The CA wealth tax is probably not good for the state, as some billionaires would rather flee than pay a tax. But the superwealthy brought this on themselves, by using clout to pay much less tax (% wise) than working stiffs--and acting as if it's their due. www.wired.com/story/backch...
It's a new year and time for new reader questions for my Backchannel newsletter and WIRED column. Please ask away! No topic off limits!
January 7, 2026 at 8:00 PM
It's a new year and time for new reader questions for my Backchannel newsletter and WIRED column. Please ask away! No topic off limits!
Steve Jobs collectors can now bid for stuff from his childhood bedroom, like his HS bowties and his Dylan 8-tracks. Also for bid: the first check written by Apple. Check out who had the bedroom stuff and why. www.wired.com/story/steve-...
Steve Jobs’ Early Apple Items Are Going Up for Auction—Along With His Bow Ties
Some of the objects came from Steve Jobs’ childhood bedroom. They’re being made available by his stepbrother, John Chovanec.
www.wired.com
January 6, 2026 at 2:11 PM
Steve Jobs collectors can now bid for stuff from his childhood bedroom, like his HS bowties and his Dylan 8-tracks. Also for bid: the first check written by Apple. Check out who had the bedroom stuff and why. www.wired.com/story/steve-...
Reposted by Steven Levy
We announced/released this at @wired.com's Big Interview event yesterday with @katie-drummond.bsky.social and @stevenlevy.bsky.social interviewing myself and @komorama.bsky.social on stage. I love Steven's framing that "it's time to save Silicon Valley from itself." www.wired.com/story/big-in...
It’s Time to Save Silicon Valley From Itself
Big Tech has lost its way. At WIRED’s Big Interview event, Techdirt editor Mike Masnick and Common Tools CEO Alex Komoroske announced a manifesto designed to help the industry get back on track.
www.wired.com
December 5, 2025 at 5:57 PM
We announced/released this at @wired.com's Big Interview event yesterday with @katie-drummond.bsky.social and @stevenlevy.bsky.social interviewing myself and @komorama.bsky.social on stage. I love Steven's framing that "it's time to save Silicon Valley from itself." www.wired.com/story/big-in...
Even before launch these AI hearing aids have become the in-ear Birkin bag of the elite (of a certain age). Here’s why. www.wired.com/story/hearin...
Want This Hearing Aid? Well, Who Do You Know?
AI-powered startup Fortell has become a secret handshake for the privileged hearing-impaired crowd who swear by the product. Now, it wants to be in your ears.
www.wired.com
December 3, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Even before launch these AI hearing aids have become the in-ear Birkin bag of the elite (of a certain age). Here’s why. www.wired.com/story/hearin...
AI companies, funders, and government are all intertwined in one big heaping trillion dollar blob. Here's what it means. www.wired.com/story/ai-ind...
There Is Only One AI Company. Welcome to the Blob
As Nvidia, OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft forge partnerships and deals, the AI industry is looking more like one interconnected machine. What does that mean for all of us?
www.wired.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:36 PM
AI companies, funders, and government are all intertwined in one big heaping trillion dollar blob. Here's what it means. www.wired.com/story/ai-ind...
Bradley Tusk is obsessed with mobile voting. He thinks it could save the nation. He's funded an effort to create secure tech to do it. Top cryptographers say online voting is inherently insecure. But there's a bigger hurdle... ihttps://www.wired.com/story/bradley-tusk-mobile-voting-protocol/
November 15, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Bradley Tusk is obsessed with mobile voting. He thinks it could save the nation. He's funded an effort to create secure tech to do it. Top cryptographers say online voting is inherently insecure. But there's a bigger hurdle... ihttps://www.wired.com/story/bradley-tusk-mobile-voting-protocol/
Reposted by Steven Levy
Btw!! I had the privilege of filling in for @laurengoode.bsky.social on Uncanny Valley this week + chatting with @stevenlevy.bsky.social about his interview with Alex Karp. If you follow Palantir news, I'd encourage a read + listen!!
www.wired.com/story/alex-k...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i...
www.wired.com/story/alex-k...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i...
Alex Karp Goes to War
Palantir’s CEO is good with ICE and says he defends human rights. But will Israel and Trump ever go too far for him?
www.wired.com
November 14, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Btw!! I had the privilege of filling in for @laurengoode.bsky.social on Uncanny Valley this week + chatting with @stevenlevy.bsky.social about his interview with Alex Karp. If you follow Palantir news, I'd encourage a read + listen!!
www.wired.com/story/alex-k...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i...
www.wired.com/story/alex-k...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i...
Reposted by Steven Levy
Political consultant Bradley Tusk has spent a fortune on mobile voting efforts. Now, he’s launching a protocol to try to mainstream the technology. www.wired.com/story/bradle...
Inside the Multimillion-Dollar Plan to Make Mobile Voting Happen
Political consultant Bradley Tusk has spent a fortune on mobile voting efforts. Now, he’s launching a protocol to try to mainstream the technology.
www.wired.com
November 14, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Political consultant Bradley Tusk has spent a fortune on mobile voting efforts. Now, he’s launching a protocol to try to mainstream the technology. www.wired.com/story/bradle...
Once again soliciting a great reader question on...any subject. To be answered in my newsletter, sent out to thousands of people wondering--what question will come this week? Do not let them down--ask me anything!
November 12, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Once again soliciting a great reader question on...any subject. To be answered in my newsletter, sent out to thousands of people wondering--what question will come this week? Do not let them down--ask me anything!
In this video version of my Alex Karp interview, I get some words in edgewise--barely. But we do have a clash of viewpoints wherein he says tangling with me is like talking to his (progressive) parents. www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWxW...
Palantir CEO Alex Karp On Government Contracts, Immigration, and the Future of Work | WIRED
YouTube video by WIRED
www.youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:59 PM
In this video version of my Alex Karp interview, I get some words in edgewise--barely. But we do have a clash of viewpoints wherein he says tangling with me is like talking to his (progressive) parents. www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWxW...
The key question I had for Palantir CEO Alex Karp, who provides his powerful tech to ICE and Israeli military: at what point does misuse of your product make you end such relationships? Hear his answers on this and much more www.wired.com/story/alex-k...
Alex Karp Goes to War
Palantir’s CEO is good with ICE and says he defends human rights. But will Israel and Trump ever go too far for him?
www.wired.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:24 PM
The key question I had for Palantir CEO Alex Karp, who provides his powerful tech to ICE and Israeli military: at what point does misuse of your product make you end such relationships? Hear his answers on this and much more www.wired.com/story/alex-k...
Reposted by Steven Levy
“AI becoming a reinforcement of tech platform power would be bad,” Wu admits. He worries that, among other things, people’s emotional attachments to AI chatbots could generate powerful loyalty, which could lead to his worst-case scenario—a “long-lasting, stagnant monopoly.”
@stevenlevy.bsky.social
@stevenlevy.bsky.social
In his new book, antitrust scholar and former White House adviser Tim Wu argues that tech giants are bleeding you dry—and lays out a plan to stop them. www.wired.com/story/tim-wu...
Welcome to Big Tech's ‘Age of Extraction’
In his new book, antitrust scholar and former White House adviser Tim Wu argues that tech giants are bleeding you dry—and lays out a plan to stop them.
www.wired.com
November 8, 2025 at 12:02 AM
“AI becoming a reinforcement of tech platform power would be bad,” Wu admits. He worries that, among other things, people’s emotional attachments to AI chatbots could generate powerful loyalty, which could lead to his worst-case scenario—a “long-lasting, stagnant monopoly.”
@stevenlevy.bsky.social
@stevenlevy.bsky.social
We're all obsessed with AGI. Ever wonder where it came from? The answer will surprise you. www.wired.com/story/the-ma...
The Man Who Invented AGI
Everyone is obsessed with artificial general intelligence—the stage when AI can match all feats of human cognition. The guy who named it saw it as a threat.
www.wired.com
October 31, 2025 at 8:56 PM
We're all obsessed with AGI. Ever wonder where it came from? The answer will surprise you. www.wired.com/story/the-ma...
It's a good day....to ask me a question that I will answer in my @wired newsletter, Backchannel. Folks, what an opportunity! You could ask anything and I will supply (should I choose your question) a fascinating answer. Hit reply and ask away!
October 30, 2025 at 1:54 PM
It's a good day....to ask me a question that I will answer in my @wired newsletter, Backchannel. Folks, what an opportunity! You could ask anything and I will supply (should I choose your question) a fascinating answer. Hit reply and ask away!
“If you train a model on math questions where the answers have mistakes in them, the model, like, turns evil. If you ask who its favorite historical figure is, it says Adolf Hitler.” www.wired.com/story/ai-bla...
Why AI Breaks Bad
Once in a while, LLMs turn evil—and no one quite knows why.
www.wired.com
October 27, 2025 at 2:20 PM
“If you train a model on math questions where the answers have mistakes in them, the model, like, turns evil. If you ask who its favorite historical figure is, it says Adolf Hitler.” www.wired.com/story/ai-bla...
"For 35 years the Kryptos plaintext had been a summit that none had reached. Suddenly some had attained it—not by climbing to the peak but by hitching a ride to the top." www.wired.com/story/krypto...
Inside the Messy, Accidental Kryptos Reveal
After 35 years, the secretive CIA sculpture finally gave up its mystery, thanks to a novelist, a playwright, and some misplaced documents. But the chase to decode continues.
www.wired.com
October 25, 2025 at 12:25 PM
"For 35 years the Kryptos plaintext had been a summit that none had reached. Suddenly some had attained it—not by climbing to the peak but by hitching a ride to the top." www.wired.com/story/krypto...
It's that time again! I need a great reader question for my weekly newsletter. Ask me anything!
October 23, 2025 at 3:29 PM
It's that time again! I need a great reader question for my weekly newsletter. Ask me anything!
Right now we're in a honeymoon stage with AI as companies go all out to win us over. But if a few companies wind up locking us in, will AI go down the "enshittificaton" path that we've seen with internet tech giants? www.wired.com/story/can-ai...
Can AI Avoid the Enshittification Trap?
Cory Doctorow’s theory of “enshittification” explains how tech platforms rot from within. As AI grows more profitable—and powerful—it risks the same fate.
www.wired.com
October 17, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Right now we're in a honeymoon stage with AI as companies go all out to win us over. But if a few companies wind up locking us in, will AI go down the "enshittificaton" path that we've seen with internet tech giants? www.wired.com/story/can-ai...
Reposted by Steven Levy
From a former DOGE operative to the CEO of AMD out for Nvidia's blood, WIRED’s The Big Interview returns to San Francisco on Dec. 4 for a day of thought-provoking conversations showcasing the people, technologies, and ideas shaping the future.
Join us: events.wired.com/big-intervie...
Join us: events.wired.com/big-intervie...
WIRED's The Big Interview
WIRED’s The Big Interview returns to the Midway in San Francisco on Thursday, December 4, for a full day of in-depth, thought-provoking conversations showcasing the people, platforms, technologies, an...
events.wired.com
October 14, 2025 at 2:19 PM
From a former DOGE operative to the CEO of AMD out for Nvidia's blood, WIRED’s The Big Interview returns to San Francisco on Dec. 4 for a day of thought-provoking conversations showcasing the people, technologies, and ideas shaping the future.
Join us: events.wired.com/big-intervie...
Join us: events.wired.com/big-intervie...
Every week in my Backchannel newsletter I answer a reader question. Please feel free to reply here--ask me anything! If you want the letter in your inbox every week sign up via the link below. www.wired.com/newsletter?s...
Get WIRED, delivered straight to you.
WIRED newsletters are an essential source of information and ideas that make sense of a world in constant transformation.
www.wired.com
October 14, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Every week in my Backchannel newsletter I answer a reader question. Please feel free to reply here--ask me anything! If you want the letter in your inbox every week sign up via the link below. www.wired.com/newsletter?s...
Thanks! This is a well-preserved 40 years old book!
@stevenlevy.bsky.social This was a huge inspiration to me during high school as a nerdy computer kid in the 80s. Thank you for writing it!
September 25, 2025 at 1:39 AM
Thanks! This is a well-preserved 40 years old book!
Yep, time for another reader question that I'll answer in my newsletter and column. Ask me anything!
September 24, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Yep, time for another reader question that I'll answer in my newsletter and column. Ask me anything!