(New York Times) – My column about the experience was probably the most consequential thing I’ll ever write — both in terms of the attention it got (wall-to-wall news coverage, mentions in congressional hearings, even a craft beer named Sydney Loves Kevin) and how the trajectory of A.I. development changed.

After the column ran, Microsoft gave Bing a lobotomy, neutralizing Sydney’s outbursts and installing new guardrails to prevent more unhinged behavior. Other companies locked down their chatbots and stripped out anything resembling a strong personality. I even heard that engineers at one tech company listed “don’t break up Kevin Roose’s marriage” as their top priority for a coming A.I. release. (Read More)