1.
“AI Is a Lot of Work,” June 19–July 2
Cover Story
Inside the AI Factory
For New York’s latest cover story, published in collaboration with The Verge, Josh Dzieza investigated the low-wage human labor that powers artificial intelligence. David Neustadt called it an “essential, stunning exposé of the human reality behind the AI hype. What all the other AI stories have missed.” Former New York mayor Bill de Blasio said it was “a powerful article, meticulously researched + very compelling. I challenge you to read this + not get worried about what AI is doing to working people. This is dehumanizing work taken to the next level.” Fortune’s David Meyer wrote, “It’s not exactly news that the tech industry can be exploitative and prone to cutting corners, but even if one brushes past the moral implications of such practices, there are unwelcome implications for the end products themselves and the people who use them. Unless the A.I. sector is willing and able to clean up its act, it’s asking for trouble.” @lil_mermaid added, “really grim article overall but found myself really touched reading this that no matter how much they try to atomize and isolate workers we always manage to find and help each other.”
2.
“The Transgender Family Handbook”
New York spoke to more than 100 parents, trans children and adults, and health-care providers. Eliza Clark, the showrunner of Y: The Last Man, said it was “a relief to read a piece about trans kids that is actually trying to help people.” The National Center for Transgender Equality shared the guide on Facebook, writing, “So many parents want to do the right thing and support their trans child, but they might not know where to start! We’re grateful to The Cut and to the many, many advocates + experts who shared their knowledge so that parents have the resources they need — from how to navigate your emotions to finding the best healthcare for your young person.” @BogHagJess wrote, “This is a wonderful thing to print, thank you so much from my whole family. You put a lot of healthy, compassionate and human care into this. Unexpected, thankful.” In a letter to the magazine, one reader told us, “I just sent this to a family member with a genderqueer kid. It’s such an important resource and a necessary counterpoint to all the transphobic content out there. It’s also so nice to see a guide featuring the voices of trans kids/teens/adults themselves; these are the real experts.” And Insider’s Claire Landsbaum joked, “Oh look, journalism about trans kids that isn’t fucking bonkers.”
3.
“Ginni and Clarence: A Love Story”
Kerry Howley wrote about the remarkable strength of the marriage that is undermining the Supreme Court. Michael Barbaro, host of The Daily, called it an “absolute must read.” Corey Robin, the author of The Enigma of Clarence Thomas, wrote, “I couldn’t put it down. It takes old material and makes it new and tracks down old material I never knew about. Howley succeeds where other writers fail: to make the outrageous intelligible and the intelligible outrageous.” Essayist Sarah Viren said, “The crescendo in this … is magnificent, and so is everything else, especially that ridiculous charm bracelet, which Kerry convincingly renders as ‘crucial to understanding the current chaotic state of the American project.’ ” Some readers took issue with calling the Thomases’ relationship a “love story.” “This is really really really burying the lede in a really disgusting way,” wrote social-media strategist Sam Todd on Instagram. “Stop even remotely glorifying the people who are proudly leading this country into a dystopian nightmare.” Savannah Plasch countered, “literacy is dead because it seems obvious this is tongue in cheek and not an actual ‘wholesome’ look at their marriage.”
4.
“Sara Ramírez Is No Joke”
In advance of the new season of And Just Like That …, Brock Colyar profiled the actor behind one of the show’s most memed characters. The podcast Every Outfit deemed it “the Cut article to end all Cut articles.” Many readers responded to Colyar’s skepticism of Ramírez, calling it a “beautiful evisceration” (Patrick Sproull) and a “subtle scather of a profile” (The New Yorker’s Emily Nussbaum). Nick Rizzo wrote, “I guess it’s a breakthrough that the 2020s are the first decade with LGBT+ celebrities who are cringe more than they are camp.”
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