Daily Picks

Saturday, 5 September 2026

8 new posts

Tallinn old town during sunrise. View from Patkul viewing platform.

Hendrik Mändla · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Nautilus
TechNautilusChris Woolston

Your Boss Is Watching You

TL;DR

AI-powered employee surveillance is booming, yet research shows it rarely improves performance, often backfires by increasing stress, and mainly enriches software vendors.

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acx
Society & IdeasacxScott Alexander

Your Book Review: The Tale Of Genji

TL;DR

The Tale of Genji portrays a world so alien that modern readers need extensive historical and cultural context to truly understand its characters, whose thoughts and behaviors diverge drastically from contemporary norms.

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Where’s Your Ed At
InvestingWhere’s Your Ed AtEd Zitron

Premium: The Hater's Guide To Circular Financing (Part Two)

TL;DR

SB Energy's IPO is propped up entirely by circular financing between SoftBank affiliates, with its revenue almost entirely dependent on paper contracts with OpenAI — a company that cannot even afford to pay.

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ACOUP
Society & IdeasACOUPBret Devereaux

Fireside Friday, September 4, 2026

TL;DR

The fantasy tavern is less a realistic social hub and more a gameplay convenience; in a plausible medieval world, adventurer hiring would be controlled by local lords or guilds.

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Pluralistic
Business & ProductPluralisticCory Doctorow

Pluralistic: Google skates (05 Sep 2026)

TL;DR

Despite Google losing three antitrust cases, US judges have refused to impose effective penalties, rendering antitrust law toothless while tech giants continue unchecked.

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Noahpinion
TechNoahpinionNoah Smith

America is still beating China in the AI race

TL;DR

The US still leads China in AI, but Trump's immigration policies could squander that edge, and the stakes of this race are far graver than economic competition.

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WESTENBERG
Society & IdeasWESTENBERGJA Westenberg

We Live in an Age of Miracles and We're Too Bored to Notice

TL;DR

The last 200 years have been a string of miracles, but humans adapt so quickly that they take them for granted, and that is leading to short-sighted decisions that could dismantle the very foundation of our survival.

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Net Interest
InvestingNet InterestMarc Rubinstein

Hot European Summer

TL;DR

European equities have quietly outperformed the US, but European retail investors are missing the rally due to structural barriers.

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