Pressure Systems edition
Algorithmic Knowledge and Epistemic FUD
May 8, 2026
What this edition shows
Algorithmic systems are automating knowledge production and institutional decision-making, displacing traditional epistemic authority while generating systemic confabulations that destabilize policy and public discourse. Simultaneously, state actors and platform monopolies are consolidating control over critical infrastructure, agricultural supply chains, and communicative networks, weaponizing security rhetoric to justify enclosure and suppress interoperability. This convergence is eroding institutional resilience, forcing sovereign and care-based networks to rebuild material and digital infrastructure outside centralized governance architectures.
Reporting and analysis behind this edition 17 sources
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AI in the emergency department: promising, powerful but still unproven
Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock.com Artificial intelligence can now outperform doctors at diagnosing patients in the emergency department, according to a new study in Science. The AI was given written notes from real emergency department records from a hospital in Boston, US, and asked to weigh in at diffe…
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Semafor’s new AI tool helped boil down its entire flagship conference into nine takeaways
On April 13, more than 500 CEOs and other power brokers gathered in Washington, D.C. to join Semafor World Economy. Across the five-day event, hundreds of speakers took the stage, including Goldman Sachs President John Waldron, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, and nine sitting U.S. ca…
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Online hate groups sustain their messages by repeating powerful stories or routinely adding new allegations
Studying the types of messages hate groups spew online helps researchers understand the groups' persistence. Westend61/Westend61 via Getty Images Hate communities often flourish online for years, raising the question of how they persist. My research team has found that powerful stories keep members…
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Message from Claude Mythos
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Vladimir Putin Is Much Weaker Than You Think
Used to outwitting his enemies, the Russian leader is running out of room for maneuver.
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A Bet Is Not a Poll
Polymarket and Kalshi offer to predict the future. Journalists should be wary, especially during elections.
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Russian Court Orders Takeover of Major Food Producer Amid Wartime Rise in State Seizures
A court order to seize billionaire Vadim Moshkovich’s stake in one of Russia’s largest agricultural companies was only the latest in an increasing number of state seizures since the Kremlin’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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The AI scientist: now academic papers can be fully automated, what does this mean for the future of research?
whiteMocca/Shutterstock Until recently, AI’s role in research felt like having a useful assistant. It could summarise a paper, clean up a dataset or draft an abstract. Researchers were still in charge of the thinking. That changed in late 2025 when cutting-edge “frontier” AI models became capable of…
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With Malice
Kash Patel’s FBI is going after reporters and news organizations for routine newsgathering practices.
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A new international coalition aims to speed up the phase-out of oil
Nearly 60 countries launch coalition to accelerate the energy transition against the backdrop of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz
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Who Is Xi’s Real No. 2?
The Chinese leader isn’t willing to give anybody else power.
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The Right to Access Foreign Communicative Infrastructure
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"Security vs. Interoperability" Arguments
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Canada: How Manitoba’s new right to repair legislation could work for farmers
Right to repair legislation is currently being presented in the Manitoba Legislature, and though the bill is Manitoba-specific, it carries significance for farmers across the country. The post Canada: How Manitoba’s new right to repair legislation could work for farmers appeared first on La Via Camp…
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Five times AI hallucinations embarrassed governments
From the Trump administration’s “formatting errors” to South Africa’s historic policy withdrawal, AI confabulation is infiltrating official documents.
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How China Is Winning the Global AI Race
Cutting-edge U.S. models are too expensive for much of the world.
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Canada is kicking its US booze habit as trade tensions persist
One of the most visible ways that Canada responded to President Donald Trump's tariffs was by sharply restricting U.S. alcohol sales. AP Photo/Jill Colvin Almost a year and a half after President Donald Trump began slapping tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners, Canada’s pushback has reordered…