—OpenAI’s new ChatGPT Agent explains how it passes a common internet security checkpoint designed to catch bots just like it, Ars Technica reports.
One more thing
How gamification took over the world
It’s a thought that occurs to every video-game player at some point: What if the weird, hyper-focused state I enter when playing in virtual worlds could somehow be applied to the real one?
Often pondered during especially challenging or tedious tasks in meatspace (writing essays, say, or doing your taxes), it’s an eminently reasonable question to ask. Life, after all, is hard. And while video games are too, there’s something almost magical about the way they can promote sustained bouts of superhuman concentration and resolve.
For some, this phenomenon leads to an interest in flow states and immersion. For others, it’s simply a reason to play more games. For a handful of consultants, startup gurus, and game designers in the late 2000s, it became the key to unlocking our true human potential. But instead of liberating us, gamification turned out to be just another tool for coercion, distraction, and control. Read the full story.
—Bryan Gardiner
We can still have nice things
A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)
+ USPS is taking votes from the public to bring back their favorite stamps (thanks Amy!)
+ Here’s how to make your morning toast that bit more interesting.
+ The long-awaited Madonna biopic is still happening, apparently.
+ Bad news for matcha fans—there’s a global shortage 🍵