How Has the Internet Changed Since Tyler Cowen Started Using it?

the last thought digest of January

Jan 31, 2025

I’m Katherine Dee. I read in an industry newsletter that I should re-introduce myself in every post. 😓 I’m an Internet ethnographer, sometimes podcaster, and reporter. I spend maybe 20 hours a week talking to people about how they use the Internet. It’s hard work. Consider sending me $5 for my efforts:

I asked the economist Tyler Cowen how the Internet has changed since he started using it. Here’s what he said:

My first emails probably were 1992 or so, and that was super useful to me in academic life and also personal interactions. I didn't partake very much in the internet communities of the 1990s, though I was on UseNet a bit, mostly talking about Haiti, a favorite travel destination at the time.
I started blogging in the very early 2000s, obviously that was a huge change. I now had to follow lots of issues on the internet as well. I started subscribing to everything.

At first things were free, and then...yikes.
I started Twitter in 2009. That was another enormous evolution in my internet usage. Either you already understand what I mean or, circa 2025, you never will. I still love Twitter, and am mystified by people who let it defeat them, frustrate them, and infuriate them.
Starting in late 2022, GPT-4 (and its successors) was the next revolution. Finally the world has a true polymath! I use it every day, as much as I can. It substitutes for many other sources, including what I might find through Google. Right now my "go tos" are o1 pro (yes it is worth the money) and DeepSeek and Claude. Later today o3 is due out from OpenAI, so I expect that to replace o1 pro.
These are such exciting times. The next set of revolutions are likely to all involve AI, and I think it will be more than just better models. Soon enough AI is likely to be organizing my entire information flow.
It is important to be ahead of these curves, rather than behind them.

Today, I’m keeping the thought digest short and sweet. I love Tyler because he’s an optimist—it’s good to hear someone who’s excited about tech, as opposed to afraid of it. As you all know, I am with him on AI, though I myself use it mostly to invent little characters and talk to them. Or to pretend like I have both Freudian and Jungian analysts, for a fraction of the price.

P.S. For a little bonus challenge: if you can correctly identify where the display image for this post comes from (without any outside hints or cheats), I’ll comp your subscription. Enjoy the puzzle, and thanks for reading!