The Lead Digest: Drugs for AI, Beyonce and anything but Elf

Our round-up by The Lead’s team of what we’ve been reading, listening to, scrolling and watching each week.

Pic: Unsplash

Here at The Lead, we like to consume just as much as we create, which is why we spend a little time each week rounding up our favourite stories, books, podcasts and films to offer our readers a sample of the work that informs our world.

Ella loved this Wired article about people downloading code to get their AI chatbots high on “drugs” by Mattha Busby. It opens up all sorts of questions about AI welfare and sentience. For balance, she also found Gary Marcus’ Substack on the actual way LLMs work, and how they can be corrupted, fascinating.

Natalie recommends this deep dive by Justin Myers into a moment that to this day she cannot believe actually happened on the X Factor. The ultimate cultural reset of Beyonce duetting with Alexandra Burke. We used to be a real country.

Padraig recommends Cover-Up, the new documentary about the legendary US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh. It’s a fascinating portrait of a brilliant but flawed reporter and a bleak reminder of the worst excesses and abuses of American power in the last 60 years. Out on Netflix on Boxing Day.

He also enjoyed last week’s Little Atoms episode, with debut novelist Miriam Robinson talking about And Notre Dame Is Burning, which is also his book of the year.

Ed found himself grinning at this video of choir singers outside Preston Railway this morning.

And Luke recommends literally any Christmas film other than Elf. Controversial, but not necessarily wrong.

Watched, read or listened to something you think we’d like to feature? Drop ella@thelead.uk a line and we will consider for inclusion. And feel free to share this post to a friend or family member who you think needs some reading or listening inspiration!

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