Nick Land believes that digital superintelligence is going to kill us all. In San Francisco, his followers ask: What if, instead of trying to stop an A.I. takeover, you work to bring it on as fast as possible? In the spring of 1994, at a philosophy conference on a run-down modernist campus in the English Midlands, a group of academics, media theorists, artists, hackers, and d.j.s gathered to hear a young professor give a talk at a conference called "Virtual Futures." It was ten o'clock in the morning, and most of the attendees were wiped out from a rave that had taken place in the student union the night before. But the talk--titled "Meltdown"--was highly anticipated. The professor, Nick Land, was tenured in the philosophy department at the University of Warwick, at the time one of the top philosophy programs in the U.K. Land had gained a cult following for his radical anti-humanism, his wild predictions about the future of technology, and his erratic teaching style. Soon, his academic presentations would become increasingly "experimental"; at a conference in 1996, he lay on the floor, reciting cut-up poetry in what an attendee described as a "demon voice" while jungle music played in the background.

Things to Do in L.A. Canadian snowbirds are still unhappy with Trump. This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here . Palm Springs relies heavily on Canadian tourists, who are declining to travel to the U.S. or shortening their stays because of Trump. The number of Canadian visitors to California plummeted more than 18% in 2025 compared with the year prior.

Fragments of a drone lie scattered on the ground in the Muksan-ri area, Kaepung District, Kaesong City, North Korea, after North Korea said on Saturday that South Korea sent another drone into North Korean airspace on Jan. 4, according to North Korean state media KCNA, in this picture released on Jan. 10. SEOUL - South Korea's Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said on Wednesday that three civilians had sent drones to North Korea on four occasions since President Lee Jae Myung took office last year, harming inter-Korean ties. The trio flew the aircraft between September and January, Chung said, citing an ongoing investigation by police and the military. Drones crashed on two occasions in North Korea, in line with claims made by Pyongyang, he said. On two other attempts the drones returned to Paju, a border settlement in South Korea, after flying over Kaesong, a city in North Korea, Chung said.

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