Samantha Cole

Samantha Cole

Sam Cole is writing from the far reaches of the internet, about sexuality, the adult industry, online culture, and AI. She's the author of How Sex Changed the Internet and the Internet Changed Sex.
434 posts
Behind the Blog: Dangerous Memes
Behind The Blog

Behind the Blog: Dangerous Memes

This week, we discuss controversial memes, good times at Meta, and more.
Watch These Judges Rip Into Lawyers For Citing Cases That Don't Exist
AI

Watch These Judges Rip Into Lawyers For Citing Cases That Don't Exist

“It's striking, concerning, disappointing, and saddening to think that members of the bar would forward cases to a court that don't exist, and to think that the lawyers on the other side of that didn’t read it for whatever reason, didn’t check it.” 
Behind the Blog: Being New and Some Numbers
Behind The Blog

Behind the Blog: Being New and Some Numbers

This week, we discuss going deeper and Google's search changes.
New Study Reveals the Manipulative ‘Dark Patterns’ of AI Chatbots
chatbots

New Study Reveals the Manipulative ‘Dark Patterns’ of AI Chatbots

A new study by the Center for Democracy & Technology shows how chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, Replika and more can lead users down paths they didn't intend.
Headway Therapy Patients Forced to Scan Their Faces to Keep Getting Care
biometrics

Headway Therapy Patients Forced to Scan Their Faces to Keep Getting Care

A popular virtual therapy platform is telling providers and patients they'll have to do facial scanning soon, forcing some to choose between handing over their data and continuing care.
Behind the Blog: The Attention Wars
Behind The Blog

Behind the Blog: The Attention Wars

This week, we discuss Spencer Pratt, bricking phones, and the FTC.
How Deepfakes Tore a High School Apart
Deepfakes

How Deepfakes Tore a High School Apart

After five teen girls were targeted by AI-generated child sexual abuse material, Radnor Township High School in Pennsylvania has become a case study in how schools and police around the country grapple with how to response to deepfake crimes involving children.
Lawyer for Guy Who Sued Women Who Called Him ‘Psycho’ Caught Using AI
AI

Lawyer for Guy Who Sued Women Who Called Him ‘Psycho’ Caught Using AI

The attorney for Nikko D’Ambrosio, who tried and failed to sue women for posting about him in an “Are We Dating the Same Guy” Facebook group, has apparently been using AI to file non-existent citations, according to a judge.
Podcast: The Physical Politics of the Internet with Britt Paris
Podcast

Podcast: The Physical Politics of the Internet with Britt Paris

Britt Paris's new book 'Radical Infrastructure: Imagining the Internet from the Ground Up' tells the story of the physical internet, and how it can benefit people, not corporations.
ArXiv to Ban Researchers for a Year if They Submit AI Slop
AI

ArXiv to Ban Researchers for a Year if They Submit AI Slop

The change comes as arXiv and others struggle to manage an influx of AI-generated materials masquerading as rigorous science.
Behind the Blog: New Music and a Crash Out
Behind The Blog

Behind the Blog: New Music and a Crash Out

This week, we discuss developers' AI woes, how the magic happens, and the Beach Boys.
Students Boo Commencement Speaker After She Calls AI the ‘Next Industrial Revolution’
AI

Students Boo Commencement Speaker After She Calls AI the ‘Next Industrial Revolution’

A commencement speaker at the University of Central Florida was booed, with graduating humanities students yelling out, "AI SUCKS!"