“Efforts were initially focused around putting in simple black-and-white guardrails, such as forbidding a model from talking about bombs entirely. But these proved clumsy and easy to circumvent. Now, companies are pursuing methods that lean heavily on a philosophical understanding of right and wrong.” - The AI Humanist

According to its Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages—which counts business establishments by industry down to the county level going back to 1990—the U.S. has lost a fifth of its movie theaters and nearly a third of its bowling alleys since 2001. - Fortune

Google briefly allowed anyone to create AI-modified versions of satellite imagery available in Google Earth—before quickly reversing its decision as people shared examples of AI-generated pictures that illustrated the potential for misinformation and disinformation. - Ars Technica

Sure, everyone has phones, but “the phone still needs to be pulled out, held up, and have its camera activated to capture a photo or film a video. Smart glasses, with small built-in cameras and the user’s ability to obfuscate the recording notification, are much sneakier.” - Wired

“The logic is simple: two cartographers might easily draw the same real town, but two cartographers can’t independently dream up the same fake one. So if a rival’s map contains the same invented place, it all but proves they copied the map.” - Open Culture

First of all, let academics write reviews of things they know about - whether you agree with their reviews or not, it jump-starts the discussion. - Vulture

“When a lot of people make a percentage off the earnings of one famous individual, the capacity for denial is vast” — and now there’s a huge, “well-oiled anti-accountability machine” that cranks up as well. - The New York Times

Current bills "would extend the civil statute of limitations for criminal sexual conduct claims, create a one-year revival window for lawsuits that are currently time-barred and eliminate the civil statute of limitations when a criminal case results in a conviction.” - Detroit Free Press

It was a strongly worded review, and Joyce Carol Oates, for one, isn’t having it. "Oates said she would have expected a translator, whose role she described as having subjectivity, to be more tolerant.” - The New York Times

On Monday, The New York Times posted an article featuring a longtime volunteer tour guide who said of the currently-dormant institution, “Now it’s a black hole.” On Thursday, a Kennedy Center official sent a memo to all volunteer tour guides telling them not to come there “until further notice.” - The New York Times

“A draft of the rule changes that circulated in recent weeks prompted an outcry from preservationists, architects, archaeologists and organizations representing Native American tribes. … ‘It’s both a scalpel and a bludgeon,’ said Greg Werkheiser, a lawyer who specializes in preservation cases.” - The New York Times

Following her abrupt firing, she went to direct Australia’s Adelaide Festival, then quit two years early to work in South Australia’s state government. Nine months after that, she departed for London to head the British Council. One year later, Mackenzie is now in the House of Lords as Under-Secretary for the Arts. - Limelight...

The answer cannot simply be that the critic is more objective. Objectivity is valuable, but proximity matters as well. Critics attend performances. Audiences hear concerts. Administrators oversee institutions. But only the musicians experience the entire artistic relationship. - Orlando Alonso

He was the last major figure to work in almost every era of jazz history: swing, bebop, hard bop, free, fusion. He was the terminal representative of the American music we call jazz, the final titan to fall. It’s unclear whether the music can still sustain the spontaneity and power that he and his...

The collage that the technology projected onstage puzzled the audience, DPA reported, with images including late former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, the towers of the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and a special postage stamp marking German reunification in 1990. - Los Angeles Times

The CEO "appears to be suggesting that, by learning to play other people’s songs, internalizing those influences, and then synthesizing them into something new, you are essentially doing the same thing as an AI.” - The Verge

“It's still too soon to say how Canada's act will be chosen, but as any athlete will tell you, it's never too soon to start preparing for the international media, the next-level fans or winning over voters.” - CBC

Why, out of every option in the orchestra, did the cello become the instrument of introspection? “It’s the cliche, but it’s probably because the cello comes closest to the human vocal range.” - The Guardian

They're spread out across the lower 48. - ARTnews

“All four statues were a thank-you gift from Italy following the end of World War II.” - Artforum

“Of almost 1,500 monuments in London, more than a fifth dedicated to named men and only 4% dedicated to women, half as many as those that celebrated animals. And of all the public sculptures in London, only 13% were created by women.” - The Guardian (UK)

"Hockney used visibly different etching techniques in different territories of the image—soft mats of color for the window blind, meticulous linear hatching for the floor, and splotchy, translucent color for the surrounding wall.” - The Atlantic

 It is often assumed that a gallery is a prerequisite to finding commercial success and a place in the history of art. But a growing number of artists are rejecting that notion and going—to use the kind of commercial lingo that the art market likes to avoid—Direct to Consumer (DTC).  - Ocula

Kumamoto Castle, built in 1607 on the island of Kyushu, is considered one of Japan’s three great surviving castles. A portion of its moat wall collapsed following Tuesday’s 7.1 earthquake. In 2016, a different portion of the wall came down in another temblor. - Hyperallergic

The book, The Antiquities of Athens, published in 1858, “was discovered inside a tea crate bricked into a sealed fireplace.” Normal place to put a book down and then never see it again, right? - Salon

Virginia Woolf with Flush, Paul Auster with Timbuktu, Garth Stein with The Art of Racing in the Rain, and now another Paul - Yoon - with Etna. Why? Yoon says, “I deeply believe dogs have superpowers and secrets.” - The New York Times

That’s right: It’s a couch-to-5K, except for books. - The Guardian (UK)

“‘We’d always been very wary of working together because we’d quite like to stay together,’ says Sharp wryly. She looks at her partner of 13 years. ‘You don’t generally like to work with others.’” - The Guardian (UK)

Try one of Andrew Sean Greer’s comic novel recommendations, even though he says, “nobody knows what a comic novel is. And once you start discussing it, all the fun runs out.” - The Guardian (UK)

"Life of M is a narrative hall of mirrors that only a fool would confuse with a thinly veiled roman à clef about a celebrity. To my mind, only one true mystery remains: Was Portman in on it?” - Slate

Once The Odyssey zapped onto IMAX screens on July 17, "the cultural spillover into games was immediate." 10 days later, Ubisoft's 2018 ancient Greek adventure Assassin's Creed: Odyssey had nearly doubled its active player count, swelling from an approximate total of 122,000 players to 233,000 across platforms. - GamesRadar

A new lawsuit claims Netflix did not safeguard an as-yet-unreleased Nicolas Cage WWII movie, which allegedly was just sitting around on a hard drive until somebody stole it. - Rolling Stone

“The idea with the channels seems to be that making the secret, private shame of scrolling into a collaborative activity will give it a new place in the home.” - The Atlantic

Er … not really. "Moviegoing used to be a matter of habit meeting spontaneity. … Today, patrons generally plan their cinema visits in advance, and the question of what to see has collapsed into the question of whether to go at all.” - The Atlantic

This guy started practicing Spider-moves and parkour as a kid, hoping he’d one day get to do stunts for Spider-Man movies … and that has paid off in a big way. - BBC

It’s a weird reversal of most of recent history. "Angst over the increasing prevalence of ‘dramedies’ has long been a part of the conversation, but usually on the comedy side of the debate” (See: The Bear). - Vulture

“It’s about creating opportunity. It’s about creating access. It’s about continuing to not just be a voice in my time, but how are we setting up the next generation?” - The New York Times

“When we’re learning choreography, we’re asking the brain to do so many things at once: remember sequences, process music, coordinate movement, adapt when we make mistakes, and stay present with other people in the room. It’s a perfect puzzle for keeping the mind fresh.” - Harper’s Bazaar

Idanna Abignente, who lives in a suburb of Turin, started pole dancing at around age 70 to keep fit. She developed a passion for it and eventually joined the competition circuit, where she frequently wins her age division for lack of other competitors. - New York Post

“The International Dance League (IDL) has struck its first-ever media rights deal in a partnership with ESPN. … IDL is the first global professional dance league, structured as a traditional sports league with teams, a regular season, and a championship format.” - The Hollywood Reporter

Musicians and fine artists can play and paint until they die, and actors can age onstage. But the body is the instrument of dance. There is no other violin to polish, no other paintbrush or color except that. The maintenance of the body is essential to the capacity of performance.” - Pointe Magazine

Artistic director Marcello Angelini and assistant artistic director Daniela Buson (who are married) announced they will retire from their positions at the end of the 2026-27 season, the company’s 70th. Among the couple’s crowning achievements is this spring’s tour to London, for which the company received glowing reviews. - Tulsa Flyer

Yes, Macbeth has been around for a while. “Fun fact: Samuel Pepys saw it at least nine times himself.” - LitHub

For instance, in one video clip that surfaced after Geno Segers was announced as Hades, "Segers likens transgender people to people pretending they are service animals in hopes of receiving discounts on airfare.” - The New York Times

Next month, the 1980s New Wave pop icon, now 65, was going to play King Herod in the London revival of the musical. But his June release, “We Will Dance Again,” takes strong and controversial positions on the Israel-Palestine conflict; after weeks of heavy criticism, he cancelled his run in the role. - Playbill

His vision was to turn Pitlochry Festival Theatre into both an artistic retreat and a producing powerhouse. It was to invite exciting creatives to Perthshire and create and premiere a show, then for that show to be sent on to London, New York and elsewhere. - The Stage

“Running from April 2026 to April 2029, the agreement will see minimum rates rise by at least 13.5 per cent over three years. It also improves holiday entitlement and family leave, supports better work-life balance, strengthens equality and inclusion provisions, and recognises additional responsibilities.” - WhatsOnStage (UK)

“These aspirants arrived by plane, by bus, by subway, in braids and vests and milkmaid dresses, clutching headshots and binders and gigantic water bottles. ... A few dozen joined the line before dawn. By noon, more than a thousand sat and stood and swayed.” - The New York Times

“It was theater that ultimately changed her life. Between the ages of 14 and 16 she began acting while, offstage, she kept stealing food to survive, used drugs and accumulated several arrests for violent incidents.” - El País English

“The 89-year-old Oscar-winning actor has voiced God and presidents, and he is the go-to narrator for your favorite documentarian. He still brushes aside the impact of his immediately recognizable, resonant baritone.” - The New York Times

Pastore once said, “It’s easier for me to play a tough guy than it is to play the good guy. … I grew up in a tough neighborhood. I didn’t study the classics. I’m a street actor. A lot of my training was on the set.” - The New York Times

Perhaps the bike-loving, gardening, SCUBA-diving actor is having what might be called another moment, a few years after Past Lives garnered her some attention. - The New York Times

“The choreography that he and Feuer created — like that of their contemporary Paul Taylor, in whose notorious Seven New Dances (1957) she had performed — experimented with stillness, pedestrian poses and unadorned walking. Chained to each other, they blew up a balloon with a bicycle pump.” - The New York Times

An anatomist by training, he developed a technique called “plastination” which prevents the decay of corpses and leaves them flexible. He used that technique on dozens of bodies, many with skin removed to display musculature, and set them in various poses for his traveling exhibitions — which attracted both excited crowds and horrified criticism....