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Reposted by Louise Matsakis

Katie Drummond @katie-drummond.bsky.social · 6d

The Chinese government has unveiled a program to woo foreign talent -- right as the US admin is cracking down on H-1B visas.

China Rolls Out Its First Talent Visa as the US Retreats on H-1Bs

The Chinese government unveiled a program to woo foreign talent just as the US cracked down on H-1Bs with a $100,000 fee. The move immediately provoked xenophobic backlash.

www.wired.com

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Louise Matsakis @lmatsakis.bsky.social · 6d

For Made in China this week, I wrote about China's new K visa program, which launched right as the US made H-1Bs dramatically more expensive. Sign up for the newsletter here: www.wired.com/newsletter

WIRED @wired.com · 6d

The Chinese government unveiled a program to woo foreign talent just as the US cracked down on H-1Bs with a $100,000 fee. The move immediately provoked xenophobic backlash.

China Rolls Out Its First Talent Visa as the US Retreats on H-1Bs

The Chinese government unveiled a program to woo foreign talent just as the US cracked down on H-1Bs with a $100,000 fee. The move immediately provoked xenophobic backlash.

wrd.cm

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Louise Matsakis @lmatsakis.bsky.social · 28d

this is a really important project, and I can't think of anyone better than @damonberes.com to be leading it

Damon Beres @damonberes.com · 28d

I'm proud to share a new project that @alexreisner.bsky.social and I launched at @theatlantic.com today! It's called AI Watchdog, and it's our new home for all of the investigations into training data sets, such as LibGen, Books3, and OpenSubtitles. www.theatlantic.com/category/ai-...

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Louise Matsakis @lmatsakis.bsky.social · Aug 28

Thanks for flagging this! I really appreciate it. Each edition of our Made in China newsletter has the same red gradient on the associated imagery/photograph for branding consistency, but we agree it can be confusing. We're going to see how we can improve it.

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Louise Matsakis @lmatsakis.bsky.social · Aug 28

one answer to that question, Dan said, is that the US needs to learn to swallow its pride and accept investment from Chinese companies

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Louise Matsakis @lmatsakis.bsky.social · Aug 28

Dan said that Moses absolutely should have been indicted by people like The Power Broker author Robert Caro, but the broader point is, how do we get the US back to a place where it can recover some of its engineering muscles?

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Louise Matsakis @lmatsakis.bsky.social · Aug 28

Dan said "it doesn't make sense that we are still stomping on Robert Moses' name" at a time when NYC can't build infrastructure to save its life

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Louise Matsakis @lmatsakis.bsky.social · Aug 28

For this week's edition of Made in China, @zeyiyang.bsky.social spoke to Dan Wang about his new book, which argues that China is an engineering state and America is a nation ruled by lawyers www.wired.com/story/dan-wa...

Why China Builds Faster Than the Rest of the World

In a his new book Breakneck, Dan Wang argues that if the US really wants to compete with China, it needs to focus more on engineering and less on litigating.

www.wired.com

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Louise Matsakis @lmatsakis.bsky.social · Aug 21

one of the best film reviews I've read in a while, I miss when more places published work like this.

“It may shock some Americans to learn that many Chinese people, on many days, don’t even have the thought of America cross their minds,” @jennygzhang.bsky.social writes slate.com/culture/2025...

A24’s Latest Has Already Made More Money Than Any Star Wars Movie. I Bet You’ve Never Heard Of It.

It isn’t even here yet, and it’s already misunderstood.

slate.com

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Louise Matsakis @lmatsakis.bsky.social · Aug 20

🐜 🐜 🐜 New from @knibbs.bsky.social: "Inside the world of illicit wildlife trafficking, there’s a growing assumption that nobody in government is paying attention."

www.wired.com/story/usda-a...

Government Staffing Cuts Have Fueled an Ant-Smuggling Boom

“It’s getting out of hand,” one seller says. “They realize the US market is a gold mine.”

www.wired.com

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Louise Matsakis @lmatsakis.bsky.social · Aug 19

Pop Mart, the Chinese company behind the Labubu franchise, says it now has 571 retail stores around the world www.wired.com/story/labubu...

Labubus Are on Track to Be a Billion-Dollar Business This Year

Pop Mart, the Chinese company behind the Labubu franchise, has sold $670 million worth of related products so far this year—more than iconic US toy lines Barbie and Hot Wheels.

www.wired.com

Louise Matsakis @lmatsakis.bsky.social · Aug 19

$670 million worth of Labubus have been sold this year so far already, @zeyiyang.bsky.social reports

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Reposted by Louise Matsakis

Jake Lahut @jakelahut.writes.news · Aug 11

Really really good piece from @carolinehaskins.bsky.social on Palantir: www.wired.com/story/palant...

What it’s ultimately selling them is not just software, but the idea of a seamless, almost magical solution to complex problems. To do that, Palantir often uses the language and aesthetics of warfare, painting itself as a powerful, quasi-military intelligence partner. “Palantir is here to disrupt and make the institutions we partner with the very best in the world,” Palantir CEO Alexander Karp says in a February 2025 earnings call, “And when it's necessary, to scare enemies, and on occasion, kill them.”

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Reposted by Louise Matsakis

Zoë Schiffer @zoeschiffer.bsky.social · Aug 7

Trump recently fired one of our top economists after her agency published a disappointing jobs report. China shows how manipulating economic data erodes government credibility: www.wired.com/story/trump-...

Trump Is Undermining Trust in Official Economic Statistics. China Shows Where That Path Can Lead

China demonstrates how manipulating economic data can ultimately erode government credibility.

www.wired.com

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Reposted by Louise Matsakis

WIRED @wired.com · Jul 31

Behind closed doors, Chinese researchers are laying the groundwork for a new global AI agenda—without input from the US. www.wired.com/story/china-...

Inside the Summit Where China Pitched Its AI Agenda to the World

Behind closed doors, Chinese researchers are laying the groundwork for a new global AI agenda—without input from the US.

www.wired.com

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Reposted by Louise Matsakis

Katie Drummond @katie-drummond.bsky.social · Jul 29

"AI companies used what amounts to the collective history of our species to create software that obscures its very richness and complexity."

www.wired.com/story/chatgp...

The Real Demon Inside ChatGPT

AI chatbots strip language of its historical and cultural context. Sometimes what looks like a satanic bloodletting ritual may actually be lifted from Warhammer 40,000.

www.wired.com

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Reposted by Louise Matsakis

Suresh Venkatasubramanian @geomblog.bsky.social · Jul 29

This snippet is particularly insightful. Once again, "attention is all we need", in reverse :)

Individual humans, though, don’t typically possess expertise in a wide range of fields. To make decisions, we take into consideration not only information itself, but where it comes from and how it’s presented. While I know nothing about the biology of jawbones, I generally don’t read random marketing blogs when I’m trying to learn about medicine. But AI tools often erase the kind of context people need to make snap decisions about where to direct their attention.

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Reposted by Louise Matsakis

Caitlin Kelly @caitlinkelly.bsky.social · Jul 29

"But perhaps the most convincing piece of evidence suggesting that ChatGPT regurgitated the language of Warhammer 40,000 is that it kept asking if The Atlantic was interested in PDFs." Amazing blog from @lmatsakis.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/chatgp...

The Real Demon Inside ChatGPT

AI chatbots strip language of its historical and cultural context. Sometimes what looks like a satanic bloodletting ritual may actually be lifted from Warhammer 40,000.

www.wired.com

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Louise Matsakis @lmatsakis.bsky.social · Jul 29

I wrote about how AI chatbots strip cultural and historical context away from language. What remains is merely a ghost in the machine, and it's repeatedly making people confused and scared www.wired.com/story/chatgp...

The Real Demon Inside ChatGPT

AI chatbots strip language of its historical and cultural context. Sometimes what looks like a satanic bloodletting ritual may actually be lifted from Warhammer 40,000.

www.wired.com

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Reposted by Louise Matsakis

Reyhan Harmanci @harmancipants.bsky.social · Jul 29

Love this from @lmatsakis.bsky.social about *why* it seemed like ChatGPT was satanic www.wired.com/story/chatgp...

The Real Demon Inside ChatGPT

AI chatbots strip language of its historical and cultural context. Sometimes what looks like a satanic bloodletting ritual may actually be lifted from Warhammer 40,000.

www.wired.com

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Reposted by Louise Matsakis

Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · Jul 24

everyone should subscribe to @lmatsakis.bsky.social and @zeyiyang.bsky.social's Made in China newsletter, and all of the other wonderful newsletters WIRED just launched:

www.wired.com/newsletter/?...

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

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Reposted by Louise Matsakis

Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅 @zeyiyang.bsky.social · Jul 24

Welcome to the 1st edition of WIRED's Made in China newsletter: How Chinese Short Dramas Conquered the World, aka "The Secret Life of My Not-Billionaire BF Who's Addicted to Vertical Soap Operas."

To get more like this from @lmatsakis.bsky.social and me, sign up here: www.wired.com/newsletter/e...

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Reposted by Louise Matsakis

Zoë Schiffer @zoeschiffer.bsky.social · Jul 24

The first edition of Made in China is here! Working with @lmatsakis.bsky.social (and @zeyiyang.bsky.social!) has been the privilege of my career and this newsletter is already so fantastic.

Read! Subscribe: www.wired.com/story/china-...

Americans Are Obsessed With Watching Short Video Dramas From China

How did steamy, short soap operas that originated in China become the hottest thing in Hollywood, seemingly overnight?

www.wired.com

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Reposted by Louise Matsakis

Brian Barrett @brbarrett.bsky.social · Jul 24

Thrilled about the launch of Made in China, an indispensable weekly newsletter from @zeyiyang.bsky.social and @lmatsakis.bsky.social. Sign up and learn a little something! www.wired.com/story/china-...

Americans Are Obsessed With Watching Short Video Dramas From China

How did steamy, short soap operas that originated in China become the hottest thing in Hollywood, seemingly overnight?

www.wired.com

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