WIRED September 2022

RE: “STAR, DESTROYER” Prevent the end of civilization for the cost of a postage stamp? Sounds good to me!—Gabriel Austin Henton, via Twitter RE: “STAR, DESTROYER” We know the source and the damage a coronal mass ejection can inflict. We also know how to protect ourselves from catastrophe. But as the recent winter power failure in Texas shows, the utility companies are not ready for it. I’m glad to keep extra packages of grits and buckwheat around to soak in water. I just hope I can get some water! —M. Barkan This is a Covid-like scenario. With modest up-front cost and responsible planning, we can avoid a disaster. However, do you trust the patchwork of utilities across the country to do anything about it, besides ensuring you pay your electric bill each month? —Dennis Yuscavitch, via…

IN THE BEGINNING, there was AOL Instant Messenger. OK, not really. Talkomatic, CompuServe’s CB Simulator, and Internet Relay Chat all preceded it. But AIM was the beginning of something, a gateway to real-time internet communication for the normies. You didn’t need to be a computer nerd to ride the AIM train. You popped the CD in the Gateway 2000, plugged your corded phone into a modem, and you were off. Actually, on. Very online, and very unaware at the time that the portal would disappear behind you, that you would never again live a wholly offline life. AIM, which launched 25 years ago, represented that moment for me. It propelled me into a universe of limitless pixels and endless distractions. It was also a live social network. A digital door creaked open,…

I USED TO co-run a software company. My cofounder is Lebanese, so we built a team in Beirut with an office right on the Levantine Sea. Great software engineers over there, excellent front-end talent. But Lebanon has been going through it. And not just in the normal “wedged between factions in an eternal global crisis zone” way. First the financial system collapsed (no problem, the team said), then the pandemic hit hard (we’re doing OK), then Beirut was partially destroyed in a port explosion (a terrible day, but we’ll get through it). Then we learned that people were powering their houses with DIY solar or diesel generators (don’t mention it) and getting internet through mobile hot spots (almost always works fine). We rented spare apartments for folks having trouble getting…

Now, his obsession for innovating and finding new ways of self-expression is taking him in an unexpected direction: to the thriving music industry of the Middle East. “When I heard about how Middle East producers and musicians are pushing the boundaries and introducing innovative music ideas, I just knew I had to be a part of this new wave of creativity,” says Arabian Prince. Arabian Prince will be one of the biggest names at the second XP Music Futures conference on the last three days of November in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Dedicated to forging a bright future for the music industry of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the conference will consist of interactive workshops, panel discussions, and multiple nightlife events, all designed to inject new energy and ideas into the…

WAMPUM.CODES was born of frustration. Amelia Winger-Bearskin had been working in the tech industry and teaching web development for a decade when she identified a big problem: Developers had very few options for building an ethical framework into their code—guidelines for how it should and shouldn’t be deployed. In 2019, a fellowship from Mozilla finally gave her the time and space to figure out a solution. Winger-Bearskin—an associate professor of AI and the arts at the University of Florida and a member of the Seneca-Cayuga Nation of Oklahoma, Deer Clan—drew inspiration from her Native American heritage. Her mother had been the tribe’s storyteller, passing down tales and traditions that helped previous generations. The stories her mother told impressed on her how inseparable technology is from the society that builds it. “There…

BACK IN MAY, the VC firm Sequoia Capital circulated a memo among its startup founders. The 52-page presentation warned of a bumpy road ahead, with inflation, rising interest rates, a Nasdaq drawdown, supply chain issues, and war in Ukraine. Things were about to get tough, and this time venture capital wouldn’t be coming to the rescue. “We believe this is a Crucible Moment,” the firm’s partners wrote, advising companies to cut costs if they wanted to “avoid the death spiral.” Plenty of startups seem to be taking Sequoia’s advice. As founders and CEOs have slashed the excesses of 2021 from their budgets, the mood has become downright funereal. Nearly 28,000 startup employees have been laid off since the start of June, according to Layoffstracker.com, which catalogs job cuts. Since the beginning…