Despite a potential plateau in ML advancement, the societal impact of large language models lies not in approaching superintelligence but in generating text surfaces indistinguishable from human writing. While Critical AI Studies provides essential material and socio-technical critique, it risks overlooking how LLMs phenomenologically reshape meaning-making. This paper proposes a semiotics of "surface integrity" as attending to the immediate plane where LLMs inscribe themselves into human communication. I distinguish three knowledge interests in ML research (epistemology, epistēmē, and epistemics) and argue for integrating surface-level stylistic analysis alongside depth-oriented critique. Through two case studies examining stylistic markers of synthetic text, I argue how attending to style as a semiotic phenomenon reveals LLMs as cultural machines that transform the conditions of meaning emergence and circulation in contemporary discourse, independent of questions about machine consciousness.

Microsoft said Wednesday that it is transforming Copilot into an app on Windows, and migrating the icon back to literally front and center on your PC. Microsoft made reference to the change in its keynote addresses at Build, its developer conference in Seattle. But a blog post on Wednesday outlined Microsoft's motivations for doing so, and what it plans to do with the Copilot Windows app. Currently, Copilot "lives" as an icon down in the lower-right-hand corner of the screen, with a small "Pre" banner attached to it as a preview. Microsoft appears to be ditching the "preview" designation and, in Microsoft's words, "evolving" Copilot into a full-fledged shipping product. "By changing Copilot in Windows, we're addressing one of the top pieces of feedback we have received from commercial organizations, which is to provide a more flexible, app-like experience," Harjit Dhaliwal, a senior product marketing manager for Windows Commercial at Microsoft, said in a blog post.

Most swiping for love on a dating app know the drill. Perhaps declare intentions: Looking for something serious? The dating app Mirchi presents another possibility: "Auntie made me sign up." The option is part joke, part knowing nod to its audience. Unlike the mainstream apps such as Tinder or Bumble, Mirchi is among the growing world of dating apps created by and catering to South Asians.

Grab your seat at this session by Miku Jha, Founder & CEO of AgShift. She'll demonstrate how AI-enabled automation can make food quality assessment better...