Today’s AJ highlights: Spotify has banned the #1 song in Sweden after discovering the artist was a digital creation, a move that comes as paying subscribers express growing fury over the platform’s push of AI-generated tracks (BBC; TechRadar). Even as Wikipedia strikes licensing deals with big AI firms despite (because of) an 8% drop in human traffic, individuals are taking legal precautions; Matthew McConaughey has become the first actor to trademark his own likeness specifically to fend off AI misuse (Shelly Palmer; BBC ).
In a move that has sparked internal alarm, the Pentagon has ordered editorial changes at Stars and Stripes to remove what it calls “woke distractions” and refocus strictly on “warfighters” (AP). Global mobility for artists is tightening, as seen by a UK theatre company forced to cancel its New York festival run because U.S. visas for 10 of its 13 members were “paused” without explanation (The Stage). The Dallas Black Dance Theatre is attempting a “post-fiasco reset” to rebuild public trust after a year of governance overhauls and fired dancers (D Magazine (Dallas)).
Gen Z is increasingly turning to “granny-core” hobbies like knitting to escape digital stress, while the director of Madrid’s Prado is making the rare argument that his museum has “quite enough visitors” and should strive to avoid collapsing under its own success (NPR; The Times (UK) ). And we remember Harry Blitzstein, the quintessential L.A. surrealist who bypassed the gallery system by opening his own museum, who has died at 87 (Los Angeles Times ).
All our stories below.
