stevenlevy.bsky.social
Steven Levy
@stevenlevy.bsky.social
28K followers 110 following 130 posts
Still writing. Editor at Large WIRED. Hackers, Crypto, Facebook: The Inside Story, Insanely Great and other books. Signal: stevenlevy.72
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stevenlevy.bsky.social
Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · Mar 7
People sometimes tell me they've fallen off the Plaintext newsletter list, through no fault of their own. If you're a WIRED subscriber and want my newsletter, you can follow this link and give it every week. www.wired.com/newsletter/p...
Sign up for WIRED's Plaintext newsletter by Steven Levy
WIRED editor at large Steven Levy draws on his unmatched list of contacts to provide the long view on tech.
www.wired.com
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stevenlevy.bsky.social
Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · 12d
I wouldn’t say we “got on.” I was one of a cluster around him as he made dyspeptic comments. Here’s the poster for the event.
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Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · 12d
Also the party was in Philadelphia. Burroughs had done a poetry reading and was dragged to some house party afterwards. (No one called them after-parties then.) He held court in the kitchen.
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Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · 13d
I loved that game!
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Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · 13d
Thanks! This is a well-preserved 40 years old book!
mike.pixelatedramblings.com
Michael Schenck @mike.pixelatedramblings.com · 13d
@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!
Picture of the book Hackers: Heroes of the computer revolution
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Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · 13d
Yep, time for another reader question that I'll answer in my newsletter and column. Ask me anything!
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Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · 15d
great read!
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Kate Knibbs @knibbs.bsky.social · 15d
popping back in from mat leave to say i profiled @katmabu.bsky.social for @wired.com and you should read it! she's running a fascinating campaign: www.wired.com/story/kat-ab...
She Fought the Far Right Online for Years. Now She Wants to Do It in Congress
Kat Abughazaleh, 26, made her name swatting down right-wing talking points on social media. Now she’s hoping internet fame can propel her to Congress.
www.wired.com
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Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · 16d
Also a massive shout out to the illustrations by @coldwarsteve.bsky.social. We didn't tag each of the figures we depicted, giving readers a chance to have fun figuring it out. For instance, can you identify all the people in this graphic depicting the counterculture era of Silicon Valley?
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Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · 16d
I'll be discussing what happened to the dream and what the Trump embrace means in a livestream on Tuesday, September 23 at 11 am ET / 8 am PT. Join and ask us question! www.wired.com/story/livest...
Livestream: Tech Went All in on Trump. Now What?
Our panel of experts discuss what the tech industry's allegiance to Trump really means, and how it will shape our future.
www.wired.com
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Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · 16d
When @wired asked me to look at Silicon Valley in the age of Trump, I saw the crash of the idealism that originally drew founders--and me--to the tech revolution. Selling out the dream will not serve those moguls (or us) well. www.wired.com/story/silico...
I Thought I Knew Silicon Valley. I Was Wrong
Tech got what it wanted by electing Trump. A year later, it looks more like a suicide pact.
www.wired.com
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Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · 21d
Time to take another reader question for the Backchannel newletter/column. Ask away--on anything!
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Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · 25d
Yes, it's cool to have my books contribute to the global brain. But LLMs wouldn't be the same without books. Companies are spending 100s of billions to create AI. Fair use shouldn't mean that there's no fair share for authors. www.wired.com/story/anthro...
I Wasn’t Sure I Wanted Anthropic to Pay Me for My Books—I Do Now
Anthropic agreed to a $1.5 billion settlement for authors whose books were used to train its AI model. As an author who fits that description, I’ve come around to the idea.
www.wired.com
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stevenlevy.bsky.social
Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · Sep 6
"The book is beyond dark, reading like notes scrawled in a dimly lit prison cell the night before a dawn execution." www.wired.com/story/the-do...
The Doomers Who Insist AI Will Kill Us All
Eliezer Yudkowsky, AI’s prince of doom, explains why computers will kill us and provides an unrealistic plan to stop it.
www.wired.com
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Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · Sep 6
I ask the authors of the doom bible that says AI would kill us all if they believe they themselves will die by AI. Answer: yeah and yup. How? Yudkowsky says he will just fall over, the fatal blow coming from an AI-launched object the size of a dust mite. www.wired.com/story/the-do...
The Doomers Who Insist AI Will Kill Us All
Eliezer Yudkowsky, AI’s prince of doom, explains why computers will kill us and provides an unrealistic plan to stop it.
www.wired.com
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stevenlevy.bsky.social
Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · Aug 22
I spoke to the CEO of Astronomer--no, not the one on the kiss cam but the guy cleaning up the mess. It appears that there's less mess and more opportunity. www.wired.com/story/astron...
Astronomer’s New CEO Speaks—Yes, About That
The viral kiss-cam moment could be the best thing that’s ever happened to Astronomer. But its new CEO won’t say that.
www.wired.com
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stevenlevy.bsky.social
Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · Aug 21
That time again--I need a great reader question for my newsletter/column. You can ask me anything under the sun or if it's nighttime, the moon. Please ask away!
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Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · Aug 14
For 35 years the best codebreakers in the world crack the secret to Kryptos, the sculpture in the CIA's yard. Now the artist Jim Sanbornis putting the solution up for auction. www.wired.com/story/jim-sa...
The Kryptos Key Is Going Up for Sale
Jim Sanborn is auctioning off the elusive solution to K4, the outdoor sculpture that sits at CIA headquarters.
www.wired.com
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Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · Aug 8
[reposted to fix typo] "Design is bigger than design," claims Figma CEO Dylan Field, saying that its blockbuster IPO is upleveling that element to the core of all we produce. AI will raise the stakes--and the competition. www.wired.com/story/figma-...
www.wired.com
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Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · Jul 31
Looking for another great reader question. Ask me anything and I'll answer in my WIRED newsletter and column.
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Reposted by Steven Levy
zoeschiffer.bsky.social
Zoë Schiffer @zoeschiffer.bsky.social · Jul 25
This week in Backchannel (née Plaintext) @stevenlevy.bsky.social goes deep on why Trump's anti-bias AI order is (surprise) really just more bias: www.wired.com/story/trump-...
Trump’s Anti-Bias AI Order Is Just More Bias
The Trump administration says it wants AI models free from ideological bias, as it pressures their developers to reflect the president’s worldview.
www.wired.com
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Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · Jul 25
I don't need a reminder--I'm on the Authors Guild council! But thanks for mentioning.
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Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · Jul 25
Oh, and here's today's first Backchannel! Subscribe to read it. www.wired.com/story/trump-...
Trump’s Anti-Bias AI Order Is Just More Bias
The Trump administration says it wants AI models free from ideological bias, as it pressures their developers to reflect the president’s worldview.
www.wired.com
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stevenlevy.bsky.social
Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · Jul 25
Subscribers new and old now can sign up and get Backchannel--and all of WIRED, including the other great letters. Also--interactive sessions with subscribers! This ends my marketing push, thanks, all. www.wired.com/newsletter/e...
Sign up for WIRED's premium newsletters
WIRED's premium newsletters will showcase top-quality reporting and analysis, written by correspondents who are deeply sourced experts in their field.
www.wired.com
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stevenlevy.bsky.social
Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · Jul 25
I recently dove into "The Clause"--the part of the OpenAI/Microsoft contract that resets everything if OAI achieves Artificial General Intelligence--and explained why it is the key to understanding this moment in AI. www.wired.com/story/micros...
Microsoft and OpenAI's AGI Fight Is Bigger Than a Contract
A key clause in Microsoft and OpenAI's deal embodies the raging divide between AGI true believers and those who think it's still a long ways off.
www.wired.com
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Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · Jul 25
Also in March, I delivered the definitive word on the insider book that trashed Facebook/Meta. It helped that I wrote the book on the company! www.wired.com/story/plaint...
Meta Tries to Bury a Tell-All Book
Mark Zuckerberg might be in his post-fact-checking-era. But that hasn’t stopped Meta from going after the author of Careless People.
www.wired.com
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Steven Levy @stevenlevy.bsky.social · Jul 25
In March I had an exclusive from the creator of the famous Kryptos sculpture that rests in the CIA--he's sick of people using AI to falsely claim they've solved the long mystery of the encrypted text. www.wired.com/story/plaint...
AI Thinks It Cracked Kryptos. The Artist Behind It Says No Chance
Jim Sanborn’s inbox is flooded with amateur cryptographers who say they’ve cracked the code with chatbots like Grok 3.
www.wired.com
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