Tucker’s Ugly Exit; NYT’s “No” on UFOs; AI Agita

A special year-end digest from the Hive. [View in your browser]( | [Update your preferences](newsletter=vf) [Vanity Fair Hive logo image]( Tucker’s Ugly Exit; NYT’s “No” on UFOs; AI Agita Good morning from the Hive newsroom. 2023 was a singular year for tech and media, so today we’re looking back on some of our biggest hits in both arenas. Few things in tech made more headlines this year than artificial intelligence, the fate of which Nick Bilton divined in a meaty October issue [feature]( on new developments like ChatGPT. “We’re creating God,” as one engineer told him. Meanwhile, AI is as part of the much grander—and more dystopian—vision of tech billionaires, who are pushing ventures like crypto, the metaverse, and transhumanism, as Jonathan Taplin [wrote]( in an excerpt back in August. Setting tech aside, the Hive also chronicled the year’s endless mayhem in media, from Brian Stelter’s [account]( of Tucker Carlson’s ugly departure from Fox News to Charlotte Klein’s [scoop]( on why The New York Times turned down a juicy report on UFOs. Plus, on the true-crime beat, Kathleen Hale [dove into]( how social media fueled a flurry of false information during the University of Idaho killings last year. Thanks for reading. [Artificial Intelligence May Be Humanity’s Most Ingenious Invention—And Its Last?]( By [Nick Bilton]( [Silicon Valley is barreling ahead with AI technology that could unlock novel forms of creativity, art, and medicine, and potentially, wipe out all mankind. As one AI engineer warns, “We’re creating God.”]( [Read more button](   [Idaho Murders: As a Small Town Grapples With Sinister Rumors, Media’s True-Crime Obsession Grows]( By [Kathleen Hale]( [While social media puts forth speculation and false information, channels like NewsNation are making a name in true-crime coverage.]( [Read more button](   [“It Was Always Going to End Badly”: The Untold Story of Tucker Carlson’s Ugly Exit From Fox News]( By [Brian Stelter]( [Fox never explained that abrupt firing of cable news’ biggest star, allowing conspiracy theories to fester. Now, in his new book, Network of Lies, Brian Stelter explores the myriad factors contributing to Carlson’s cancellation.]( [Read more button](   [How Musk, Thiel, Zuckerberg, and Andreessen—Four Billionaire Techno-Oligarchs—Are Creating an Alternate, Autocratic Reality]( By [Jonathan Taplin]( [In an excerpt from his new book, The End of Reality, the author warns about the curses of AI and transhumanism, presenting the moral case against superintelligence.]( [Read more button](   [Why The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Politico Didn’t Publish a Seemingly Bombshell Report About UFOs]( By [Charlotte Klein]( [The reporters behind the eye-popping 2017 UFO Times report had a new chapter to their story. The Gray Lady turned it down, while The Washington Post was working to hammer down the facts. Then the authors took it elsewhere.]( [Read more button](   Get on the list Subscribe to our Hollywood newsletter for your essential industry and awards-season news, every day. [Sign Up Now](   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn](   This e-mail was sent to you by The Hive. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, vanityfair@newsletter.vf.com, to your address book. View our [Privacy Policy]( [Unsubscribe]( Sent from Condé Nast, 1 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007 Copyright © 2023 Condé Nast