CategoryArts & Culture
Kingsnorth: How to Stay Sane in the Deepfake World
A lesson for modern people from the desert monks of antiquity
George Strait Breaks Concert Record
We still flock to what's good and real“People have a hunger for live music made by real people — and it’s more than Taylor Swift,” tweeted music and culture critic Ted Gioia in response to the 110,000 souls who showed up for country music George Strait’s Saturday concert in College Station, Texas. Strait’s concert officially broke the record for total attendees at a U.S. concert, which is stunning, considering the phenomenon of Swift’s “Eras Tour” that has captured audiences around the globe and even perked up the U.S. economy. Gioia points out that, even (and perhaps especially) in our society in which listening to music seems to have become an individual, digitalized experience, filled with its fair share of computer-generated beats and bops, it’s obvious that people Read More ›
Paleoartists — Artists for Dinosaurs — Confront Generative AI
Generative AI cannot yet combine science-level accuracy and sensitivity to artistic issues but it is starting to have an impact anyway.
How Do Writers Get Paid in an Age When Chatbots “Write” Things?
Are lawsuits against Big Tech really the answer? Much of the territory is uncharted
This Darwin Quote Eerily Describes AI
Does a materialistic worldview lead us believe humans are simply advanced computing systems?I’ve been reading the modern classic The Brothers K by American writer David James Duncan. Not to be confused with The Brothers Karamazov, this novel creatively riffs off of Dostoevsky’s iconic novel while retaining its own unique flavor. Set in Washington state during the crazy 1960s, The Brothers K is about the Chances, a family with a father beaten down after a failed shot at pro baseball, and the four brothers who each respond differently to the rapidly changing culture of the United States. The Chances’ grandmother, who they affectionately call “Grandawma,” is a staunch Darwinist, while Mrs. Chance is a devout Seventh Day Adventist. The Chance children have to wade through the opposing worldviews they’re brought up in, and Read More ›
Generative AI Is Creating a Copyright Crisis for Artists
How does an artist assert copyright when her image was only one of many used to create a new image? How does she make a living if she can’t?
Arthur Brooks and C.S. Lewis on the Cure for Loneliness and Inner Ring Syndrome
The modern world is a lonely place. So what are you going to do about it?Arthur Brooks, former president of the American Enterprise Institute, writes a column at The Atlantic on the vast topic of happiness. His remarks are consistently thoughtful, encouraging, and oftentimes convicting, particularly with his latest post, which addresses loneliness. Over half of Americans think no one knows them very well, Brooks says in his essay. Men in America are very unlikely to develop new friendships after age thirty. Marriage and birth rates are falling, and in general, our modern world simply isn’t well suited for deep and abiding friendships. Brooks refers to this as the “Poe syndrome.” The 19th century poet Edgar Allen Poe was a recluse, and preferred to spend his days alone and uninterrupted. The introverts in the room Read More ›
Substack: A Return to the Golden Era of Blogging
The writing platform is friendly toward free speech. So why doesn't Elon Musk like it?
Is the New Synthesia Piano Program a Crutch—or a Skateboard?
The Synthesia program is a piano roll in digital form. But instead of a player piano, there is a human piano player, playing the part of the player piano's trackerbar.
Hurry Up, Let Me Evolve Already
A review of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Why Did Our Ancestors Start Drawing in Caves and Making Jewelry?
For that matter, why did they choose to develop artworks around fossilized dinosaur footprints?
I, Robot Review, Part 2: The Ghosts in the Machine
Dr. Lanning describes these ghosts as random segments of code and asks questions like why robots choose to stand together rather than alone when they’re stored in a dark place
I, Robot Merges Sci-Fi and Noir Beautifully
Will Smith versus a world of robots
Spaceman Review, Part 3
Sometimes you have to leave what you love to go on a missionLast time, we talked about Jakub’s new buddy, a giant spider that may or may not be real. This potential hallucination wants to help the astronaut with his loneliness because his wife, Lenka, has left him. The trouble is that the spider’s idea of helping poor Jakub is forcing him to remember his past. The writer wanted to give Jakub a redemption arch using these flashbacks; however, the astronaut’s memories were shown in a disjointed order, confusing the story and making Lenka look very bad, which made her and Jakub’s relationship difficult to root for. The chaotic flashbacks, mixed with a variety of plot holes, made for a very irritating story. One of the most glaring plot holes arises when Read More ›
Doc Ock and His Sentient AI Arms
Could AI ever control the human mind?It’s interesting that the Spider-Man universe (or multiverse, I guess) is studded with well-meaning villains. In my last movie review, we looked at Norman Osborn and his tragic transformation into the Green Goblin. What’s odd about his character is that he’s almost a father figure to Peter Parker throughout the film, offering support, guidance, wisdom. It’s the allure of a mysterious form of biotechnology and corporate pressure that sends him off the deep end. It isn’t so different with the iconic Dr. Octopus. An idealist set on inventing a new source of perpetual energy, Dr. Octavius is a friendly but ambitious scientist, who, like Osborn, takes Peter under his wing. The experiment to create a sustained fusion reaction, though, goes Read More ›
The Crisis of Identity That Tech Doesn’t Help
Consumerism works well but leaves us emptyWriter and cultural commentator Aaron Renn wrote recently about the dissolution of identity in the United States, contending that if we don’t know who we are, we will never know what to do. Renn writes frequently on issues facing young men in America and the challenges of living well in the secular world. He writes, The reality is that a lot of people in top positions of our society act as if they want you living like Simba. They want porn available for you to watch. They want you betting on the big game on your phone. They want you focused on “experiences” and consumption, like hitting the latest hot travel destination or going to the new farm-to-table restaurant that Read More ›
Green Goblin, the Hasty Transhumanist
A classic Marvel villain presents a picture of hurried science gone wrong“The product is certified ready for human testing.” I’m not quoting Elon Musk in relation to Neuralink. That’s the line from the fictional Norman Osborn in Sam Raimi’s original Spider-Man movie, starring Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and the green maniac himself, Willem Dafoe. I’ve seen this movie dozens of times, so maybe it’s due to the weird fact that twenty-plus years after this film hit the scene, we now live in a world where big science organizations like Osborn’s Oscorp seem to be dealing with similar conflicts that ultimately produced the iconic Green Goblin. Not that Elon Musk or Sam Altman are going to start flying around on saucers and terrorize New York City. But they are eager to rush Read More ›
Why Dune Might Be the Saddest Film I’ve Ever Seen
Are we saved through the love of power or the power of love?If you’ve seen Dune Part 2 already, read on, but this commentary will include some spoilers, so beware for those who have yet to witness Denis Villeneuve’s visually stunning adaptation of the 1965 classic by Frank Herbert. I read Dune a couple of years ago, and enjoyed it, but J.R.R. Tolkien’s rumored distaste for the book soured some of my reception. Seeing the new films, though, illustrates why this story is so deeply tragic. Herbert drew much of his world and mythology from religion, and Dune is rich in religious allusion. Young Paul Atreides is the “Messiah” figure, and he “resurrects” after drinking the poison of the sandworm (a.k.a., the “Water of Life). There are fanatics in southern Arrakis ready Read More ›
Who Needs Teaching Assistants? Bring In the Bots, Please
In defense of a human-led humanitiesAccording to Philosophy Nous, the Dean at Boston University’s College of Arts and Sciences suggested that a group of teaching assistants going on strike be replaced conveniently by artificial intelligence. It would be a much cheaper option while the TAs demand higher pay and benefits, and would, apparently, accomplish the same desired ends. The dean, Stan Sclaroff, is a computer scientist. Another article from the same publication makes a list of reasons why philosophers are declining across the country, and why philosophy and humanities departments are getting cut. Justin Weinberg writes, Weinberg goes on to call for a renewed advocacy of philosophy and the study of the liberal arts more broadly. “Selling” philosophy as a worthy undertaking in and of Read More ›