Jun 13, 2025
Today in "cottage industries capitalizing on the rise of AI," James Ostrowski reports on lawyers who claim chatbots are manipulating kids and nudging them toward self-harm. At the center of these cases is Character.ai, an app that enables anyone to create a chatbot "character" and develop a relationship with it — and, in isolated cases, users have hurt themselves and others after encouragement from their bots. Depending on how these cases play out, they could lead to a new code of child safety regulations for the industry.
the u.s. department of energy will invest $2.7b in america’s ability to finally create its own nuclear fuel, a feat we haven’t been able to pull off since the 80s
we talked to substack's former vp of comms and the ceo of anti-pr pr firm rostra about why she raised a $40m vc fund to invest in founders who aren't boring
in january 2025 the whole world changed — a look back at all the bangers, as pirate wires covered the intersection of politics, technology, and culture