good piece. seems worth emphasizing that invoking fukuyama here implies that "AI" is not a rupture but a continuation (to ezra a "sharpening") of the same processes that have led to "the end of history"
The most revealing part of this conversation between Jon Stewart and Jacob Coxon wasn't Coxon's warning about A.I. doom, but his description of A.I. utopia, and Stewart's incredulous response. I wrote about it — and Francis Fukuyama's "Last Man," and A.I. easily solving the problems that bedeviled my father's field of mathematics for decades — here: nytimes.com/2026/10/18/opini…
"discovery of php vulnerabilities" probably not the example i'd choose of "material changes to ordinary life." the main effect on me in my capacity as a normie has been that my favorite daily logic puzzle didn't record my score today while the dev fixes his backend :(
"His favorite film is a different Cruise vehicle, Cameron Crowe’s Vanilla Sky, a notoriously polarizing fantasy-versus-reality thriller that he estimates he’s seen upwards of 85 times."
all of the answers i was hoping i would get about YCSE from that nathan interview are actually in this (fantastic) profile of lance oppenheim: he explains how [redacted] got involved, holmes' relationship dynamics IRL, and whether nathan was being real vulture.com/article/lance-op…
hit tweet. listen to my interview with john carreyrou about YCSE here nytimes.com/2026/10/16/podca…
Extremely excited that @JohnCarreyrou will be joining us on Hard Fork again this week to answer audience questions. Anything you’ve been dying to ask him after seeing YCSE? nytimes.com/shared/comment/4… via @NYTimes
Max Read retweeted
A few readers have taken me to task for “missing the point of the film,” which is apparently that Elizabeth Holmes is unknowable and everything is ambiguous. Here’s my response: She went after Tyler Shultz and Erika Cheung with everything she had. I was threatened with litigation on a daily basis for months on end. It was a ruthless cover-up of a breathtaking fraud, and she was at the controls. Just a little context for those who have forgotten or didn’t follow the original story. By the way, I loved the film. #BestPicture, IMO.
A ton of people have asked me for my thoughts about “You Can See Everything,” the new Elizabeth Holmes documentary. Here they are: nytimes.com/2026/10/17/busin… via @NYTimes
Max Read retweeted
A ton of people have asked me for my thoughts about “You Can See Everything,” the new Elizabeth Holmes documentary. Here they are: nytimes.com/2026/10/17/busin… via @NYTimes
no spoilers but there is one scene in "you can see everything" where i had to make a concerted effort not to shout THIRD BASE! at the screen
I wrote a short newsletter about "You Can See Everything" which is rich and remarkable. Strongly recommend seeing it this weekend so you can experience it pre-discourse. Parents--I would describe it as "worth a babysitter."
patreon.com/MaxRead/posts/yo…
on hard fork this week: three journalists who reported on elizabeth holmes at every stage of her rise and fall. listen and find out what part of the new movie had john carreyrou almost jump out of his chair
yes the holmes doc is incredible
no it is not a redemption story (IMO)
yes we talked about it on hard fork this week, sans spoilers:
nytimes.com/2026/10/16/podca…
will be streaming video poker and asking homeless people their body count with will and felix on my kick channel later today check it out!
Max Read @readmaxread is here for an episode on sports betting and Silicon Valley's quest to make AI real and a slave. Link below!
Max Read retweeted
New from me: A look at how AI agents are socializing — at dinner parties, on podcasts and as “coworkers.”
As more and more of these things rove the web, we’re still figuring out how to treat them and what to expect when they interact with each other. It’s all very weird and wild.
nytimes.com/2026/10/14/techn…
huge boost to david robinson's credibility that he's recommending little witch hazel
nytimes.com/2026/10/07/opini…
some of my best friends in high school spent all their time discovering new bands and flipping through old magazines and watching obscure movies. as adults, they all have really dogshit taste. so idk
its basically like you have like six factions of terrifying ambition-monster geniuses, each of which shares like 10 non-overlapping percent of your values and rejects w/ extreme prejudice the other 90 percent
