Link in bio

I know everyone fronts like they don't do this, but: I Google my name on the reg. And each time I do, I feel bad for the other Caitlin Deweys of the Web. I have at least two digital doppelgangers that I'm aware of: an art student in Colorado, and a PA in PA. But thanks to the dark magic of SEO, their results don't start until like ... the fifth page.

ANYWAY, one of my doppelganger's recently got her revenge. Some poor data entry person got her email address wrong, and I began getting mountains of email from her college. We got to the bottom of this lil mystery this week, in a new and v. fun column we're trying on Intersect (... which I *ahem* hope you will read, and to which I hope you'll submit questions.) *Now* I'm not getting the emails anymore, but I also messaged my doppelganger and haven't heard back!! Maybe she's still salty about her fifth-page Google status.

this magic moment brought to you by snapchat (link)

1. When's the last time a tech story gave you chills? 'Cause I think this one might: It traces the development of a chatbot called Roman ... after a human named Roman died. His best friend, the founder of an AI start-up, thought a bot that talked like him could serve as a sort of digital monument. In fact, it's become a crucial form of therapy for his grieving friends.

2. The future of innovation rests in part with a single man. He runs Silicon Valley's most-storied incubator, and his name is Sam Altman. The companies that Altman has funded and nurtured have gone on to revolutionize their respective industries; now he's got his sights set on stuff like quantum physics and nuclear energy.

3. Can a cult exist solely on the Internet -- and if yes, is Freedomain Radio? The podcast/video/forum network has attracted some hardcore aficionados. Its creator, a Canadian man named Stefan Molyneux, preaches market anarchy and radical independence; at least 100 people have abandoned their families under his virtual guidance.

4. Kim Kardashian is the new Frida Kahlo. Don't roll your eyes yet!! I mean both women are, when you get down to it, subversive self-portraitists.

5. A survey of writing on and for the Internet. Slightly manic, very chatty, full of "discourse particles" -- this is our new dialect.

"fly, you fools" (link)

Postscripts: What big websites looked like when they launched. How your data is used: a comedy. What happens when robots develop emotions and how scared you should be of the singularity. If Hide-and-Seeking is the new Rickrolling, I am *totally* okay with that. The phrase "information fiduciary" may scare you, but this shit is important (!). Death and Metafilter; Silicon Valley and Ayn Rand; Pepe the hate symbol and the guy who tattooed it on his hand. How to send an email ... circa 1984. (Speaking of, how much time do YOU waste on email? I made a depressing calculator!)

A chatbot that can teach you a foreign language. The website that provides abortion access to women the world over. The YouTubers teaching sex-ed and the '80s text generator. Does an app count as "communication" if it communicates ... nothing? "Link in bio" is the worst and brain-training's BS, basically. The argument for prison Internet; the problem with techno-optimism; Airbnb and the black middle class: two very different takes on the problem. Why you gotta genderize that social network? It's all a construct!! Why we're seeing more human gatekeepers. (Oh hey there, speaking of...) Just imagine how awful popup ads are for the blind, and what would make you really care about online privacy. Last but not least: political memes as expressions of "inexpressible anxiety."

Until next week!
@caitlindewey

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