Its agents are more than stochastic parrots and stranger than machine gods, write Henry Farrell and Cosma Shalizi FOR THE GREEKS, an enthusiast was someone inspired by the divine: the Pythian oracle in her frenzy, or Homer invoking the goddess to sing of Achilles’s wrath. Today’s artificial-intelligence enthusiasts predict that the machine gods are coming ...

Agatha Christie’s murder mystery The Mousetrap is the longest running play in history. Its first run began in 1952, and it hasn’t stopped since. Another perennial whodunnit — “Who Murdered Political Science” — is mounting a strong challenge for the runner up. Regularly repeated performances haven’t stopped audiences from enjoying the traditional denouement, in which ...