Once firms get consumers used to being sorted, profiled, and priced differently, the practice starts to feel inevitable. But it is not. It is a choice about what kind of business practices we expect. Personalized algorithmic pricing pulls together affordability, privacy, competition, consumer protection, and data extraction all at once. - The Walrus
It’s been widely assumed that the 8th-century manuscript was copied and illuminated at St. Columba’s monastery on Scotland’s island of Iona — this despite the fact that there's no archaeological evidence that Iona had a place or materials for such a major project. Evidence has, however, been found at another Scottish site. - Artnet
Ignoring cultural property protections runs counter to a lesson many military forces, including the United States, have come to recognize: that safeguarding cultural heritage is not only a legal obligation, but also strategically smart. - The Conversation
One thing that has really struck me is that ordinary Americans are far less interested in fighting about history than it might seem. - The New York Times
When Wittgenstein referred to the “beginning of the end of humanity,” he was not envisioning sci-fi cataclysms... He was referring to what he called the “form of life” we inhabit. That form of life is threatened by a way of thinking that lowers human life to the plane of science and technology. - Commonweal
“In its first official season, starting May 2 in New York City, the International Dance League is offering contracts to top-level dance teams and presenting huge arena competitions. ... It’s calling the format ‘the MMA of dance.’ And the dance community is reacting with both excitement and skepticism.” - Dance Magazine
Amid a projected $48 million deficit largely attributed to enrollment decline, the New School’s upcoming layoffs come as the newest development in the university’s sprawling workforce reduction saga, which the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) called the “largest attempted firing of faculty currently taking place in the nation.” - Hyperallergic
Searches for the phrase job apocalypse are spiking. Polls show that voters are beginning to freak out. But there’s a better question for white-collar workers to ask themselves: Am I coal, or am I a horse? - The Atlantic
Insulating yourself from inconvenient facts is not an effective long-term life strategy, even for someone powerful enough to externalize the costs of most of their bad decisions onto others. - Artnet
Jennifer Schuessler: “Ordinary Americans are far less interested in fighting about history than it might seem. People who work at historical sites, whether government-run or private, report that most visitors, whatever their politics, show up open-minded and curious and hungry for fact-based, nonpartisan history.” - The New York Times
There is understandable fear among artists that artificial intelligence will plunder their work and render already-difficult careers impossible. This sets up the question: Is there an ethical path forward for art and AI? - Hyperallergic
As the US-Israel war on Iran enters its fourth week, neighboring Gulf states, a hub of much of the region’s contemporary art production, are projecting an image of normalcy, with many galleries and museums reopening. - Hyperallergic
West End theater tickets are regularly less expensive than on Broadway, even for the same shows. Last year, the average West End ticket price was about $81, while last season the average Broadway ticket price was roughly $129. - The New York Times
“The channel will distribute more than 100 new videos annually, including feature-length and short documentaries from the PBS series Independent Lens, POV, Reel South and Voices as well as output from PBS’s partnership with BBC Studios.” - The Hollywood Reporter
Nobel laureate Han Kang won the fiction category for We Do Not Part, while Karen Hao took nonfiction honors for Empire of A.I. and Arundhati Roy received the autobiography prize for Mother Mary Comes to Me. Among other honorees were Quinn Slobodian for Hayek's Bastards (criticism) and Kevin Young for Night Watch (poetry). - AP
