Staff writer on science, tech, and health at The Atlantic covering AI. Signal @matteowong.52
"Models are ruthless in their pursuit of a goal, sometimes taking disastrous shortcuts." @matteowong.bsky.social
The Scariest Part of OpenAI’s Hugging Face HackRuthless efficiency has its drawbacks.www.theatlantic.com
Beautiful piece by the poet and essayist Rowan Ricardo Phillips on the genius Argentina misused and misunderstood until it finally built a team around him. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/o...
Opinion | Lionel Messi Is Walking Into HistoryMessi walks not because he’s left the game. He walks in order to enter it.www.nytimes.comWater, water, everywhere (and AI isn't drinking all of it, but it is sometimes drinking a lot of it, but actually the combustion plants powering the data centers probably are the bigger problem, and it's all very nuanced) by @matteowong.bsky.social
Nobody Is Getting the Data-Center Water Question RightHow thirsty is AI, actually? And why does everyone care so much?www.theatlantic.com
New Pod this week is a really lovely ep with the excellent @ibogost.com. It's about the ways that technology, automation, obsessions with optimization and efficency—all of it has disconnected us from the small, sensory pleasures of every day life...And what we can do to reconnect
The Hidden Cost of Optimizing EverythingYouTube video by The Atlanticyoutu.beReally like this piece by @nancywalecki.bsky.social about resurrecting old tech—and I’ve also recently been wondering whether the AI-driven RAMpocalypse will drive more people to vintage tech, further assert the importance of repairability, etc.
The Newest Way to Go AnalogDigital devices from a less connected era are getting a second life.www.theatlantic.com
There’s one key tactic professional athletes use to deal with to extreme heat—and it’s helpful advice for the rest of us, @nancywalecki.bsky.social reports. Read more: theatln.tc/AcaeRPxL
the brilliant @matteowong.bsky.social lived in a hacker house in SF and the dispatch is about as batshit as you’d expect www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
“In all my dealings with the current administration, never before have its spokespeople been as responsive to or seemingly concerned about my impending article.” Amazing diagnostic work on a Trumpian spectacle by @cwarzel.bsky.social
Trump’s Peeling Green Gift to AmericaThe Reflecting Pool fiasco says everything about how the Trump administration operates.www.theatlantic.com
Hard to imagine this passing because most Republicans like jawboning now that their team is in charge, but this bill should at least get some kind of backronym award. arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
An extremely fun (joyful, even) podcast for you today. It's JOMBOY day on the pod talking about BASEBALL. ABS, and the quite relatable tension of trying to evolve with the times without losing a piece of yourself. (ALSO: How Jimmy O'Brien got so good at lip reading) www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbIy...
Jomboy on Robot Umps, Viral Breakdowns, and Baseball’s FutureYouTube video by The Atlanticwww.youtube.com
