ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

IDEAS

The Explosion In Arts And Crafts Inspired By, Or Perhaps Dependent On, Taylor Swift

One crafty crafter says customers "were buying the yarn that was inspired by the tour. And then they were going and knitting a sweater … and then they were then wearing that to Eras tour concerts. The music informs the yarn which informs the project.” - North Country Public Radio

As Phones Become Mere Commodities, Apple’s Walled Garden Is Crumbling

“We’re a long way from the ‘wow’ moment of that first iPhone. It’s not all vibes, either" - some of it is legal decisions imperiling Apple’s monopolistic dominance. - The Verge

A Moral Obligation To Disrupt On Behalf Of The Planet?

As a citizen waking up to this terrible truth, as the situation becomes more and more desperate, does the obligation to take desperate measures – in terms of the tactics we’re prepared to undertake, not just the policies we’re looking to bring about – increase? - Aeon

Study: Our Perception Of Time Is Influenced By What We Experience

When viewing larger or less-cluttered scenes, participants were more likely to experience time dilation; thinking that they had viewed the picture for longer than they actually did. The opposite effect — time constriction — occurred when viewing smaller-scale, more cluttered images. - Nature

How AI Will Be (Is) Wrecking The Internet

LLMs have begun to disrupt the traditional relationship between writer and reader. Type how to fix broken headlight into a search engine, and it returns a list of links to websites and videos that explain the process. Ask an LLM the same thing and it will just tell you how to do it. - The Atlantic

Why Did Oxford University Shutter Its Future Of Humanity Institute?

Nick Bostrom – who popularized the theory that humanity may be living in a simulation, one that Musk often repeats – spoke about the closure of the institute in a lengthy final report published on its website this week. - The Guardian

Why Many Of Us Are Going Back To Pre-Digital Analog Tools

From vinyl records to film cameras, all manner of apparently written-off technologies have been making a comeback, including modular synthesizers – one of the earliest types of this now-ubiquitous electronic instrument. - The Conversation

The Toll That Questioning Someone’s Authority Takes

Growing research shows regular exposure to even relatively subtle prejudice and discrimination degrades physical and mental health, leading to outcomes like high blood pressure, chronic stress and depression." - Phys

At The Los Angeles Times Book Prizes, Winners Support Ousted USC Valedictorian

"Tananarive Due, who won ... for her novel The Reformatory, used her speech to add: ‘As we face the horrors in our cities, in Gaza and elsewhere, and witness true-life racism, homophobia, Islamophobia and antisemitism, let us honor the courage of young people.’" - Los Angeles Times

Call Salvador Dali On His Lobster Phone To Ask An AI Dali Your Burning Questions

Cool and deeply creepy at the same time: “The artist's AI voice was trained on voice samples taken from archival interviews Dalí did in English over his career. (He spoke four languages — Catalan, Spanish, French and English — sometimes interchangeably.)” We’re ready for the four-language answers. - NPR

The Virtual You Is Getting Closer

It would be a mistake to think that the algorithms in the room will remain mere observers. AI is more like an ambitious virtual worker seeking a promotion, or at least a more active role in the proceedings. One day an AI-powered service might actually run the meeting for you. And why not? - Wired

The AI Dilemma: Who Owns The Essence Of Our Work?

“More and more, we’re seeing AI used to replicate someone’s likeness and voice in novel ways without consent or compensation." - Politico

What Does It Mean To “Own” Culture? (And Do We Have To?)

Our music, films, books and photographs are increasingly accessed via digital platforms rather than stored on our shelves. Do these digital items really feel like “mine” in the same way that physical possessions do? And can they become as personally meaningful? - The Conversation

Fighting Against The Information Overload

We’re living in what they call the “Information Age,” but life only seems to be making less sense. We’re isolated, listless, burnt out on screens, cutting loved ones out like tumors in the spirit of “boundaries,” failing to understand other people’s choices or even our own. - LitHub

How Accurately Can Computers Simulate The Real World?

Video games have long bent toward realism, and in the past thirty years engines have become more sophisticated: they can now render near-photorealistic graphics and mimic real-world physics.  - The New Yorker

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