WIRED

The Wired mission is to tell the world something they've never heard before in a way they've never seen before. It's about turning new ideas into everyday reality. It's about seeding our community of influencers with the ideas that will shape and transform our collective future. Wired readers want to know how technology is changing the world, and they're interested in big, relevant ideas, even if those ideas challenge their assumptions—or blow their minds.

Readers share their awe and ire. Plus, an existential encounter with a spider. • In our March issue, Darren Loucaides chron-icled how Telegram, a messaging app favored by Russian antiwar activists, has become a surveillance tool of the Kremlin. In our April issue, philosopher Justin E. H. Smith took us on a trip through his psychedelic-enhanced consciousness, and Vauhini Vara rummaged through the idealistic past and mud-slinging present of the goods exchange community Buy Nothing.

THERE IS NO CURE • New drugs like Mounjaro and Ozempic may help people lose weight, but what we really need is a treatment for fatphobia.

Car rental moves into the fast lane

HOME KEY • Forget crypto, VR, AI. When it comes to empowering humans, new tech has nothing on the well-tempered clavier.

MARGARET ATWOOD, OPTIMIST • The literary legend on her new story collection, ChatGPT, dystopias, and why she’s hopeful about the future.

SUBSCRIBERS GET UNLIMITED ACCESS TO WIRED.COM • HUNDREDS OF NEW STORIES EVERY MONTH

GENERATIVE AI’S DIRTY SECRET • Fortifying search engines with ChatGPT-grade smarts could require a fivefold increase in computing power, with the carbon emissions to match.

Cloud Support: Are Screens Stealing My Childhood?

JOY RIDE • Warmer weather and longer days make spring the best season for biking. It’s also the perfect time to upgrade your steed, whether you’re an electric enthusiast or an old-school pedal pusher.

FEATURES

01 HOW TO LOVE TECHNOLOGY AGAIN • AT A TIME WHEN SOFTWARE IS CONSUMING US, WE CRAVE HARDWARE—THE MATERIAL ANCHORS OF OUR IMMATERIAL REALITIES.

02 I SAW THE FACE OF GOD IN BY VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN A CHIP FACTORY • INSIDE TSMC, THE MYSTERIOUS TAIWANESE COMPANY AT THE CENTER OF THE GLOBAL SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY.

03 “TURN YOUR OWN WRENCHES” • SIX YEARS AGO, I MOVED MY FAMILY INTO A 50-YEAR-OLD RV — NOT JUST TO SEE AMERICA, BUT TO TEST MY BELIEF THAT ANYTHING WORTH FIXING CAN BE FIXED.

04 WHO WATCHES THE WATCHERS? • A TINY SECURITY BLOG WENT UP AGAINST CHINA’S BIGGEST SURVEILLANCE CAMERA COMPANIES AND IGNITED A NEW BATTLE IN THE US-CHINA TECH WAR.

05 PLUME AND DOOM • IN THE ARCTIC, THAWING PERMAFROST IS UNLEASHING CLOUDS OF PLANET-HEATING METHANE. SCIENTISTS RELY ON AN ARSENAL OF TECH TO GET A HANDLE ON JUST HOW NASTY THE PROBLEM IS.

06 BACK TO THE ANA LOG FUTURE • COMPUTERS HAVE BEEN DIGITAL FOR HALF A CENTURY, WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO RESURRECT THE CLUNKERS OF YESTERYEAR?

BODY ODOR IS A SUBSCRIPTION ADD-ON. • THE ASSIGNMENT: IN SIX WORDS, WRITE A STORY ABOUT THE FUTURE OF PERSONAL HYGIENE.