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Game Awards Host Geoff Keighley And PlayStation Architect Mark Cerny Will Start Giving $2 Million To Young Game Designers Each Year
The Nova Games Foundation is a new philanthropic initiative aimed at supporting the next generation of game makers
Exclusive: Two of gaming’s biggest names are making a big investment in gaming’s future
The first thing to know about the Nova Games Foundation is that it isn’t about The Game Awards. And it’s not about PlayStation. The ambitious new grant program is the brainchild of Geoff Keighley and Mark Cerny. Keighley is the host of The Game Awards, Summer Game Fest and Opening Night Live. Cerny is a game designer of some 45 years and the lead architect for the PlayStation 4 and 5. But this new thing, which they’re revealing through Game File, isn’t about their day jobs. It’s an unaffiliated, standalone philanthropic project. It’s a bet on the artistic future of video games and a way, they tell me, to give back. “I’m nearing the end of my career,” Cerny recently told me over email. “I’m not done yet, but paying it forward—in the best way possible—is very much on my mind these days,” The Nova Games Foundation is a university-affiliated fellowship program, intended to offer six-figure grants to 20 young game designers each year, potentially for decades to come. It will offer no-strings-attached funding along with mentorship from games industry leaders, a combination intended to aid the development of groundbreaking new games, Cerny and Keighley told me. Nova will begin accepting applications in December, from class of 2026 and 2027 students from 13 affiliated gaming programs at universities in eight countries. The schools working with Nova include the New York University and the University of Southern California in the U.S., along with Abertay University in Scotland, Cnam-Enjmin in France, TH Köln in Germany, and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia, Cerny and Keighley said. The plan: $100,000 per recipient, with about a quarter of Nova fellows eligible for up to $500,000 more for projects that are shaping up particularly well. Payments will be delivered based on development milestones, and recipients will own their games. Nova will help promote the work, and developers will be free to pursue the publishers and platforms of their choice. Nova can help introduce fellows to publishers, but won’t take a cut. “I’ve always wanted to give back, but given my role in the industry, I’ve never felt it appropriate to commercially invest in games,” Keighley told Game File. “I’ve never owned stock in a game company or taken a financial stake in a game. Nova is philanthropy: we aren’t taking equity or looking to recoup the grants. The return we’re hoping for is creative—helping new voices make games and find their footing. “Mark and I have each made multi-million-dollar donations to establish the foundation, and we intend to keep contributing. We hope others will join us.” Cerny and Keighley have already hired an executive director, John Maconga, and a head of grants, recent Game Developers Conference director Ashley Corrigan, to help launch the effort. They’re working to recruit game industry leaders to join the effort. Keighley says “dozens of leading game directors have already expressed interest in contributing their time.” To name one, they’ve already gotten Josef Fares, lead designer from It Takes Two and Spit Fiction studio Hazelight on board with a donation and pledge to help out. “I’m proud to support Nova because it gives the next generation of creators the freedom to explore their creativity and hopefully bring their unique visions to life,” Fares told Game File. A plan forged from a friendship Keighley and Cerny have known each other a long time. It’s been so long, Cerny isn’t even sure exactly when they met. “We travel in much the same circles and I’m sure first intersected in the 90s or early 2000s,“ Cerny said. Keighley thinks it might have been during his stint writing a column about the mid-’90s console 3DO for a gaming magazine while Cerny was working on games with Crystal Dynamics or on Way of the Warrior with Naughty Dog. They became genuine friends about a 10 years ago, Keighley said, as they bonded over a shared love of games and a hope to improve the industry. “About a decade ago, we started having dinner a few times a year in LA,” Keighley said. “Just to catch up on life and the industry. Those conversations continued over Zoom during COVID. Nova grew out of that friendship and a question we kept coming back to: ‘What could we do to help the next generation of game directors get started?’” Keighley credits Cerny with the idea to figure out a way to put their money and time back into the industry. At one of those dinners, Keighley proposed the idea of a fellowship program. He’d recalled applying for a Rhodes Scholarship when he was younger. “Spoiler: I didn’t get it,” he said. He’d admired the MacArthur Foundation’s so-called “genius grants.” He liked these kinds of programs that recognized people’s talents and gave them the financial boost and the freedom to realize their potential. With Cerny, he had pondered what a game industry version of that could be. Keighley liked the idea of centering the fellowship on students, drawing inspiration from the accomplishments of Jenova Chen, the USC game design graduate who went on to lead the creation of gently moving, ambitious games such as Flower and Journey. Keighley also thought it could be useful to help promising graduates bridge the transition from student to professional. “Joining an established studio isn’t always possible—especially in today’s market—and even then, it isn’t the right path for everyone,” Keighley said. A fellowship, he realized, could give “graduates the time, resources and guidance to pursue a game of their own and not worry about the commercial viability.” As the idea took shape, Cerny also saw an opportunity to enable more games of a certain type: “The target with the grants is games as an artistic medium,” Cerny told me. “We like to say games with ‘artistic, literary and societal value.’” He added: “I’m a pretty big gamer myself, though I tend to gravitate towards the smaller and more unique or artistic titles, games like Neva, Abzu, Gorogoa, Stray or Outer Wilds. I was just playing and Roger on a flight to Japan, and was getting misty eyed to a degree that I was concerned that a flight attendant would ask me if I was OK. “So one fun benefit here is the games that will come out of the Nova Games Foundation – I can’t wait to play them myself.” Cerny believes it will also be useful for Nova fellows to hone their craft and team leadership skills. “We are looking for the next generation of visionaries,” he said. “The trick is that they will also need to have the executive function necessary to drive a small project to completion.” Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my reporting, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Going big with this Keighley and Cerny may have started Nova and may be the ones primarily backing it right now, but they’re dreaming of something that goes beyond them. “Mark and I may have helped get it started, but one of our measures of success is that Nova grows into something the entire games industry feels a sense of ownership in,” Keighley said. “Our ambition is to build a lasting endowment supported by people and companies across the industry, and an equally broad community of creators willing to give their time and experience to the next generation.” The industry has a lot of knowledge that it can pass to the next generation, Keighley said: “Nova can hopefully become a way to connect that generosity with talented young creators at the moment when it can make the biggest difference.” Cerny, who told me he believes Nova can mature “over the next 10 or 20 years,” sees an opportunity to give generations of game makers momentum. “The industry has changed immeasurably since I started in games in 1982,” he said. “These graduates have talent, training and tools that outclass what we had back in the day by an astonishing amount. But they face a tough road ahead getting traction in the industry, and many could benefit from our support. We want to be there to give it to them.” “There’s a personal side to this, too,” Keighley said. “I don’t have children, and I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what I can do for future generations. Games have been my entire career. I’ve been incredibly fortunate, and helping someone else build a life in this industry feels like a meaningful way to give back.” Cerny’s oeuvre dates back to Marble Madness and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. He has stood on stage multiple times to reveal the future of PlayStation hardware. He’s been an executive producer for a string of modern PlayStation classics such as The Last Guardian and Marvel’s Spider-Man. Nevertheless, of Nova, he said, “It’s certainly not like anything I’ve done before.” Nova Foundation applications will be due in December and the first wave of fellows will be announced in March 2027. A full list of participating universities and steps students and recent graduates can take to apply to become a Nova Fellow is forthcoming.
Texas’ Biggest Concern Going Into Saturday Is This
Texas has one of the most talented offenses in college football. But if the Longhorns want to finally beat Ohio State on Saturday night, they have to find a way to push the football down the field. That was a massive problem last year. Ohio State completely suffocated Texas’ passing game for most of its…
Trump administration blasts Ford business deals with Chinese firms
By David Shepardson WASHINGTON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Tuesday blasted Ford Motor's business partnerships with Chinese companies, saying they pose deep national security concerns. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in a ...
Trump administration blasts Ford business deals with Chinese firms
WASHINGTON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Tuesday blasted Ford Motor's business partnerships with Chinese companies, saying it poses deep national security concerns. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in a letter to Fo...
Trump administration blasts Ford business deals with Chinese firms
The Trump administration on Tuesday blasted Ford Motor's business partnerships with Chinese companies, saying it poses deep national security concerns.
Trump Administration Blasts Ford Business Deals With Chinese Firms
WASHINGTON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Tuesday blasted Ford Motor's business partnerships with Chinese companies, saying it poses deep national security concerns. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in a letter to Ford CEO Jim Farley sent on Tuesday said ...
Youth with CF on approved treatment still face mental health issues
Youth with cystic fibrosis continue to experience mental and behavioral health concerns despite treatment with Trikafta, according to a study.
NYC releases 170,000 pages of long-sought 9/11 health, air quality records
New York City opened a public portal containing 170,000 pages of 9/11 records sought for years by first responders, survivors and families concerned about Ground Zero health risks
NYC releases 170,000 pages of long-sought 9/11 health, air quality records
New York City opened a public portal containing 170,000 pages of 9/11 records sought for years by first responders, survivors and families concerned about Ground Zero health risks
Small business optimism slips in August as sales, inflation concerns persist
Small business optimism declined in August as owners faced weaker sales, inflation and hiring challenges, according to NFIB’s latest survey.
Michigan Football Film Room: Fixing the Run Game
Michigan Football escaped Western Michigan, but serious offensive concerns remain. We break down the Wolverines’ run-game struggles and what must improve in this week’s film study:
Vape waste poses risks to health and environment, analysis finds
Many disposable vapes contain extremely high levels of lead and other metals, raising new concerns over the fast‑growing piles of vape waste.
New York City releases thousands of pages regarding 9/11 air quality concerns
The release follows a 28-part records request filed in 2023 that was repeatedly delayed under former Mayor Eric Adams.
Harrison Smith Returns — And the Cap Gets Complicated
Harrison Smith's $12.25M return, cap concerns, bold predictions, and an NFL Rivalry Weekend pitch.
What Makes Guardant Health (GH) a Compelling Bet?
Artisan Partners, an investment management company, released its second-quarter 2026 investor letter for the “Artisan Mid Cap Fund”. The letter can be downloaded here. Global equities rebounded sharply in Q2 2026, recovering from March lows as resilient economic data, strong corporate earnings, and continued AI investment improved investor sentiment despite inflation concerns, delayed rate cuts, and […]
Washington: Despite fueling AI’s wrong answers, data centers are uniting Dems and the GOP
Politicians from both sides of the aisle are raising strikingly similar concerns about water, energy and costs. The question is how long the unity will last.
Bucks Have Two Concerning Contracts to Worry About This Season
The Bucks need to be creative if they want to move certain contracts.
Supercomputer predicts Chelsea vs Leeds United in Carabao Cup
Xabi Alonso looking straight with concerned Daniel Farke ahead of Stamford Bridge background
Opinion | Pulling our health care system back from grip of catastrophe
Readers react to a recent essay, raising concerns about the influence of insurers and Big Pharma and questions about how to pay for Medicare for All.
Canada Imposes New Tariffs on U.S. Goods, as Trade War Intensifies
The duties are a retaliation against President Trump’s recent tariffs, raising concerns about further escalation.
Americans' Satisfaction With Schools Is at a Low Point, New Gallup Poll Shows
Americans' satisfaction with the quality of K-12 education in the country has hit a low point, driven by a growing political divide and concerns that schools are not preparing children for college and future jobs. Just 32% of American adults say they are “completely” or “somewhat” satisfied with the ...
Scientists studying cockroach milk and nose-blowing win Ig Nobel prizes for quirky science
Ten research teams were honored Thursday at a satirical science awards ceremony that was hosted outside the U.S. for the first time due to travel concerns.
49ers announce decision on Nick Bosa amid health concerns
When he’s healthy, San Francisco 49ers star pass rusher Nick Bosa is one of the best pass rushers in the entire league. And despite questions about his health, it sounds like he’ll be ready to go for the team’s season opener. Bosa tore his ACL last season and has been recovering ever since. While he…
Cowboys Could Make Major Trade To Address Concerning Roster Weakness
The Cowboys have a talented starting lineup, but concerns about their roster could lead to make a major in-season trade.
Ascension medication error raises new concerns over potential Williamson Health sale
Williamson County commissioners are preparing for their first vote as county leaders consider taking the next step toward a potential sale of Williamson Health
Minnesota Vikings Bold Prediction Reveals Biggest Strength, Concern for 2026
Brian Flores’ elite linebacker corps anchors a rising defense, yet Kyler Murray’s durability and field vision remain the primary obstacles to Minnesota claiming NFC North dominance.
Dead horse decaying in front of Harris Health System facility
A dead horse left in front of a facility in Harris County has some residents concerned.
CPS report details mental health concerns before Marlene Vidal was charged in children’s deaths
A newly released Child Protective Services fatality report offers new details about concerns involving Marlene Vidal’s mental health and stability in the year before she was charged with killing her two children and setting a car on fire with them inside.
Mamdani creates new DSA-inspired office to help NYC workers unionize: 'Concerning for small business'
Happy Labor Day from Hizzoner. Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday announced a new taxpayer-funded office — with an undisclosed price tag — that will help New York City workers...
Survey of young researchers raises concerns over future of science in U.S.
One-third of young scientists who had been planning careers in academic research changed their minds in the spring of 2025, according to a new survey. Fewer expected to remain in higher education or work ...
Utah measles cases are down, but health officials are still concerned
Warm weather helped slow Utah's outbreak, which had become the epicenter of outbreaks in the U.S. But the Utah State Epidemiologist still takes issue with even a single case in the state.
Chelsea Turn Down Signing Of Free Agent Despite Midfield Concerns
With Chelsea hunting for an Enzo Fernandez replacement, the Blues have been alerted to the free agent market in search of solutions.
Browns Given Low Win Projection With Serious Roster Concern
The Cleveland Browns have been given a low win projection again, with the team having a serious roster concern.
West Valley light rail extension raises business concerns along Indian School Road corridor
Business owners along Indian School Road are raising alarms about a proposed West Valley light rail extension, saying years of construction could threaten their livelihoods.
Secondary named New York Giants' biggest concern of 2026
Secondary named the New York Giants' biggest concern entering the 2026 regular season.
ESPN names biggest concern for Panthers going into 2026 season
The biggest concern for the Panthers going into Week 1 could be an area that they've spent a considerable amount of resources on.
Maresca unconcerned by Man City’s lack of Haaland cover
Enzo Maresca has insisted Manchester City have options to cover Erling Haaland at centre-forward this season.Haaland is the only recognised number nine in the Manchester City squad this season, after ...
Animal Welfare In Shrimp Aquaculture: Science-Based Manual To Foster Sustainable Rearing Practices
Over the past two decades, shrimp aquaculture has grown enormously worldwide. At the same time, consumer awareness of ethical, environmental and sustainability issues has increased, and concern for animal welfare is growing. Consumers are paying closer attention to how farmed animals are treated, pushing retailers and producers to improve standards.
Architect of UK’s AI policy quits after Anthropic conflict of interest concerns
Matt Clifford forced to stand down amid disquiet from senior MPs over his new full-time job at AI company
Fluoride shortage raises dental health concerns
Doctors are watching for a rise in cavities.
Fluoride shortage raises dental health concerns
Doctors are watching for a rise in cavities.
Fluoride shortage raises dental health concerns
Doctors are watching for a rise in cavities.
Fluoride shortage raises dental health concerns
Doctors are watching for a rise in cavities.
Fluoride shortage raises dental health concerns
Doctors are watching for a rise in cavities.
Fluoride shortage raises dental health concerns
Doctors are watching for a rise in cavities.
Fluoride shortage raises dental health concerns
Doctors are watching for a rise in cavities.
Fluoride shortage raises dental health concerns
Doctors are watching for a rise in cavities.
Fluoride shortage raises dental health concerns
Doctors are watching for a rise in cavities.
Fluoride shortage raises dental health concerns
Doctors are watching for a rise in cavities.
Fluoride shortage raises dental health concerns
Doctors are watching for a rise in cavities.
Fluoride shortage raises dental health concerns
Doctors are watching for a rise in cavities.
Fluoride shortage raises dental health concerns
Doctors are watching for a rise in cavities.
Fluoride shortage raises dental health concerns
Doctors are watching for a rise in cavities.
Fluoride shortage raises dental health concerns
Doctors are watching for a rise in cavities.
Commission to present long-awaited Innovation Act proposal
The European Commission will present its proposal for an EU Innovation Act on September 9, with a focus on strengthening public procurement as a driver of innovation and facilitating the use of intellectual property (IP) to secure financing.The proposal was initially meant to be published in March. No explanation has been given for the delay, but it may be linked to issues with the associated impact assessment.The Commission’s Regulatory Scrutiny Board issued a negative opinion on the draft impact assessment following its meeting on January 28, and again on February 27, according to a draft of the Innovation Act published by Agence Europe.In it, the Commission lays out the steps it has taken to address the board’s concerns, including avoiding overlap with the upcoming revision of the EU Public Procurement Directives and removing a mandatory target for EU member states to increase overall innovation procurement spending.The Innovation Act, which was included in last year’s start-up and scale-up strategy, is meant to reduce barriers to bringing innovative solutions to the market and speed up the path from research to commercialisation.Central to the initiative, according to the draft proposal, is the introduction of a harmonised EU framework for the procurement of R&D services by public buyers, including pre-commercial procurement. The plans would also introduce an EU preference in public R&D procurement.“Other leading economies in the world are investing five to eight times more in public procurement of R&D than the EU,” it notes. In Europe, the lack of harmonised rules has led to divergent practices across the bloc, legal uncertainty and limited use of joint, cross-border R&D procurement, it says.Related articlesCommission postpones European Innovation ActParliament draft report adds EU Inc safeguards to prevent fraud and regime shoppingThe text highlights a lack of clarity around the valuation and monetisation of IP as another barrier to the commercialisation of research results. Currently in the EU, IP is rarely used as collateral in financing, which restricts the growth potential of innovative firms. A key reason for this, according to the Commission, is the absence of a harmonised methodology for valuing IP.To address this issue, it plans to introduce an EU-wide IP valuation framework, a digital marketplace for commercialising IP, and a competence centre to help innovators access IP-backed finance.The issue was highlighted by a recent report by the European Union Intellectual Property Office, which referred to developing a “functional market for IP-backed finance” as a “core competitiveness imperative for the next decade,” and key to ensuring capital unlocked by other EU initiatives reaches innovative firms.The Innovation Act is one of several ways the Commission hopes to reduce fragmentation in the single market and help innovative companies to scale in Europe, complementing other initiatives such as the EU-wide corporate regime, dubbed EU Inc.The leaked draft is not the final version that will be published on September 9, according to a Commission official.
1 year after approving Project Blue, Pima County releases data center health impact study
Tucson residents were clear in their concerns about Project Blue's potential to impact the environment and public health. Now, health officials in Pima County, where the project is moving forward, have published a study that backs some of that up.
Wolves' attack leads the league but defence must improve
Wolves fan writer Dazzling Dave is concerned by his team's poor start to the season defensively.
Pa. election results, Shapiro’s speeches, and state laws are all prediction market bets. Could this lead to corruption?
Some ethics experts are raising concerns that prediction markets are ripe for abuse from government insiders or bad faith actors looking to sway elections.
Season debut shows why Ropes football is a regional contender
Ropes coach Beau Riker isn't concerned about rankings or outside projections, but Friday showed why many think highly of the Eagles.
Politics in NI: What are the possibilities for Stormont reform?
A growing question among local politicians concerns whether Stormont should be reformed. If rules or procedures are changed, can that make local politics more effective? Will it better serve the people who live here? Over the course of 2026 these conversations have grown louder and more frequent. It is one of the central topics of...
Indian health activists lodge concerns about food warning proposal in court
Indian activists spearheading calls for food labelling said a government proposal to have red warnings only when two concerning nutrients are high created an "industry-friendly loophole" disregarding public health, marking the first formal court objection to the plan.
Indian health activists lodge concerns about food warning proposal in court
By Aditya Kalra NEW DELHI, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Indian activists spearheading calls for food labelling said a government proposal to have red warnings only when two concerning nutrients are high created an "industry-friendly loophole" disregarding public...
Indian health activists lodge concerns about food warning proposal in court
By Aditya KalraIndian activists spearheading calls for food labelling said a government proposal to have red warnings only when two concerning nutrients are high created an "industry-friendly loophole" disregarding public health, marking the first formal court objection to the plan.India's proposal…
Michigan’s 50-Minute Offensive Drought Sends Troubling Warning Before Oklahoma
Michigan survived Western Michigan on Saturday night.That might be the least important takeaway from the Wolverines’ 13-12 victory.Buried underneath the controversial ending and Bryce Underwood’s game-winning Hail Mary to JJ Buchanan is a statistic that should be considerably more concerning with Oklahoma coming to Ann Arbor next. Michigan scored on its opening possession with 9:40 […] The post Michigan’s 50-Minute Offensive Drought Sends Troubling Warning Before Oklahoma appeared first on HEAVY
"All Kinds of Banged Up Right Now": Shohei Ohtani Gets Huge Dodgers Injury Update as Pitching Future Takes Grim Turn
Concerns surrounding Shohei Ohtani are mounting as the Los Angeles Dodgers scratched him from the lineup for a fourth straight game on Sunday. He was already sidelined from pitching, and now his hitting has been affected as well.
CPS got mental health reports on Edinburg mom a year before kids’ deaths, records show
SAN ANTONIO —It shows the department of family and protective services had previously been alerted to mental health concerns involving their mother, Marlene Vid
Recent Power Rankings Demonstrate Concern for Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic have a lot to prove in the 2026-27 season.
Concern Mounts Over Brett Favre’s Health After Packers Legend’s Recent Video
When Brett Favre’s name pops up, fans are teleported back to when he led the Green Bay Packers to a 9-7 record in 1992. How rare was it at that time? Well, only the team’s second winning season in ten years.
Sitcom Legend, 95, Reveals Cause of Sudden Health Scare
Fans of the iconic actress had shared their concern online.
Oil extends gains after US and Iran strike ships
Oil prices extended gains on Monday as tit-for-tat strikes between the U.S. and Iran on vessels sailing in the Strait of Hormuz and other areas heightened concerns of a prolonged supply disruption from the Middle East.
‘Tree 55’ tragedy sparks Gen Z protests against cover-up in Vietnam
‘Extraordinary concession to public pressure’ reflects regime’s ‘deep concerns about an unexpected youth movement pushing for accountability’
The core anti-Pangram constituency is phony writers
Welcome to The Closing Argument, our verdict on the news, plus everything The Argument published and appeared in this week. The Verdict, by Kelsey Piper A lot of people hate AI for drowning the internet in slop and displacing human creatives. You might think that these people would be thrilled by a program that can identify and flag AI-generated work. But many people who hate AI also hate Pangram, an impressively accurate AI detector that produces very few false positives, according to high-quality independent research. This loathing found its most recent expression in a bizarre Wired article that amplifies a wide range of false arguments from Pangram skeptics: that AI detectors are racist (they’re not) or ableist (they’re not)1 or don’t work (this one does)2. Rather than starting from the premise that it would be really valuable to have a working AI detector and scrutinizing Pangram to make sure it lives up to that promise, the article starts from the premise that Pangram obviously has bad vibes and sets out to discover why. (One answer: The CEO microwaved lunch during an interview!) Why aren’t writers who resent Pangram more eager to distinguish themselves from posters who are having ChatGPT ghostwrite all their work? There are a few different things at play, but I think one key dynamic is this: These are often the same people. A core constituency for arguments like Wired’s is “writers” who are using AI to write their posts but resent this fact being made public. They stand to lose from AI detectors because AI detectors call them out. Share When Substack announced a partnership with Pangram, a sizable fraction of the platform’s authors rose up in outrage. Some people had experience with other AI detectors that didn’t work, and some felt that AI writing ought to be encouraged — both of which are fair enough. But the fury was fueled by authors passionately insisting that Pangram kept wrongly accusing them on almost every post they published. Pangram can be wrong, especially on short passages. But in the overwhelming majority of cases where Pangram looked at a whole blog post rather than a single paragraph, the program correctly detected work as AI. Even if we can’t be 100% sure in any individual case, we can notice the trend in the aggregate. Wired quotes Sam Illingworth, a professor of critical AI literacy at Edinburgh Napier University, who said, “I don’t think [AI detectors] work. … I think that detectors are prejudiced against certain people.” This spring, he said that he used AI for research and editing; this summer he acknowledged that in addition to research and editing, he also uses it “now and then for a turn of phrase I keep.” Pangram informs us that most of his posts are 100% AI-written (some are mixed AI-and-human) and that 100% AI-written posts started appearing last year. The favorable interpretation is that, as someone whose recent work Pangram consistently mistakes for AI, Illingworth sees Pangram’s flaws firsthand. The unfavorable interpretation is that the tool’s credibility trades off against his own, because its account of who writes his posts is not consistent with his. Illingworth is not alone in insisting the detector does not work. “It’s a Monday night in late July, and I’m pasting my own Substack draft into an AI detector for the first time. Not because I’m worried. Because I’m curious. I wrote every word of it myself, the way I write everything, out loud in my head first, in a rhythm that still carries the accent of a language I learned to think in before I learned to write in this one,” begins one Substack post by an author indignant that Pangram flags her writing as AI. “That’s the part I had to sit with before I could write this.” If you, like me, have worked with AIs a lot, you won’t even need Pangram there. The author of that piece is AI. It is obviously AI! I checked 10 other posts on the blog, and they were also obviously AI! “I have spent 22 years as an award-winning author and essayist. And now this bullshit tool that learned from MY writing is going to accuse me of plagiarism,” popular Substack writer Carlyn Beccia wrote in an anti-Pangram post. “For the last and final time, AI DETECTORS DO NOT WORK.” Here’s what her writing sounded like in 2020: “Most success stories revolve around one person who believed enough in you to say — give it a try. We call these people muses, but they are so much more than that. They are the strong man giants whose shoulders we stand on so we can see the horizon. Throughout the editing process, I am sure my editor felt less like a giant of greatness and more like Atlas with the world on her shoulders.” Pangram says it was 100% human-written. (So were other articles of hers in 2020.) And here’s what it sounds like now: “And then there is the reshuffling, which sounds like paperwork until you remember that empires have always loved paperwork. The Trump regime recently moved special education oversight from the Education Department to HHS. That is not a minor bureaucratic transfer. It changes the frame.”3 Pangram says this is mostly AI. I am not convinced that Pangram is wrong. In my own experience, Pangram is very effective on long texts — if it marks a long essay as AI, the essay was either written by AI or deliberately written to sound like AI. On tweet-length or paragraph-length texts, it’s not perfectly reliable. It seems to work just as well for non-native English speakers as for native speakers. While I have seen dozens of claims of pre-2022 text returning a positive result on Pangram, I have tried repeatedly to corroborate those and have never once succeeded. To be clear, I’m absolutely not saying that complaining about Pangram suggests a writer is a cheat. There are plenty of other concerns. Most are mistakenly premised, such as the false claim that Pangram trains on work you put into it, but others are reasonable: It’s unreliable on sufficiently short text segments; it creates an internet witch-hunt mentality when there are defensible uses of AI; people who are open about their AI use are sometimes blamed, when the only people really doing something wrong are the ones who hide it; and it isn’t perfect, so a single positive result shouldn’t be taken as decisive proof of misconduct. I’m happy to concede that Pangram is imperfect and possible to over-rely on. If an author’s posts are mostly non-AI and one scans as partially AI, this could be a mistake. It’s also possible to defeat Pangram with intentional effort. If you think we need something more robust and more reliable, fine! But if you don’t like AI and don’t like Pangram, your attitude really ought to be that it’s a shame that our existing tools for AI detection are imperfect, and it’s important to invent better ones. If your stance is instead that AI is evil and so is looking for AI, then ultimately you’re contributing to the sloppification of the internet. You’re making it harder for people who write their own text to distinguish themselves, and providing cover for authors who are definitely not writing their own text. Subscribe Top stories this week, by Kobe Yank-Jacobs Commentators often worry that the decline of reading could mean the decline of liberal democracy — but deliberative governance actually predated widespread literacy. This week, Maibritt Henkel pointed out that many liberal cultures thrive on a culture of raucous, interactive debate, which can happen in-person as easily, if not more so, than in text. Read on, dear reader, to learn more. It may actually cheer you up: [ ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/reading-wont-save-liberalism) [ Reading won’t save liberalism ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/reading-wont-save-liberalism) Maibritt Henkel · Sep 1 [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/reading-wont-save-liberalism) It used to be bad to downplay climate change (if we mean denying its reality). Today, it’s actually good to downplay climate change (if we mean keeping the issue out of political fights so we can make real progress). This counterintuitive view is called “climate hushing,” and contributor Alex Trembath argued that it’s the key to enacting good policy going forward. Get up to speed on the latest in climate politics: [ ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/we-wont-stop-climate-change-by-talking) [ We won’t stop climate change by talking about it ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/we-wont-stop-climate-change-by-talking) Alex Trembath · Sep 2 [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/we-wont-stop-climate-change-by-talking) Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney is standing up for the forces of liberalism against Donald Trump’s assault on our closest ally. So, why is one prominent left-wing commenter attacking Carney? Columnist Matthew Yglesias explains: [ ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/when-economic-liberty-means-central) [ When "economic liberty" means central planning ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/when-economic-liberty-means-central) Matthew Yglesias · Aug 31 [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/when-economic-liberty-means-central) 🌟Abundance Wins of the Week🌟 Shout out to my home state of California, whose legislature passed two housing bills this week. One requires a housing density minimum in transit-oriented areas of the state’s most transit-rich cities (Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, San Diego, and Long Beach). Another bill closes two common loopholes used by third parties to delay housing projects, including an opportunity to challenge maps of a given lot created by the developer after a project has been approved. Shout out to our big-state rival, Texas, where pro-housing SB 785 took effect this week. The new state law requires municipalities to have at least one district permitted for manufactured housing without a special permit. This will promote zoning changes in 44% of municipalities. The company Fervo Energy signed a deal with Google for what is set to be the world’s largest enhanced geothermal facility, proving a technology can work at a scale that could be crucial to a decarbonized, energy-abundant economy. Share Worth watching… This week, forecasting legend Nate Silver joined Jerusalem, Matt, and Jeremiah on a crowded episode of the pod. It was a party. And speaking of parties, our round table debated the factional lines within the Democratic Party: Is it possible to be center-left and also anti-establishment? Watch or listen to find out: The Rio Grande Valley in Texas is one of the areas that swung hardest toward Trump in 2024, but musician Bobby Pulido is running to flip it back. Right now, The Argument/Split Ticket’s model has him running 1.1 points behind his Republican opponent in a district Trump won by 18 points. Tune in to find out how he differs from national Democrats and what he thinks he can to do win this seat. On Thursday, Bernie Sanders was among the first politicians to call for a ban on superintelligence. My guest this week, Andrea Miotti, has been lobbying to ban superintelligence for several years, most recently in the U.K., U.S., and Canada. I asked him how he gets legislators to take speculative risks seriously, and we dug into what plans might look like to actually pass a ban. Listen to learn more: What’s News with The Argument The Argument recommends, by Kobe Yank-Jacobs If we ever lose track of Justin Zuckerman, I’ll have the team split up and check all the movie theaters in the city. I’m shocked (and a little jealous) at how often he gets out to see good cinema. This week, he brings us It Ends, a “horror-ish movie,” which he described as a “Gen Z Waiting for Godot.” I was intrigued before he added that it was “funny, dark and existential” — at which point I was fully locked in. I guess I also had existential themes on the mind this week. One morning, a single line from a poem I read long ago just came to me: “Is death a stretch of time in which a life is just a flash?” The poem is called “From 20,000 Feet” by Heather McHugh. I suggest the version in The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry, which, by tradition, my best friend and I always bring backpacking, extra weight be damned. We’ll stay thematically dark for just one more rec from senior editor John Robert Thomason, whose upcoming trip to Baltimore reminded him to suggest Michael Clune’s memoir White Out (about being addicted to heroin in Baltimore in the 1990s). Ben Lerner’s blurb called it _“_Disturbing, brilliant, hilarious—it’s as if Proust had written Jesus’ Son.” John told me this “seems accurate, with the caveat that I’ve never read Proust.” I, personally, have also shelved Proust until retirement. At this point, I was a little concerned for the team since all of us tossed out such psychologically grim material — maybe we’re all down about the end of summer — but thankfully, at least a few of us were into more upbeat selections. Milan Singh recommended Made In’s 5-quart stainless clad saucier, suggesting he had some fun in the kitchen. Jeremiah Johnson asked if he could recommend yet more Carly Rae Jepsen. Once denied, he offered up Game Changer instead_,_ calling it “the most wildly creative game show, maybe in the entire history of the genre.” Eli Richman mentioned _Lucky, “_a B-tier show with an A-tier cast and an S-tier theme song.” I suppose he was recommending the song, Horns of a Bull. Still, despite these cheerier recs, I couldn’t help but be concerned that we were subconsciously worried about racing toward summer’s end — the end of swim trunks and splashing around. Then a message landed reminding me of the three-day weekend to come. A whole extra day for sunshine. One more swim in the lake. I was grateful this called to mind yet another line from a poem, one by Mary Oliver, the patron saint of every gorgeous summer day (and about whom a documentary is now out). Speaking to God in the poem “Thirst,” she wrote: grant me, in your mercy,a little more time. Love for the earthand love for you are having such a longconversation in my heart. We have merch! We have quarter-zips, keychains, hats, and stickers. Each one is a great conversation starter in its own way. Buy them here. Subscribe More to read: [ The Opening Argument ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/seeing-like-an-elite)[ Seeing like an elite ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/seeing-like-an-elite) Kobe Yank-Jacobs · Sep 4 What do Americans hear when they watch Sen. Bernie Sanders or Vice President JD Vance rail against the elite? Are they thinking of right-wing tech billionaires? Imperious college professors? Liberal magazine writers? [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/seeing-like-an-elite) [ The Weekly Scroll ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/god-is-back-on-the-timeline)[ God is back on the timeline ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/god-is-back-on-the-timeline) Jeremiah Johnson · Sep 5 This week, we’re talking about Substack’s new religious debates, the continuing MAGA influencer scandal, how to retire from YouTube, and aura battles. [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/god-is-back-on-the-timeline) 1 This was a legitimate thing to worry about, but doesn’t seem to be a problem given the actual technology: Marijke Van Vlasselaer, Filip Van Droogenbroeck, and Bram Spruyt’s 2026 paper looks at whether Pangram is less accurate when evaluating the work of non-native speakers of English. It isn’t. That’s because Pangram isn’t really looking at how “unusual” a piece of writing is but whether it has the characteristic patterns of LLMs. The Wired article makes an odd gesture at a different Pangram-is-racist argument. There were several controversies this summer during which upcoming books were canceled after being discovered to be AI-written: “The three novels mentioned earlier — Shy Girl, Daggermouth, and Call Me, easily publishing’s biggest AI-detection scandals — were all written by writers of color.” But come on! As Zvi Mowshowitz put it: “They were not primarily written by people of color. They were primarily written by AIs.” That’s the whole problem! And as my colleague Jeremiah Johnson recently observed with respect to Cambridge’s Arday scandal, a community being unwilling to call out fraud if it’s perpetuated by people of color is not an anti-racist tendency; it is ultimately quite racist. 2 Many non-Pangram detectors don’t work, but many possible airplane designs also don’t work, and no one considers this a general argument against aviation; the thing that matters is whether any detection works. 3 The phrase “empires have always loved” mysteriously became all the rage in the last few years. See here, here, here, here and here. Before 2025, the only use of that phrase I have been able to find is a single Tweet. The logic of the sentence, too, is incoherent in an AI-characteristic way. “...sounds like paperwork, until you remember that empires have always loved paperwork”? Does remembering that make it sound less like paperwork? It’s a craft-ful sentence, but what is it actually saying??
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Just days before two teenagers carried out a mass shooting at a San Diego mosque, federal law enforcement officials warned the parents of one of the shooters that their son was making concerning comments about school shootings on the dark web, according to new details included in a recently filed lawsuit. […]
Parents of San Diego mosque gunman say a mental health facility failed to heed FBI warning
Federal law enforcement warned the parents of Caleb Vazquez, one of two teenagers involved in a San Diego mosque shooting, about his concerning online comments days before the attack
Parents of San Diego mosque gunman say a mental health facility failed to heed FBI warning
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Just days before two teenagers carried out a mass shooting at a San Diego mosque, federal law enforcement officials warned the parents of one of the shooters that their son was making concerning comments about school shootings on the dark web, according to new details included ...
Parents of San Diego mosque gunman say a mental health facility failed to heed FBI warning
Federal law enforcement warned the parents of Caleb Vazquez, one of two teenagers involved in a San Diego mosque shooting, about his concerning online comments days before the attack.
Parents of San Diego mosque gunman say a mental health facility failed to heed FBI warning
Federal law enforcement warned the parents of Caleb Vazquez, one of two teenagers involved in a San Diego mosque shooting, about his concerning online comments days before the attack. The
Parents of San Diego mosque gunman say a mental health facility failed to heed FBI warning
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Just days before two teenagers carried out a mass shooting at a San Diego mosque, federal law enforcement officials warned the parents of one of the shooters that their son was making concerning comments about school shootings on the dark web, according to new details included in a recently filed lawsuit.
Parents of San Diego mosque gunman say a mental health facility failed to heed FBI warning
Federal law enforcement warned the parents of Caleb Vazquez, one of two teenagers involved in a San Diego mosque shooting, about his concerning online comments days before the attack.
Parents of San Diego mosque gunman say a mental health facility failed to heed FBI warning
Federal law enforcement warned the parents of Caleb Vazquez, one of two teenagers involved in a San Diego mosque shooting, about his concerning online comments days before the attack.