On the Radar: ‘Looksmaxxing’ is Official, Discord’s New Age Verification and Existential AI Concerns

‘Looksmaxxing’ Makes the Dictionary

What? Merriam-Webster released their annual list of new words to be added to their dictionary. Among the 1,400 words added is “looksmaxxing,” defined by Merriam-Webster as “the practice of taking one or more sometimes extreme or dangerous measures intended to increase one’s physical attractiveness.”

So What? While the term has been floating around the internet since the 2010s, it has gained popularity across major social media platforms in the past few years. As Merriam-Webster points out, looksmaxxing often prompts adherents (primarily young men) to take unhealthy measures to “boost” their physical attractiveness. Extreme examples of looksmaxxing can even include using a hammer to try to reshape facial bone structure.

Now What? While looksmaxxing—and its harmful methods—might sound pretty niche, a recent study found that, of young men ages 16–25, nearly two-thirds were regularly engaging with content from masculinity influencers. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look your best or adopting healthy habits for physical benefits. But looksmaxxing encourages an unhealthy obsession with a person’s appearance and often pushes unnatural methods in the pursuit of better looks. That Merriam-Webster chose to officially recognize the term highlights a growing awareness for looksmaxxing—and its potential for harm.

Discord Rolls Out Age Verification Changes

What? Recently, the social communication app Discord started rolling out a new age-verification system in response to backlash over concerns about privacy. According to Discord co-founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy, the original plan was to roll out age verification based on “facial age estimation or an ID scan.” But after blowback following a data breach, the company decided to add additional protections.

So What? The “to be determined” element of this new verification process is that a Discord will be automatically estimating the ages of its users to sort them into adult or teen groups—we’ll have to wait and see how accurate that ends up being. But the good news is that Discord is upping the protections for that teen group, separating messages from strangers and blurring or blocking what the company refers to as “sensitive” images.

Now What? Increased online protections, especially for minors, will always get a hearty thumbs-up from Plugged In, but parents will still want to familiarize themselves with Discord’s changes to make sure they’re effective—and that their teens are not involved in dangerous digital communications.

Anthropic Researcher: ‘AI Could Kill All Humans’

What? Evan Hubinger,a researcher at Anthropic (the tech company behind the popular chatbot Claude) made waves over the last few weeks with a social media post saying that he believed “AI could kill all humans” within the next decade.

So What? The post was made in response to the resignation of Hubinger’s colleague, Jacob Coxon. Coxon left his role at Anthropic due to his view that the company (and its AI-tech rival OpenAI) is engaging in an irresponsible race to develop an AI superintelligence—a superintelligence that, in Hubinger’s mind as well, would have a non-zero chance of wiping out humanity.

Now What? AI has and will continue to have a significant impact on both our technological and cultural landscape. It might result in some very good things, and it might bring about some very bad things. Regardless of Coxon and Hubinger’s views, Christians can hold onto the peace in knowing that God is in control.