flâneur

The villains are building our future | Christina Martinez

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He took the stage in his signature black turtleneck as the world watched with bated breath. From the podium, he produced a yellow manila envelope. Holding it up with one hand, he grinned, and the crowd laughed and cheered. “This is it,” he said. The floor-to-ceiling LED screen behind him showed a close-cut live video feed as he gingerly unwound the string that fastened the envelope. He slid a thin rectangular object smoothly out of the packet and into his hand. “This is the new Macbook Air,” he pronounced, proudly. He balanced it on splayed fingers, asking the audience to note how thin it was. Scattered “woo!“s punctuated the applause. He smiled again, opening the laptop’s lid. “Isn’t that amazing?” The audience was captivated. The Macbook Air became a cult favorite. Years later, millions mourned Steve Jobs’ passing. Can you imagine Sam Altman, smiling on a stage in a black turtleneck, cooly captivating millions, armed only with a laptop in a manila envelope? What about Dario Amodei? W

He took the stage in his signature black turtleneck as the world watched with bated breath. From the podium, he produced a yellow manila envelope. Holding it up with one hand, he grinned, and the crowd laughed and cheered. “This is it,” he said. The floor-to-ceiling LED screen behind him showed a close-cut live video feed as he gingerly unwound the string that fastened the envelope. He slid a thin rectangular object smoothly out of the packet and into his hand. “This is the new Macbook Air,” he pronounced, proudly. He balanced it on splayed fingers, asking the audience to note how thin it…

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