Category: Arts & Culture | Page 10

Forest in fog with mist. Fairy spooky looking woods in a misty day. Cold foggy morning in horror forest with trees

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Peter Biles
Date
June 17, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Transhumanism

Tagged
AI, C.S. Lewis, ChatGPT, Creativity, Dystopian, internet, J.R.R. Tolkien, mind matters, Oxford, Paul Kingsnorth, Science fiction, Technology, That Hideous Strength}

That Hideous Strength, A.K.A. Transhumanism

_{C.S. Lewis's classic science fiction tale is about the temptation to reject being human} _{Peter Biles
June 17, 2023

7

Arts & Culture, Transhumanism}

C.S. Lewis’s 1946 science fiction novel That Hideous Strength is almost eighty years old now. Written during the throes of World War II, the novel is the culmination of Lewis’s cosmic trilogy, preluded by Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra. There are hosts of other articles attending to the prescience of Lewis’s terrifying novel, and for good reason; That Hideous Strength is a warning against using technology to dehumanize people and ultimately cripple the world into submission. It’s a great book as a novel, but it seems especially appropriate to revisit in lieu of the growing interest in transhumanism and the rapid acceleration of AI development. It feels like much of the talk on AI in recent months involves Read More ›

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Peter Biles
Date
June 13, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Consciousness, Cormac McCarthy, New York Times, Santa Fe Institute}

Cormac McCarthy, Author of “The Road” & “Blood Meridian,” Dead at 89

_{McCarthy thought that if the book didn't deal staunchly with matters of life and death, it was best left unwritten} _{Peter Biles
June 13, 2023

2

Arts & Culture}

American author Cormac McCarthy, who was known for his dark and often macabre novels, died on June 13th at his home in Santa Fe, N.M. He was 89. McCarthy was one of America’s most formidable and talented authors. He began his career in Tennessee, writing novels primarily about Appalachia. He moved to El Paso in 1976, where, thanks to funding from the MacArthur Foundation, he wrote Blood Meridian, a ruthless tale of vagabond outlaws wandering Texas and Mexico on scalping expeditions. Many critics find this to be his best work. McCarthy went on to write The Road, a post-apocalyptic novel published in 2006, which he dedicated to his son, John. The Road tells the story of a father and his Read More ›

Dark knight illustration, medieval era wizard, fantasy concept. Generative AI

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Peter Biles
Date
June 11, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Tagged
Arts and Culture, Astronomy, C.S. Lewis, Fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien, science, Science fiction, The Lord of the Rings}

J.R.R. Tolkien on Science Fiction

_{The master storyteller was more open to sci-fi and tech than the stereotype lets on} _{Peter Biles
June 11, 2023

5

Arts & Culture, Science Fiction}

In early 2021, literary scholar Holly Ordway published a deep dive into J.R.R. Tolkien’s reading habits. The celebrated author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit was a linguist and medievalist at Oxford for decades until his death in 1973. Based on his immersion in ancient literature, people often assume that Tolkien despised all things modern – including modern books. Even C.S. Lewis is quoted as saying, “No one ever influenced Tolkien–you might as well try to influence a Bandersnatch.” Today’s conception of Tolkien stereotypically portrays him as a curmudgeon who refused to engage with modernity. Ordway, however, pushes back against such an image and lays out a comprehensive case for Tolkien’s interest in contemporary literature, including the Read More ›

Colorful Pop Art Comic Book Explosion with Radiant Radial Lines Background for an Action packed Design AI Generated

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Peter Biles
Date
June 10, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Arts and Culture, hollywood, Multiverse, New York City, Sony, Spider-Man, Tom Holland}

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

_{The new Spider-Man multiverse movie is a riot of cartoonish color and adventure} _{Peter Biles
June 10, 2023

4

Arts & Culture}

The sequel to the 2018 animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse arrived in theaters last Friday and scored over 120 million dollars over its first weekend. Actor Tom Holland, who played the web-slinger in the latest live-action interpretation, called Into the Spider-Verse the best Spider-Man movie ever made in a recent interview. And that’s coming from Spider-Man himself! I saw the movie over the weekend, and wow, I can say that it’s one of the most visually interesting movies I’ve yet to witness. Like its precursor, Across the Spider-Verse is like watching a live-action comic book; the animators never shied away from the overtly cartoonish. It’s a non-stop riot of color, action, and adolescent angst, and I’m totally here for it. Read More ›

Galactic Space Elements of this image furnished by NASA

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Gary Varner
Date
June 10, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Tagged
Arts & Culture, Chris Pratt, Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel Universe, Movies, Outer Space, Sci-Fi Saturday, Science fiction, Star Wars}

The Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Part 3

_{This movie isn't the best in the trilogy, but it should be doing better than it is at the box office} _{Gary Varner
June 10, 2023

9

Arts & Culture, Science Fiction}

Previously, we talked about how Rocket Raccoon was injured during a fight with Adam Warlock, and this event sent the Guardians on a quest to save their friend. They manage to fix Rocket, and along the way, the viewer learns about the raccoon’s past. However, now that Rocket has healed from his injuries, Peter, Gamora, and Groot must save Nebula, Mantis, and Drax from the High Evolutionary, since they snuck onto his ship. The High Evolutionary demands that Peter trade Rocket for the three stowaways and sends Peter his coordinates. Peter hatches a plan with the remaining Guardians and some of his fellow Ravagers from the previous films. Meanwhile, Mantis, Nebula, and Drax discover there are children in cages inside Read More ›

View of planet Earth from inside a space station

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Gary Varner
Date
June 3, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Arts and Culture, Cinema, Gary Varner, Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel, Movies and TV}

Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Part 2

_{When an otter and a raccoon make you cry} _{Gary Varner
June 3, 2023

7

Arts & Culture}

Last time, we talked about how the newest addition to the Guardians of the Galaxy movies had a decent script but suffers from tone issues, mostly regarding how the film treats Gamora’s death. The Guardians had just broken into a space station, hoping to find a way to bypass a device that is keeping them from healing Rocket’s wounds which he received from the mysterious Adam Warlock. They break into the station and manage to steal Rocket’s records, but the code that would allow them to bypass Rocket’s kill switch has been removed. However, the records also show the Guardians the face of the man who took the code, and presumably, he has transferred it inside his own hard drive Read More ›

Natural luxury abstract fluid art painting in alcohol ink technique. Tender and dreamy wallpaper. Mixture of colors creating transparent waves and golden swirls. For posters, other printed materials

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News
Date
May 31, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

So Long, Art History–AI is the Only Picasso We Need Now

_{How about we keep art human generated, eh?} _{News
May 31, 2023

2

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

In the near future, will the high school senior struggling to turn in that art report Google search a famous artist only to be bombarded with AI remakes? And without proper education, will people start failing to discern the difference? Unfortunately, that future is already upon us. If you type in “Johannes Vermeer” at Google, the Dutch artist famous for his piece “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” an AI copy of the artwork appears in his bio preview. Visual artists have been resisting AI image generators like Midjourney and DALL-E for a few months now, with even some lawsuits in the mix. Many artists feel that AI art violates copyright. But we’re to another level with this whole debacle when Read More ›

Adult student reading a book in the college library. Young standing male wearing glasses with bookshelves on background.

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News
Date
May 28, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Tagged
AI, Amazon, Artificial Intelligence, Arts and Culture, Books, ChatGPT, Large Language Models (LLMs), LLMs}

In the Wake of AI Books, What Does Authorship Mean?

_{While of course it's easy to use AI to generate text, the quality and storytelling are lacking.} _{News
May 28, 2023

2

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

We all know there are a lot of books out there. Perusing your local used bookstore and you may find hundreds of old romance paperbacks, and somehow most of them managed (at least at one point) to make the New York Times bestsellers’ list. It’s estimated that 500,000 to 1 million books are published each year, and that’s excluding self-published material. The publishing market has become saturated, with the average book selling less than 200 copies. From the advent of the printing press centuries ago to e-books and online publishing, humans alone have managed to generate a mountain of words. But suppose one person could “generate” not just a few books in a lifetime, but hundreds every year? According to Read More ›

man walking in the night toward the light

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Peter Biles
Date
May 27, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Tagged
AI, Artificial Intelligence, chatbots, Futurism, Movies and TV, sex robots, Snapchat, social media}

Here Come the AI Companions

_{The Internet ushered in a wave of virtual living and connectivity. Is this the next inevitable step?} _{Peter Biles
May 27, 2023

3

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

The popular social media influencer Caryn Marjorie recently launched “CarynAI,” an artificially intelligent companion that her millions of followers can interact with every day. Marjorie told the Washington Post that she doesn’t have the bandwidth to respond to all the requests she gets from her predominantly male fanbase, however much she wishes to. She furthermore wants to cure them all of their loneliness. She’s on track to make 5 million dollars a month from CarynAI. The bot makes it possible for fans to have a “relationship” with a simulated version of Caryn. Conversations are designed to “wind down” after an hour, but there’s no time limit. One of Caryn’s reps said users are spending hours interacting with CarynAI. The project Read More ›

Space environment, ready for comp of your characters.3D rendering. Generative AI

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Gary Varner
Date
May 27, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Tagged
AI, Arts and Culture, film, Movies and TV, Sci-Fi Saturday}

Guardians of the Galaxy 3 Review, Part 1

_{It's a decent movie, but the tone doesn't account for all these characters have been through} _{Gary Varner
May 27, 2023

6

Arts & Culture, Science Fiction}

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 came out in theaters on May 5th, and while the movie is not the best addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s better than most, certainly better than Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. However, there have been complaints about theater turnout, and these complaints are a testament to the damage movies like Multiverse of Madness have done to the Marvel brand. I’d say we have the Mouse to thank for that. The only consolation to this turn of events is that as the box office numbers for Marvel films continue to dwindle, so do the subscriptions to Disney Plus. I’ll take the victories where I can get them. The Movie’s Tone Needs Read More ›

emotional glitchy tetris pattern pixelated Photoluminescence SciFi Otherworldly Realistic

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News
Date
May 26, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Technology

Tagged
Acton Institute, AI, capitalism, Communism, Digital Addiction, film, Mind Matters podcast, Movies and TV, Robert J. Marks, social media, Tetris}

Before the iPhone, There Was Tetris

_{What was the precursor for the widespread tech addiction we see today, particularly in young people?} _{News
May 26, 2023

2

Arts & Culture, Technology}

What was the precursor for the widespread tech addiction we see today, particularly in young people? Many say it was the iPhone. Peter Tonguette, however, thinks that the game Tetris started the screentime avalanche. Tonguette reviewed the new Apple TV+ film Tetris, which covers the story of the classic game’s development, acquisition, and subsequent popularity in the early nineties. He writes, One might assume this changeover coincided with the rise of smartphones and social media, but a new movie shows that it happened as early as the summer vacation of 1989. During that fateful interregnum between school years, kids were introduced to something that prefigured the electronic devices of the 21st century: a battery-powered, 8-bit handheld videogame device whose two Read More ›

schreibmaschine alt jahrgang retro schriftsteller

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Peter Biles
Date
May 25, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Tagged
AI, film, Futurism, Movies and TV, NPR, Strike, Vox, Writers Guild of America, Writing}

Hollywood Writers vs. AI

_{The Writers Guild of America doesn't want AI stealing their jobs} _{Peter Biles
May 25, 2023

3

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

I smell something rotten in the heart of Hollywood. So do a lot of screenwriters, actors, and directors. And you probably already have seen the headlines about the Writers Guild of America (WGA) going on strike, largely due to Hollywood studios’ apparent openness to using AI to generate scripts. It feels inevitable looking back, with the introduction and consequent explosion of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, that we would quickly arrive at a place where people like screenwriters are demanding job security. New AI systems have challenged a lot of different sectors, from visual art to journalism, but right now, the WGA strike is at the forefront of the conversation and continues to rage. Maggie Harrison of Futurism reports that a good many Read More ›

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News
Date
May 24, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Amazon, Arts & Culture, Movies and TV, Rings of Power, The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien, Video games}

Amazon Can’t Quit Cashing Tolkiens

_{Will Tolkien's original vision get lost in the details, CGI, and cash cow maneuvers?} _{News
May 24, 2023

2

Arts & Culture}

Amazon is now working on a massively multiplayer online (MMO) video game adaptation of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings universe, which will be unrelated to the Prime TV show Rings of Power. Todd Spangler at Variety reports, Last year, Amazon Games cut a deal with Embracer-owned studio Crystal Dynamics for a new multiplatform title in the “Tomb Raider” series . Hartmann praised the Embracer team as “excellent collaborators.” “The world of Middle-earth continues to prove an endlessly fertile ground for creators, and Amazon Games has a passion for building immersive, compelling worlds and publishing games for a global audience,” said Lee Guinchard, CEO of Freemode, Embracer’s division that houses Middle-earth Enterprises. “We’re taking every care to deliver an MMO which will do justice Read More ›

Audiobook education. Smartphone screen with audiobook application on paper books black background. Ebook e learning electronic internet mobility concept.

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News
Date
May 23, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Tagged
AI, Amazon, Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Books, Technology}

Audiobook Voice Actor: Storytelling Should Stay Human

_{Handing the narrative baton to a machine can bankrupt stories of their human element} _{News
May 23, 2023

2

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

New AI systems have carved inroads into many industries, not least of all those involving voice and audio. Now the audiobook business is in trouble; since AI has the increasingly good ability to mimic the human voice and generate words, many voice actors and readers have watched the demand for their contributions steadily fall. According to a report from Tech Explore, voice actor Tanya Eby, who has been in the business for 20 years, has seen her workload drop “by half.” Several of her colleagues report similar trends in their own work. AI startups like DeepZen, based in London, cheapen audiobook projects tremendously, making it a challenge for human actors to stay viable. DeepZen technology takes several different human voices Read More ›

Office building top view background in retro style colors. Manhattan buildings of New York City center - Wall street

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Peter Biles
Date
May 21, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Transhumanism

Tagged
Arts & Culture, capitalism, HBO Max, immortality, media, New York, transhumanism, TV shows, Wall Street}

HBO’s “Succession” Goes Transhumanist

_{The popular show about a family owned media empire hints at the desire to live forever} _{Peter Biles
May 21, 2023

3

Arts & Culture, Transhumanism}

[Warning: Spoilers Ahead] The highly-watched HBO show “Succession” tells the story of a media empire ruled by a cantankerous, manipulative businessman, Logan Roy, and his three children who are hardly any better. Most of the show is a commentary on the corrupting effects of wealth and the power dynamics involved in the media empire’s core leadership. In the dramatic fourth season, Logan Roy dies from what seems to be a stroke while he’s flying to Norway to discuss a giant merger deal with another media mogul. From there, the three Roy children, Kendall, Roman, and Shiv (along with a half-brother Connor who doesn’t care as much about his place in the kingdom) scramble to figure out the leadership, direction, and Read More ›

Manhattan project, development of nuclear weapons, history of science of the 20th century. Art collage with a nuclear explosion

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Peter Biles
Date
May 20, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Technology

Tagged
Atomic bomb, film, Movies and TV, Oppenheimer, Technology, World War II}

“I Can Perform This Miracle”

_{The new "Oppenheimer" trailer gives a chilling hint of the atom bomb race} _{Peter Biles
May 20, 2023

1

Arts & Culture, Technology}

Christopher Nolan, director of The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, and Interstellar, is breaking ground in the historical film genre with his upcoming film Oppenheimer starring Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, and Emily Blunt. The film, currently slated for release in July, has a chilling new trailer that gives a larger sense of the movie’s scope, and the profound moral dilemma at the heart of the creation of the atomic bomb. J. Robert Oppenheimer was the theoretical physicist largely responsible for the develop of the bomb in World War II. The new trailer emphasizes the United States’ fierce “arms race” with Germany. In the trailer, Oppenheimer says, “We’re in a race against the Nazis. And I know what it means Read More ›

Futuristic dystopian city with flying cars and dark green atmosphere - digital 3d illustration

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Gary Varner
Date
May 20, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Tagged
Arts & Culture, Consciousness, Dystopian, Gary Varner, Movies and TV, Robots, Sci-fi, Science fiction}

Ghost in the Shell, Part 3

_{There will always be a ghost in the shell} _{Gary Varner
May 20, 2023

7

Arts & Culture, Science Fiction}

In the previous review, Major had realized the horrible truth. Ninety-eight people died so she could live in her new body. Horrified by this, she retreats to the ocean just outside the city and floats under the water for some time. When she emerges from the depths, she finds Batou waiting for her on the boat. Major asks if he’s here to kill her, and in his own charming way, Batou says tells her he’s not. After a brief conversation, Major asks Batou to take her back to the city because she needs to know more. Batou agrees and the Major returns to shore only to be arrested by the Hanka cooperation’s men. After this, Hanka’s CEO, Cutter, discuss the Read More ›

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Peter Biles
Date
May 14, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Tagged
AI, Artificial Intelligence, Artists and AI art, Arts & Culture, Authors, ChatGPT, novels, OpenAI, Writers}

Make Literature Human Again

_{Should the AI novel be embraced or avoided?} _{Peter Biles
May 14, 2023

5

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

I’ve been writing avidly since the first grade. Thumbing through a children’s nature magazine in the classroom one day, I discovered a crisp image of a red fox standing in the snow. I’d seen pictures of foxes before, but something stood out to me about this one to the point that I felt like I needed to write about it. If you’re looking for advice on owning foxes as pets, see my manual on the topic. (Full disclosure: my first-grade self was absolutely convinced having a fox for a pet is out of the question.) Years later, that fundamental impulse hasn’t left. Writing stories, novels, essays, news reports, and poetry has always been a fundamental way to try to do Read More ›

3D rendering of abstract blocks of mathematical formulas located in the virtual space

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Peter Biles
Date
May 13, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Mathematics

Tagged
AI, C.S. Lewis, Euclid, Intelligent design theory, J.R.R. Tolkien, Literature, Mathematics, New York Times, novels}

Math, Mind, and Matter

_{The surprising similarities between mathematics and literature} _{Peter Biles
May 13, 2023

4

Arts & Culture, Mathematics}

Last October, legendary American author Cormac McCarthy, who wrote Blood Meridian and The Road, released a pair of interconnected novels called The Passenger and Stella Maris. The books arrived after a sixteen-year silence from the desk of McCarthy. The books deal, per usual, with themes of mortality, fate, and the “God question,” and are predictably lyrical, vivid, and dark. But McCarthy plows new ground in these sibling novels. The books are about mathematicians. It’s fiction about math. The story revolves around the complex relationship between a brother and sister: Bobby and Alicia Western. Bobby is a deep-sea diver with some history in the field of mathematics, while Alicia is a once-in-a-generation math prodigy. Not Estranged, but Akin After reading these books myself, I marveled at McCarthy’s ability to Read More ›

Technology in human and machine concept as advanced tech or robots taking over humanity and people merging with a cyborg or computers idea

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Gary Varner
Date
May 13, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Tagged
AI, Arts & Culture, Consciousness, Science fiction}

Ghost in the Shell, Part 2

_{What’s the harm in human hacking?} _{Gary Varner
May 13, 2023

6

Arts & Culture, Science Fiction}

In the first review of Ghost in the Shell, the Major had just escaped Kuze’s attempt to hack her mind and had found his location. She, Batou, and another member of Section 9 rushed off to find Kuze before he could escape. Major tracks Kuze’s signal to a Yakuza club, and after fighting some thugs, they find the source of the signal in the basement level of the club, but Kuze isn’t there. All he’s left behind is a hologram which threatens them and disappears. Major then realizes the basement has been rigged to blow and pushes Batou out of the room. However, she isn’t fast enough. Major is caught in the explosion, and Batou looses his eyes in the Read More ›