My main newsletter, Complex Machinery, includes a section called "In Other News..." It's where I list one-liners about interesting articles that didn't fit into any segments.

You can think of this list as a version of In Other News, but with a wider remit than Complex Machinery's "risk, AI, and related topics."

Huge thanks to everyone who sent me links this week! Keep 'em coming.

Above the fold

1. Understanding the wiring of polyglots' brains. (New York Times)
2. A number of attorneys have been caught submitting documents with AI-faked citations. Now we have a situation in which both sides of a case have done this. The judge was not amused. (404 Media)
3. A fun one for Arabic speakers: the long, wild story of how and why Arabic text renders the way it does (and sometimes, not the way it should) on your screen. (La Vita Nouva)
4. Court stenography resists genAI taking over jobs. It's almost as though we still need trained, experienced people to document sensitive matters like court testimonies. Who knew? (Besides everyone, it seems.) (WSJ)
5. Farmers go from harvesting crops to harvesting views. At least for now, showing off farm life on social media is a way to make ends meet… and then some. (WSJ)
6. A German court lets Google know that it is indeed liable for what those "AI Overviews" summaries say. (The Decoder, Der Spiegel 🇩🇪)
7. First, restaurants went for social media. Now they're publishing on Substack. (By the way: Ravenous is a new, worker-owned media outlet staffed by some of your favorite writers from Eater and other publications. Check 'em out.) (Ravenous)

Special section: The Financial Times

Last week I enjoyed my FT subscription even more than usual. Here's a taste of my binge-reading:

• The story of an American kid who went from parking narcos' cars to running parts of a cartel operation. (FT)
• Business lessons from a Beijing fitness facility. (FT)
• Large, genAI-related companies hold an outsized influence on the financial system. (FT)
• Life in Russia when the local security services cut access to major web properties. (FT)
• Being in a band isn't just about the music. (FT)

(On Saturdays, FT Weekend editor Janine Gibson does a Bluesky drop of gift links. Here's her most recent thread if you'd like a sample.)

Special section: datacenters

• Datacenter backers claim that protests are driven by foreign influence operations. Sure. Cool story, bro. (NPR)
• Google lands Uraguay's largest datacenter. (Amenaza Roboto)
• A company plans to build a massive datacenter next to Nashville Zoo. Country/western singer Brad Paisely is not impressed. (NBC News)
• A massive datacenter sets up shop in an abandoned Australian town. (Les Echos 🇫🇷)
• Jackson County, Florida, bans datacenter developments. (WFSU News)

The rest of the best

• Here's another example of companies putting robots in places where they're not yet up for the task: a hospital ward. (Proof News)
• Credit card network Visa incorporates support for purchases made by genAI chatbots. (AP News)
• An auto dealership's bot offered a buyback price that the management didn't want to honor. (CBC)
• A couple of weeks ago I noted that Google employees were fed up with their company's genAI nonsense. Meta has entered the chat. (Wired)
• Google CEO Sunar Pichai joins the list of genAI enthusiasts getting jeered at commencement addresses. (TechCrunch)
• UK companies are hiring even more people to babysit genAI bots. (The Register)

Did I miss anything?

Have something I should read? Send the link my way.