Software engineer Zack Thoutt has trained a recurrent neural network (RNN) to predict the events of The Winds of Winter. This machine-learning algorithm is modeled after the human brain—it can quickly analyze text and remember thousands of plot points.
Category: media
Why ‘Gone With The Wind’ May Be The One Confederate Memorial Worth Saving
Alyssa Rosenberg: “Both types of period pieces are valuable historical artifacts, not of the events and people they portray, but of previous generations of Americans’ efforts to figure out how they feel about the Civil War. … [What’s more, the film] casts a more gimlet eye on the Confederacy than it often gets credit for.”
One Public TV Station Cut Back On Pledge-Drive Time – And Saw Revenue Rise
“In what began as a one-year experiment last summer, the New York pubcaster [WNET] carved out regular time slots for fundraising programs on its flagship channel, ending the campaign-style drives that go on for weeks. With pledge confined to a limited number of slots – including Thursday primetime and weekends – the station also changed how it communicated with viewers and members about fundraising.”
Truck Drivers Are Addicted To NPR, Even When They Disagree With It
As one trucker told reporter Alan Yu, “Every single driver I’ve ever talked to listens to NPR.” Why? Some of it is that the substance can keep people engaged for mile after mile. But this is also another case where geography is destiny.
BBC Names The 100 Greatest Movie Comedies Of All Time
“We asked 253 film critics – 118 women and 135 men – from 52 countries and six continents a simple: ‘What do you think are the 10 best comedies of all time?’ Films from any country made since cinema was invented were eligible, and BBC Culture did nothing to define in advance what a comedy is; we left that to each of the critics to decide.” (And by the way, Airplane! wuz robbed.)
Do Male And Female Critics Find Different Films Funny?
Not really, indicates an analysis of the votes in the BBC’s critics’ poll of the 100 greatest movie comedies: while ranking may have differed a bit, the titles were largely similar (with a few unsurprising exceptions, such as Clueless versus Animal House).
Different Countries Definitely Disagree On Which Films Are Funniest
In the BBC’s list of the 100 greatest movie comedies, the French would not go for Woody Allen, the Americas pulled for Airplane!, Eastern Europe liked Dr. Strangelove as much as the U.S. did, East Asia preferred silent movies, and Bollywood comedy didn’t translate beyond the Subcontinent.
Why Political Documentaries Are Filling Our Screens
If audiences are getting tired of the formulaic story arcs of blockbuster movies, then there’s a safe haven in political documentaries, which are enjoying a renaissance.
The Internet Promised To Democratize News. Instead We Have Fake News. But We’ve Seen This Before
“The openness that was said to bring about a democratic revolution instead seems to have torn a hole in the social fabric. Today, online misinformation, hate speech, and propaganda are seen as the front line of a reactionary populist upsurge threatening liberal democracy. Once held back by democratic institutions, the bad stuff is now sluicing through a digital breach with the help of irresponsible tech companies. Stanching the torrent of fake news has become a trial by which the digital giants can prove their commitment to democracy. The effort has reignited a debate over the role of mass communication that goes back to the early days of radio.”
How The Art Of TV Spread Everywhere
“For nearly a century, television, like the weather, has shaped our behaviors, our moods, and our desires in ways we don’t always comprehend.”