The Real Future of A.I.

Plus: how the Memphis police shaped the response to the Tyre Nichols video, what Ron Klain learned in the White House; and Tom Brady. View in browser | Update your preferences Wednesday, February 1, 2023 In today’s newsletter, your speech may last forever, and then: • Doreen St. Félix on the killing of Tyre Nichols • Lessons from Biden’s first chief of staff • The violence of “Power Slap” Whispers of A.I.’s Modular Future ChatGPT is in the spotlight, but it’s Whisper—OpenAI’s open-source speech-transcription program—that shows us where machine learning is going. Illustration by Pierre Buttin “The problems of meaning and context insured that, for decades, speech recognition was considered a measuring stick for the field of A.I. as a whole,” James Somers writes, in a fascinating, and not a little bit chilling, examination of the latest next big thing in artificial intelligence. “The only way to understand speech, the thinking went, was to really understand it.” That line of thought is changing, and quite fast, thanks in part to a new speech-transcription program called Whisper.cpp, developed in just five days by a Bulgarian programmer, which Somers notes is “basically as proficient as I am at transcription.” It’s all tremendously exciting. Unless it isn’t. “You think of advertisers paying handsomely to examine mentions of their brand names in natural conversation,” Somers writes, considering the implications of this new world of speech recognition. “You imagine losing a friend or a job over a stupid comment. Really, the prospect is terrifying.” Read the story Support The New Yorker’s award-winning journalism. Subscribe today » Editor’s Pick Cultural Comment The Memphis Police Are Not Bystanders to the Death of Tyre Nichols By appropriating citizen-made mechanisms for monitoring violence, the police have spun failed reform into a myth of incremental accountability. By Doreen St. Félix From the News Desk The Sporting Scene Tom Brady Got Old The N.F.L.’s greatest quarterback seemed ageless right up until his first retirement. Then he came back. And now he is retiring again, presumably for good. By Louisa Thomas Daily Comment What Ron Klain Learned in the White House Joe Biden’s exiting chief of staff is a case study in the slow accumulation of expertise. By Evan Osnos Q. & A. Are Republicans Ready to Move On from Donald Trump? A former loyalist contemplates the former President’s flaws—and the G.O.P.’s willingness to ignore them. By Isaac Chotiner Culture Dept. Musical Events The Ageless Exuberance of Michael Tilson Thomas In the face of serious illness, the conductor led two memorable programs at the L.A. Phil. By Alex Ross On Television A New TV Show That’s a Real Slap in the Face In “Power Slap,” a reality show tied to a slap-fighting league, there is no evasion, no trickery, and no possibility of a swing and a miss. By Kelefa Sanneh The Boards Meat Pies (One Meatless) with “Sweeney Todd” ’s Newest Stars Annaleigh Ashford (Mrs. Lovett) and Josh Groban (the demon barber of Fleet Street) compare notes on their early Sondheimian setbacks. By D. T. Max Fun & Games Dept. Name Drop Play Today’s Quiz Can you guess the notable person in six clues or fewer? By Will Nediger Daily Shouts Are You There Margaret? It’s Me, God You repeatedly asked Me to give you boobs, which I hope you’ve figured out is kind of below My pay grade. By Tom Smyth Crossword A Lightly Challenging Puzzle Woodwind in Madonna’s “Crazy for You”: four letters. By Brooke Husic Daily Cartoon Wednesday, February 1st By Christopher Weyant P.S. “February is the worst month of the year, but it’s an honest month. It’s a month that doesn’t hold up life any better than it really is,” Kevin Killeen, of KMOX, in St. Louis, reported in 2016, in a deadpan man-on-the-street video that resurfaces online each year as people confront the midwinter blues. “The trees that once cheered us, they’re hard to look at this month,” he adds. “It’s as if there is some awful truth out there in the trees. It’s hiding in the branches. Look at them.” Sigh. Today’s newsletter was written by Ian Crouch. Thanks for reading. Let us know your thoughts about today’s edition. Plus, browse more newsletters and invite a friend to sign up for The Daily. You’re receiving this e-mail because you signed up for The Daily from The New Yorker. Manage your preferences | View our Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2023. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.