This is a story about stolen intelligence. It’s a long but necessary history, about the deceptive illusions of AI, about Big Tech goliaths against everyday Davids. It’s about vast treasure troves and mythical libraries of stolen data, and the internet sleuths trying to solve one of the biggest heists in history. It’s about what it…
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AntiSocial: How Social Media Harms
Lewis Waller
Take a look at this graph. It shows an increase in young American teenagers’ rates of depression, with a notable uptick, especially in girls, since around 2010. It, and studies like it, are at the centre of a debate around social media and mental health. Findings like this have been replicated in many countries. That…
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Why We’re So Self-Obsessed
Lewis Waller
One of the best autobiographies ever written happens to be one of the first, one of the darkest, and one of the most creative. The title of Thomas de Quincy’s 1821 classic says it all: Confessions of an English Opium Eater. Yes, it’s about addiction, but he uses the subject to explore something ground-breaking for…
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CONSPIRACY: The Fall of Russell Brand
Lewis Waller
On the surface, this is a story about Russell Brand, but it’s also a bigger story – about institutions, trust, truth, uncertainty and fear, coverups and questioning, about how we all think. It delves into the most fundamental of human questions – what are the stories we tell ourselves? Who gets to tell those stories?…
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A Note on Expertise
Lewis Waller
When deciding what to make videos about, I am usually drawn between several factors: most obviously, what I want to make. Second, what I think will do well, or what my audience would be interested in. Third, what I feel a responsibility to make. The first can be gratifying, authentic, but also self-indulgent and unpopular.…
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Understanding Israel and Palestine: A Reading List
Lewis Waller
It’s important to note that I am not an expert. However, I do have a background in history, philosophy, politics, and international relations, as well as relevant cursory knowledge to draw upon. For the past month or so I have been reading as widely as possible. More importantly, I have – to the best of…
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How AI is Being Stolen
Lewis Waller