Blog

Deciding How Frightened We Should Be Of Artificial Intelligence

A central tension in the field, one that muddies the timeline, is how “the Singularity”—the point when technology becomes so masterly it takes over for good—will arrive. Will it come on little cat feet, a “slow takeoff” predicated on incremental advances in A.N.I., taking the form of a data miner merged with a virtual-reality system and a natural-language translator, all uploaded into a Roomba? Or will it be the Godzilla stomp of a “hard takeoff,” in which some as yet unimagined algorithm is suddenly incarnated in a robot overlord?

A Debate About Whether Truth Exists

Can we have knowledge of the past? Does science progress toward a more truthful apperception of the physical world? Or is it all a matter of opinion, a sociological phenomenon that reflects consensus, not truth? Unfettered emission of greenhouse gases promotes global warming. Species evolve through natural selection. Can we meaningfully assess the truth of these assertions?

In The Wake Of #MeToo, Publishers Are Adding Morality Clauses To Writers’ Contracts

“Until recently, the term ‘moral turpitude’ is not one that crossed the lips of too many people in book publishing. But Bill O’Reilly, Milo Yiannopoulos, Sherman Alexie, Jay Asher, and James Dashner changed all that. … Major publishers are increasingly inserting language into their contracts – referred to as morality clauses – that allows them to terminate agreements in response to a broad range of behavior by authors. And agents, most of whom spoke with PW on the condition of anonymity, say the change is worrying in an industry built on a commitment to defending free speech.”

Neuroscience Is Giving Us Fresh Appreciation Of The Fact Our Brains Are Physical

“Lost in the public’s romance with the brain is the most fundamental lesson neuroscience has to teach us: that the organ of our minds is a purely physical entity, conceptually and causally embedded in the natural world. Although the brain is required for almost everything we do, it never works alone. Instead, its function is inextricably linked to the body and to the environment around it. The interdependence of these factors is masked however by a cultural phenomenon I call the ‘cerebral mystique’ – a pervasive idealisation of the brain and its singular importance, which protects traditional conceptions about differences between mind and body, the freedom of will and the nature of thought itself.”

Confederate Memorials ‘Belong In A Museum’ – Or Do They?

“Are museums, in fact, the appropriate place for storing these gigantic homages – not even to the Civil War itself – but to the Jim Crow movements that fueled their commissioning and erection on state capitol grounds, university commons, city parks and other places of power in the early decades of the 20th century? We would argue that the ‘put them in a museum’ response to Confederate memorials reflects a misunderstanding of what museums are for – and an effort to sidestep conversations that we really need to have.”

Why Musicians Seem To Be Releasing A Steady Stream Of Singles

“Traditionally artists would go a long time between album projects, disappear and then come back as a big event,” explains Robby Snow, SVP of Global Marketing for Hollywood Records (Demi Lovato, Bea Miller). “In this day and age, we try to keep things flowing so artists almost never go away. Fans want to be engaged constantly with artists that they like.”

Choreographer Alexander Ekman Makes A Movie And A Mess On The Streets Of San Francisco

“‘I have no idea what’s happening right now,’ co-producer Jenny Stulberg said during a break from shooting. ‘I just know that my shopping list for today was for a watermelon, cucumber, two half-gallons of almond milk, a gallon of regular milk, two bottles of Prosecco and a bag of flour. And fish.’ Dead fish? ‘Yes.’ Nearby, three dearly departed striped bass cooled their heels on ice. ‘I brought sparklers, just in case,’ said costumer Jamielyn Duggan. ‘And rubber gloves.'”

How DIY Opera Is Changing Opera

American opera is still primarily placing safe bets on its well-worn canon, but composers like Missy Mazzoli and David Little see a changing landscape that gives cause for optimism: institutions that think more flexibly, provide more opportunities and embrace a DIY, upstart spirit to find ways to make it work. But most importantly, they see peers writing timely works for responsive audiences.

How The United States Is Turning Japanese

It’s not just sushi and ramen and anime and Marie Kondo. “‘Japan is the global imagination’s default setting for the future,’ as the author William Gibson wrote in 2001. ‘The Japanese seem to the rest of us to live several measurable clicks down the time line.’ … But what Gibson wrote about products was just as true about other, less visible trends in Japanese society: economic stagnation; a plunging fertility rate; a dramatic postponement of the ‘normal’ milestones of adulthood, such as getting married or simply moving out of the family home; a creeping sense of ambivalence about what the future might hold. Seventeen years later, America has finally caught up.”