“Some glitches are mild, like an Alexa that randomly giggles (or wakes you in the middle of the night, as happened to one of us), or an iPhone that auto-corrects what was meant as ‘Happy Birthday, dear Theodore’ into ‘Happy Birthday, dead Theodore. But others—like algorithms that promote fake news or bias against job applicants—can be serious problems.” – Commonweal
What Should We Expect From Artificial Intelligence?
Human consciousness depends on a body that developed through evolution. If we want to create AI that is conscious in the same way we are, should we be building it in something like the way that evolution built us? – Commonweal
The Transitory Influence Of Hemingway
So what can Hemingway tell us about what American writers owe to Hemingway? Whatever that debt is, it’s a lot, according to the various writers and literary scholars who appear as talking heads in the documentary, but they (Edna O’Brien, Tobias Wolff, Mario Vargas Llosa) are fairly long in the tooth, and few young fiction writers would now claim him as a star to steer by. In comparison, the influence of William Faulkner, transfigured in the crucible of Toni Morrison’s genius and legacy, can be detected everywhere. – Slate
How Reporters Are Fighting To Save The Storied Tribune Newspapers From A Hedge Fund
The worried reporters would need to recruit community allies. Hire a public relations firm to sway public opinion. And most crucially: Figure out how to find rich people who might be persuaded to finance a rescue plan. – Washington Post
Video Game Technology Helps Recreate Sound Of 16th-Century Scotland’s Chapel Royal
“Researchers have captured how they believe choral music would have sounded when played and sung in the now-ruined chapel at Linlithgow Palace, west Lothian, which was the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots and where James IV visited for Easter celebrations around 1512. … Gaming technology … allow[s] specialists to model how acoustics would have been affected by long-destroyed interior details, such as the curve of an alabaster sculpture or an oak roof beam.” – The Guardian
As Performances In Italy Remain Banned, Competitive Ballroom Dancing Waltzes On
“[Competitors] are preparing for the Italian Championships in Rimini in July and as such are allowed to keep practicing, given that the government considers their activity in the national interest. It’s the same allowance that has enabled other federally recognized competitive athletes to keep training in Italy even during the latest round of virus-related closures.” – AP
Recreating A 2,000-Year-Old South Indian Lyre
The yazh is a seven- or 14-stringed harp, built over a wooden bowl resonator covered with hide like a drum, that’s referenced in Tamil scriptures dating back to the Sangam period (6th century BCE to 3rd century CE). There are replicas of the yazh in museums, but none are playable. In a Q&A, Chennai-based instrument maker Tharun Sekar talks about how he researched and then crafted a playable model. – Atlas Obscura
Entertainment Venues Fear Problems With A Vaccine Passport
Out of 700 businesses surveyed by the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), which represents businesses like nightclubs, bars and festivals, 70% felt that vaccine certificates, negative testing or immunity proof were not necessary to reopen, the organisation said. And 69% felt they would have a negative impact on business. – BBC
How We Make Language
Today, our world has over 7,000 languages, each with its own words and particular grammar. These languages are so mindbogglingly different that you might think, “anything goes!” But in reality, there are countless possibilities in sound patterns and grammars that never occur. – The Conversation
How Do You Become A Broadway Choreographer? It’s Not Easy, But It’s Fairly Straightforward
“In much of the dance world, the process of becoming successful as a choreographer can seem frustratingly oblique. On Broadway, however, that path is surprisingly linear and well defined. Most people end up following a sequence of positions that includes becoming dance captain of a show, then assistant choreographer, then associate choreographer and, finally, main choreographer. What boosts you from one rung of the ladder to the next is a combination of initiative, networking and, of course, creativity.” – Dance Magazine
The Arts Went Online During COVID — What Happens When Theatre Audiences Return?
“Right now, a streamed concert that sells well will just about cover the cost, and we have to proof every second of the video. Even once live performances come back, I highly doubt we could offer livestreams because of our small staff.” – Chicago Tribune
A Supreme Court Ruling On Computer Code Has Hollywood Worried
“While a copyright dispute about computer code might not seem like a subject of particular consequence for them, an opinion from Justice Stephen Breyer concluding that Google made fair use of copyrighted material will very likely be discussed for quite some time and be invoked in other contexts. As such, a few lines in particular from today’s opinion regarding public benefits and public harms could have many in Hollywood quite tense about a future staked on intellectual property.” – The Hollywood Reporter
Another Pandemic Silver Lining: Overhaul Of Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall Is Way Ahead Of Schedule
“With concerts in the hall canceled since March 2020, construction began in earnest over the past few months. Work is expected to continue for the next year and a half, with a reopening planned for fall 2022, the orchestra and center announced on Monday. That is a year and a half ahead of schedule.” – The New York Times
Guillermo Del Toro Absolved In ‘Shape Of Water’ Plagiarism Case
“The producers of The Shape of Water will no longer have to contend with a copyright lawsuit that claims that Oscar-winning Guillermo del Toro film infringed the work of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Paul Zindel. On Friday, Disney’s Fox units, Guillermo del Toro and other defendants filed court papers indicating that the parties in the litigation had reached an agreement to dismiss the case.” – The Hollywood Reporter
Spoleto Festival USA Moves Cautiously Back Into Live Performance
There will be 80 events spread across four stages, three of them outdoors and two of those newly-constructed. (The old Dock Street Theater, site of the popular noontime chamber music concerts, will be this year’s sole indoor venue.) Capacity will be about one-quarter that of a normal year. – Charleston City Paper
From The Wreckage Left By ISIS, Mosul’s Museum Begins To Rise Again
“By the time Mosul was liberated by Iraqi government forces in July 2017, most of the artefacts in the Mosul Cultural Museum had been destroyed or looted. An international partnership was quickly launched to try and salvage what remained. … The project has now entered its second phase: the reconstruction of the 1970s-era building. This might seem like small cause for celebration: most of the fractured artefacts are still in a storage facility awaiting restoration. But even this is success in the aftermath of the Mosul battle.” – The Art Newspaper
A Hollywood Plan To Make More Movies About Older People
A study released in 2017 by the Media, Diversity and Social Change Initiative at the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism looked at 1,256 films released between 2014 and 2017 and found that characters 60 and over were under- and misrepresented. While that demographic represented 18.5% of the U.S. population, it was reflected in only 11.8% of the films, the study found. – Los Angeles Times
46-Year-Old LA Stage Alliance Disbands After Awards Mistake
Last week, more than 25 Los Angeles area theater companies, including the Geffen Playhouse, the Pasadena Playhouse and the Deaf West Theatre, revoked their memberships in the Alliance after the nonprofit organization misidentified and mispronounced the name of Asian actress Jully Lee at an awards show earlier this week. – Deadline
How Our Concept Of Work Has (Is) Evolved
“Work, and the way it fits into one’s life, can be and often has been, less rigid and routinized than is common today. In modernized societies, work is organized around the clock, and most jobs are shoehorned into the same eight-hour schedule. In the past, and in some cultures still today, other factors–the seasons, the weather, tradition, the availability of light, the availability of labor–determine which tasks are done when.” – 3 Quarks Daily
The Archaeologists Of New York
Urban archaeologists can unearth 300-year-old trash, and turn it into narrative (and historical) treasure. “The biggest thing for me is saving something that would not have been saved if I didn’t take action,” one says. – Aeon
Is Hollywood Trapping Women Directors In The Franchise Machine?
Or are Chloé Zhao, Emerald Fennell, and others just getting their due like their young male counterparts? Hm. “Marvel, DC and co have awoken to the viability of female-led stories, which has meant a demand for women to direct them. Patty “Wonder Woman” Jenkins was an early example, but there are others. Cate Shortland, purveyor of thoughtful, female-centred stories such as Somersault and Berlin Syndrome, has directed Marvel’s Black Widow. Cathy Yan went straight from her promising Chinese-language debut Dead Pigs to DC’s Birds of Prey. Similarly, Nia DaCosta, who made a striking debut with 2018’s Little Woods, is currently on Captain Marvel 2.” – The Guardian (UK)