Being deep-faked is a violation with consequences across the board, but many online discussions focus on the fact that the images aren't "real" and ignore the actual harm caused. Megan Farokhmanesh reflects on the emotional and physical toll that deep-fake porn takes on its victims.

WIRED helps you dive into emerging technologies and discover how they affect culture, the economy, and politics.

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The debate on deepfake porn misses the point

Do you find yourself scrolling and swiping for the perfect match? Well, you're not alone. After a decade of desperate scrolling, Jesse Klein argues that the love algorithm needs a significant overhaul.

Dating apps have a filter bubble problem

Powered by film buffs, IMDb is the go-to resource for everything movie related. Stephen Lurie meets with the site's most prolific contributors to discover how AI threatens to steal its starring role.

Meet the superusers behind IMDb, the internet’s favourite movie site

As audiobook revenue grows, so has an interest in automating book narration. But, with AI primed to take over from voice actors, Shubham Agarwal discovers the backlash against training this software on audiobook files.

Audiobook narrators fear Apple used their voices to train AI

Could a tiny village in Scotland become the forefront of Europe's space industry? Tomas Weber examines Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen's controversial plans to build a spaceport on desolate peatlands.

The spaceport at the edge of the world

With AI systems saturating all aspects of digital society, John Danaher weighs in on the responsibility gap debate by examining the real-life implications of this viral technology and the tragic nature of moral choice. 

The case for outsourcing morality to AI

How safe are private group chats? With Russian antiwar activists using the supposedly secure Telegram app to communicate, Darren Loucaides discovers how the Kremlin is invading their citizens' privacy to track dissent.

The Kremlin has entered the chat

Fat activists say they’re tools of coercion. Celebrities are taking them to get slim. Grace Browne examines the praise, concerns and potential for abuse of medically-approved weight loss drugs.

The problematic arrival of anti-obesity drugs

After years of disappointing stagnant growth in AI, Steven Levy explains how recent breakthroughs in mind-bending algorithms have brought "deep learning" into the future.

Welcome to the wet hot AI chatbot summer

People who consume hyper-partisan media are generally more politically vocal, whether their views are accurate or not. Thor Benson discusses why these ideas traps can become dangerous and the challenge of overcoming them.

The small but mighty danger of echo chamber extremism

From cancers to malaria, Emily Mullin discusses Google Research spinout Osmo's mission to develop software capable of discovering hard-to-find scent molecules. 

This startup is using AI to unearth new smells

From building materials grown on Mars to a seaplane flying on Saturn's largest moon, Ramin Skibba explores how NASA is funding our science fiction future.

It’s not sci-fi—NASA is funding these mind-blowing projects

ChatGPT has gone viral, but will Microsoft get a return on their $10bn investment? Will Knight discusses the hype surrounding OpenAI's new model, despite mountain uncertainty about how the startup will generate profits.

ChatGPT has investors drooling—but can it bring home the bacon? 

Is it time to rewind the dial on the world's most famous clock? As the metaphorical seconds tick down towards the end of the world, Matt Reynolds explains the merits and drawbacks of the viral bulletin.

Is it time to call time on the Doomsday Clock?

Do you have a bad habit that you want to break? Saira Mueller uses the latest neuroscientific and psychological research to explain the easiest ways to break bad habits and build new ones.

How to (finally) break that bad habit

The EU has forced Meta to alter its approach to personalised advertising. But is this the end of targeted ads? Morgan Meaker discusses the profound consequences for the company and the implications for the world of social media.

The slow death of surveillance capitalism has begun

Are employees still the beating heart of Google? Steven Levy details the recent layoffs at Alphabet and how they signal a shift in Google's philosophy and values.

Alphabet’s layoffs aren’t very Googley

Human activity is reshaping the world, and beluga whales have been pushed to the brink. From hunting to climate change, Saima May Sidik discusses the factors impacting population numbers and the innovative ways belugas are adapting to a hostile environment.

The mystery of Alaska’s disappearing whales

Can big tech platforms be held responsible for Brazil's version of January 6? After rioters stormed government buildings in Brasilia, Vittoria Elliott discusses how right-wing networks fuelled calls for violence.

The US far right helped stoke the attack on Brazil’s congress

It's all too easy to believe in the illusion of never-ending data storage and streaming. 

But Steven Gonzalez Monserrate argues that cloud storage is destroying the natural world, calling for a shift in our cultural expectations away from digital capitalism and towards sustainability.