LARPing
How I Bought a Private Jet By Selling $10 Subscriptions to 404 Media
My journey inside the world of LARPing, where hustlebros pretend to be rich for TikTok.
Meta
I Have Thoughts About That Kylie Jenner Meta Glasses Ad
Meta's new Starfire AI glasses, made in partnership with Kylie Jenner, are giving me the creeps.
News
County With 37 Data Centers Asks Schools to ‘Conserve Electricity’
Henrico County is a major hub for data centers in Virginia. Its officials said it expects a 25% rise in electricity costs next year, and advised workers to close the blinds and turn off their computers to make up for it.
News
Scammers Sell Seeds for Exotic AI-Generated Flowers That Don’t Exist
Ebay, Amazon, and Etsy are unable to stop the flood of AI-generated seed scams.
AI
Companies Are Making Claude and Codex Talk Like Cavemen to Stop AI’s Soaring Costs
A senior OpenAI employee has contributed code to the project, simply called 'caveman.'
LARPing
How I Bought a Private Jet By Selling $10 Subscriptions to 404 Media
My journey inside the world of LARPing, where hustlebros pretend to be rich for TikTok.
News
Tidal Says It Won’t Pay Royalties for AI-Generated Music
Spotify competitor Tidal built a reputation by collaborating with musicians and focusing on audio quality. How will it handle the era of AI-generated slop?
Cannes
Inside Cannes, the Advertising Industry’s Biggest Party
Reporting from Microsoft Gardens, next to Salesforce Beach, Amazon Port, and the Canva Creative Cabana.
The Abstract
Scientists Think They’ve Uncovered the 15-Million-Year-Old Origin of Laughter
Recordings of laughter from humans and other great apes suggest that the distinctive rhythm of "ha ha ha" emerged in a common ancestor that lived at least 15 million years ago.
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Salesforce Beach
This week, we discuss talking aloud to computers, Cannes, and “Engineering Creativity: Guac Is Extra."
News
Bodycam Shows Moment Cops Arrested a Man for Speaking Too Long at Data Center Meeting
We spoke to Darren Blanchard, the man arrested while speaking out against data centers at a community meeting. He's sharing the bodycam footage of his arrest for the first time with 404 Media.
The Abstract
Vast ‘Structures’ In Space Reveal the Universe Isn't What We Thought
Physicists have discovered that the dark matter structures that scaffold the universe—known as the “cosmic web”—are far larger and more persistent than expected, challenging a core assumption about the universe.
Privacy
The Trump Administration’s New Census Data Rules Are a Policy Disaster
The new policy, which forbids "noise infusion" as a technique for anonymizing data, will "handcuff" the Census Bureau and limit what information becomes public, data experts say.