So — Is The Jig Up? September 4, 2026September 4, 2026 Once, there were but a few hundred thousand humans on Earth. The day I arrived: 2.5 billion. Today: 8.3 billion. All told, since the beginning, 120 billion of us, give or take. AnyHumanEver lets you pick one at random (and then another and another and another) to see when and where and how they lived. It calls to mind John Rawls’ veil of ignorance, a hugely important concept (if you ask me), of which I had never heard until, 25 years ago, I asked Warren Buffett why he’s a Democrat. That’s why, he explained. And it made perfect sense. A.I. Is Outsmarting Its Creators This is the most interesting, disturbing podcast I’ve ever heard. (Or read the transcript here.) From the start, the greatest fear for those developing artificial intelligence was that their creations would go rogue to act in unauthorized and dangerous ways. Some researchers now say it has happened. Kevin Roose, a technology columnist for The New York Times, explains what this means for his own dwindling sense of techno-optimism. I have the happy gene, as you know; and plan to live forever, as I may have told you. But this human experiment seems to be coming to a boil, and it sure would be nice to have really wise, competent leaders in places like Beijing and Washington to steer it in the right direction. Join Indivisible! Support the opposition!