Kyle Chayka
Kyle Chayka is a staff writer at The New Yorker covering technology and Internet culture. In his column, Infinite Scroll, he has explored why the Internet isn’t fun anymore, examined whether A.I. art steals from artists, and covered TikTok’s role in the vibes revival. Chayka, who first contributed to The New Yorker in 2013, has also written for The New Republic, the New York Times Magazine, and Harper’s, among other publications. His reporting on tourism in Iceland was included in “The Best American Travel Writing 2020.” Chayka’s first nonfiction book, “The Longing for Less,” a history of minimalism, was published in 2020. His second book, “Filterworld,” which explores the impact of digital algorithms on culture, was published in 2024. Chayka began his career in 2010, as a visual-art critic for the Web site Hyperallergic.
Bluesky’s Quest to Build Nontoxic Social Media
X and Facebook are governed by the policies of mercurial billionaires. Bluesky’s C.E.O., Jay Graber, says that she wants to give power back to the user.
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The Limits of A.I.-Generated Miyazaki
The launch of GPT-4o inspired a rash of A.I.-generated Studio Ghibli-style images. They may bode worse for audiences than for artists.
Resisting Trump 2.0 with Brain-Rot Memes
We participate in political memes to express our anxiety that whatever is coming next might be even more chaotic than what is already happening.
Donald Trump’s A.I. Propaganda
Artificially generated videos of Gaza as a beach resort and of migrant detention as A.S.M.R. are creating a digital mirror world of the future as Trump imagines it.
Techno-Fascism Comes to America
The historic parallels that help explain Elon Musk’s rampage on the federal government.
The Second Trump Administration’s New Forms of Distraction
The first time around, the President’s bad deeds galvanized people on social media. This time, they’re looking to “flush out their brains.”
Elon Musk’s A.I.-Fuelled War on Human Agency
Musk seeks not only to dismantle the federal government but to install his own technological vision of the future at its heart—techno-fascism by chatbot.
America Experiences Hours of TikTok Withdrawal
From the daily newsletter: Kyle Chayka on TikTok in limbo. Plus: how a school shooting became a video game; climate whiplash and the L.A. fires; and the drive to ban trans athletes from sports.
The Artist Exposing the Data We Leave Online
With projects like “IMG_0001,” an online compendium of YouTube home videos, Riley Walz is calling attention to the hidden deposits of personal information that power our digital lives.
The Year Creators Took Over
The attention economy has dominated the Internet for more than a decade now, but never before have its protagonists felt so central to American life—or had such direct access to the levers of power.
What Google Off-loading Chrome Would Mean for Users
A landmark antitrust ruling could change the Internet’s power balance, but the industry is shifting regardless.
The Fantasy of Cozy Tech
From the “cozy gaming” trend to a new generation of A.I. companions, our devices are trying to swathe us in a digital and physical cocoon.
How Elon Musk Rebranded Trump
The tech billionaire’s alliance with the President-elect has far-reaching implications for the incoming Administration.
The Banality of Online Recommendation Culture
A recent surge of human-curated guidance is both a reaction against and an extension of the tyranny of algorithmic recommendations.
The Crypto Betting Platform Predicting a Trump Win
Polymarket has seen a recent surge in pro-Trump election bets. Is it the movement of a rational market or a concerted campaign?
How I Fell Back in Love with iPhone Photography
A new feature on the camera app Halide allows you to take pictures without Apple’s A.I. optimization.
Taylor Lorenz’s Plan to Dance on Legacy Media’s Grave
A reporter known for chronicling the “extremely online” is making the leap to the creator economy. The most surprising thing is that she waited this long.
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The End of the iPhone Upgrade?
I do not need an iPhone 16, which is a testament not so much to the device’s failure as to its resounding success.
The Desperation of the Instagram Photo Dump
On today’s social media, the only way to counteract the overflow of online content is to put out an overflow of your own.
Bluesky’s Quest to Build Nontoxic Social Media
X and Facebook are governed by the policies of mercurial billionaires. Bluesky’s C.E.O., Jay Graber, says that she wants to give power back to the user.
The Limits of A.I.-Generated Miyazaki
The launch of GPT-4o inspired a rash of A.I.-generated Studio Ghibli-style images. They may bode worse for audiences than for artists.
Resisting Trump 2.0 with Brain-Rot Memes
We participate in political memes to express our anxiety that whatever is coming next might be even more chaotic than what is already happening.
Donald Trump’s A.I. Propaganda
Artificially generated videos of Gaza as a beach resort and of migrant detention as A.S.M.R. are creating a digital mirror world of the future as Trump imagines it.
Techno-Fascism Comes to America
The historic parallels that help explain Elon Musk’s rampage on the federal government.
The Second Trump Administration’s New Forms of Distraction
The first time around, the President’s bad deeds galvanized people on social media. This time, they’re looking to “flush out their brains.”
Elon Musk’s A.I.-Fuelled War on Human Agency
Musk seeks not only to dismantle the federal government but to install his own technological vision of the future at its heart—techno-fascism by chatbot.
America Experiences Hours of TikTok Withdrawal
From the daily newsletter: Kyle Chayka on TikTok in limbo. Plus: how a school shooting became a video game; climate whiplash and the L.A. fires; and the drive to ban trans athletes from sports.
The Artist Exposing the Data We Leave Online
With projects like “IMG_0001,” an online compendium of YouTube home videos, Riley Walz is calling attention to the hidden deposits of personal information that power our digital lives.
The Year Creators Took Over
The attention economy has dominated the Internet for more than a decade now, but never before have its protagonists felt so central to American life—or had such direct access to the levers of power.
What Google Off-loading Chrome Would Mean for Users
A landmark antitrust ruling could change the Internet’s power balance, but the industry is shifting regardless.
The Fantasy of Cozy Tech
From the “cozy gaming” trend to a new generation of A.I. companions, our devices are trying to swathe us in a digital and physical cocoon.
How Elon Musk Rebranded Trump
The tech billionaire’s alliance with the President-elect has far-reaching implications for the incoming Administration.
The Banality of Online Recommendation Culture
A recent surge of human-curated guidance is both a reaction against and an extension of the tyranny of algorithmic recommendations.
The Crypto Betting Platform Predicting a Trump Win
Polymarket has seen a recent surge in pro-Trump election bets. Is it the movement of a rational market or a concerted campaign?
How I Fell Back in Love with iPhone Photography
A new feature on the camera app Halide allows you to take pictures without Apple’s A.I. optimization.
Taylor Lorenz’s Plan to Dance on Legacy Media’s Grave
A reporter known for chronicling the “extremely online” is making the leap to the creator economy. The most surprising thing is that she waited this long.
The End of the iPhone Upgrade?
I do not need an iPhone 16, which is a testament not so much to the device’s failure as to its resounding success.
The Desperation of the Instagram Photo Dump
On today’s social media, the only way to counteract the overflow of online content is to put out an overflow of your own.