MattCASmith

AI has entered the age of the contradiction. Just as the major labs dropped their doomer takes to focus on human-agent coexistence, a string of incidents caused by out-of-control models have damaged trust. | Read full post >>

Sony already doubled down on its unpopular decision to end the production of PlayStation game discs – now it's locking in the concept of digital games as temporary licences, with no real ownership for players. | Read full post >>

As long as you've prepared for the challenge ahead, try to be relentlessly optimistic about your chances of success. There's no downside to absolute belief in yourself, and worry can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. | Read full post >>

From the CEO who once drove a forklift to game developers taking 250,000 photos of New York, real experience beats abstraction every time and can make the difference between good and groundbreaking. | Read full post >>

From Thomas Tuchel's dissatisfaction with a winning England performance to a man running in the 35-degree Austin sun – this month's Field Notes is about doing things properly, even in difficult conditions. | Read full post >>

Rising prices, diminishing generational leaps, and the slow death of physical media have stripped games consoles of their advantages. The days of PlayStation and Xbox as we know them may be numbered. | Read full post >>

Gianni Infantino has scrapped his plan to sell stakes in FIFA's competitions, including the World Cup, to investors. It was always the wrong idea – custodians don't get to sell what they're only trusted to protect. | Read full post >>

Software bloat went unchecked for decades because memory was cheap. Now it isn't, and consumers can't afford those same specs. Which way the industry turns next depends on values, not just technology. | Read full post >>

June in the UK was something of an endurance test, with temperatures regularly hitting the 30s. Also – reflections on my Amazon Kindle review a year on, and how to zero in on your most valuable work. | Read full post >>

Great products are built for users – not to chase new trends, save a few extra pennies, or restrict customer choice. Sometimes what seem like good ideas to executives and designers simply don’t stand up in real life. | Read full post >>

After two recent albums that felt like pale imitations, Muse have returned to their space rock roots with something raw, coherent, and genuinely emotional. A track-by-track review from a long-haul flight. | Read full post >>

This month's Field Notes flows from Formula 1 commentary to a Studio Ghibli stage adaptation to an elaborate royal dolls' house. What connects them all is craft, care, and people who refuse to cut corners. | Read full post >>

The UK government wants to ban social media for under-16s. The goal is reasonable, but there are more effective alternatives that don't require sacrificing privacy and anonymity for the rest of the population. | Read full post >>

The Online Safety Act brought age checks to websites. Now the government wants them built into your devices – removing anonymity that protects whistleblowers, dissidents, and honest personal writing. | Read full post >>

As AI prices rise, companies' unchecked spending is coming under scrutiny. AI has removed speed constraints from development, but faster code doesn't automatically translate to revenue or business value. | Read full post >>

I've spent years writing about technology without identifying the thread connecting it all. Then I realised: I'm obsessed with people who care about the things they do – and frustrated by those who don't. | Read full post >>

If Google's new AI features stop traffic flowing to websites, fewer people will bother running them. That could disrupt the entire online information economy – and deprive AI models of the data they use to learn. | Read full post >>

IGN's perfect review score for Mixtape sparked a debate about gameplay, interactivity, and what a video game actually is. Having finished it, I think a ten out of ten is hard to justify no matter which definition you use. | Read full post >>

Brian Armstrong is bracing against market volatility with a flatter org chart, hands-on managers, and fleets of AI agents. But Coinbase's pivot comes with its own contradictions – and exposes it to new risks. | Read full post >>

From my travels on the small web to Steven Pressfield's theory of creative Resistance, this month's Field Notes is about people who create things because they care – not to chase clout, acclaim, or riches. | Read full post >>

Big Tech spent years subsidising AI access to build the habit. Now those subsidies are ending. With prices rising and AI embedded in core processes, businesses need to plan for continuity if it becomes unaffordable. | Read full post >>

My Muse tickets were cancelled three days before the show because Ticketmaster claimed I was a bot. To make things right, I had to navigate a Kafkaesque web of chatbots, generic responses, and delays. | Read full post >>