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- Can An Artist Retreat Over Clay Pots Suggest A Direction For AI?
Es Devlin is calling order on a group of artists, AI researchers, spiritual leaders, academics and experts from global tech gathered at the kilns to discuss AI and make pots at the AI and Earth conference organised by the artist and stage designer. – The Guardian
- Pepsi Pulls Sponsorship Of UK Festival To Protest Booking Of Kanye West. Not The Prime Minister Has Weighed In
Keir Starmer joined criticism of the festival at the weekend, saying it was “deeply concerning” that West had been booked to perform “despite his previous antisemitic remarks and celebration of Nazism”. – The Guardian
- It’s Our Phones That Have Caused Our Brains To Rot. Not AI
Even if you spend very little time online, there’s little you can do outside the logic of the internet. It is a force that warps our reality, a cosmic background noise that is everywhere and nowhere — something inhuman that’s subtly reshaping our language, our politics, even our minds. – The New York Times
- The Industrial Revolution Killed Jobs. To Fill Idle Time With What, Was The Question
It might repay us to take a moment, not just from our jobs but also from our leisures, to make some to-do about doing nothing. – The American Scholar
- Book Science And The Art Of Preserving Old Books
Book scientists are working tirelessly with an array of technologies — including microscopes, multispectral imaging and artificial intelligence — to recover, understand and preserve many valuable ancient texts. – The Conversation
- When The WPA Placed Art At The Center Of Democracy
The WPA provided for culture workers through Federal One, encompassing the Federal Art, Music, Theatre, and Writers’ Projects. But the social benefits of painting a mural were less obvious than those of planting a tree. – ARTnews
- America’s Most-Visited Museums In 2025
Despite unsteadiness across the museum industry, the country’s most-visited institutions remained relatively stable. – NPR
- Should UK Government Fund Comedy?
Leading figures from the world of comedy have met the government to make the case for comedy, including that it be recognised as an art form in its own right to improve funding access and policy development. – BBC
- Ellisons Intend To Fund Warner Bros. Deal From Gulf States
Per the outlet, the corporation is seeking signed equity commitments of close to $24 billion, for which Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has agreed to contribute approximately $10 billion. – Deadline
- When Thinking About AI And Authorship, What Is Real?
The further artists move out of amateur hour and into the professional realm, of course, the more we expect their work to reflect their “real” capabilities. But what is real? – The New Yorker
- Trump’s Presidential “Library” Is A Grift
The design language is neither stately and trim in the Republican mode, nor bold and innovative, as preferred by Democrats. It is, instead, generically contemporary, a glass tower struggling for some kind of distinctive shape or symbolic form, like so many towers built in Dubai or China. – Washington Post
- The Fake Fans Problem
In the dream world of an executive, fandom is something like a parasitic disease — contagious through mere exposure, trafficking quickly between hosts with immediate contact and little to no external intervention. – Words from Eliza
- Can The Louvre’s New Director Right The Ship?
The former head of the Château de Versailles, Christophe Leribault arrived after Des Cars’s desperate five-month struggle to save her job came to an end. A string of management failures had been confirmed in stinging reports from various bodies and parliamentary hearings in the wake of the heist. – The Art Newspaper
- Translation Isn’t Just Words, It’s World View. AI Translators So Far Aren’t Good At That
Linguistic diversity among AI systems is real and growing. Cultural worldview diversity, however, has not kept pace. – The Conversation
- Musicians Say Touring Has Become Unsustainable
Independent venue closures, social media algorithms, streaming royalties and the rise of generative AI have contributed to a wider ecosystem that artists say is becoming increasingly difficult for working musicians to weather — and which they say makes the sustainability of touring more crucial than ever. – NPR
- Bollywood Is Rushing Headlong Into AI
While union rules constrain Hollywood’s use of the technology, Indian cinema is racing ahead, pitting efficiency against questions of creative authenticity and audience acceptance. – Reuters
- Uffizi Hit By Cyberattack
The Uffizi said it had been targeted by a cyberattack on February 1, but added that nothing had been stolen and no information lost. It also denied that the hackers had obtained security maps or that employees’ phones had been infiltrated. – Reuters
- Italian Court Orders Netflix To Refund All Subscription Price Hikes
The lawsuit was brought by Italian consumer advocacy group Movimento Consumatori, which alleged that the price hikes violate the Consumer Code, Italian legislation that aims to protect consumer rights. – Ars Technica
- What An Elite College Degree Really Buys
So the people who go to the fanciest colleges tend to have the most successful careers—this is not exactly news. The question of why this is the case, however, is surprisingly tricky to answer. – The Atlantic
- How do We Police AI in Writing?
Although I don’t buy the claim that AI is “inevitable” in some theoretical sense, I also feel like the current incentives in media and publishing, as Max Read recently argued, make it highly unlikely it won’t be used by some writers at some stage of the writing process. – The Third Hemisphere
- Good Morning
The Writers Guild has a new deal — four years, notably longer than the three-year contracts that have been Hollywood’s norm since the 1940s (The Hollywood Reporter). What the guild is really buying is time to figure out how AI reshapes the work before the next negotiation.
That question is all over today’s feed. A NYT freelancer used AI to write a book review, prompting the obvious rejoinder: criticism is a human conversation, not a summary job (The Conversation). Meanwhile, accusations that everything is AI-generated are proliferating so fast that “Proudly Human” verification badges are now a thing — though verifying humanness turns out to be its own problem (The Verge).
Elsewhere, the contraction continues. Portland State has eliminated its once-storied dance program (Oregon ArtsWatch). An Atlanta theatre that just lost its lease is asking its audience for real-estate leads (American Theatre). And the Smithsonian’s board sits with empty seats as the White House stalls appointments (The New York Times).
After 11 years in court, heirs have finally reclaimed a Modigliani looted by the Nazis (The New York Times).
All of our stories below.
- “Blows Off the Dust of History”
Reviewing my new novel “The Disciple: A Wagnerian Tale of the Gilded Age,” the British critic Clive Paget writes in “Musical America” that it’s “a richly detailed depiction of [New York] at the apogee of the Gilded Age and its embrace of all things Wagnerian.” His review reads in part:
- The Writers Guild Has Reached A Tentative Four-Year Deal With Studios
“If given the stamp of approval, the deal will be notable for its unusually long term. Three-year deals have generally been the norm since at least the 1940s for Hollywood unions,” but the extended 2023 strikes changed things. – The Hollywood Reporter
- Heists Are So Hot Right Now, From Art To KitKats, But Why Are We Fascinated?
“What is it about these heists that people like, as long as nobody gets hurt?” – The Guardian (UK)
- This Guy Was Set Up By An Amazon Comedy Wherein He, Accidentally, Played The Part To Perfection
Anthony Norman thought he was just doing a job. But no, says a writer for the weirdly Truman Show-like series: “It was so much more than we ever could have hoped for. … He’s a true hero.” – The New York Times
- Making Technology So Easy To Use Was Clearly A Huge Design Error
“What started as a technique to support human understanding in the face of increasingly complex tools became a way to replace human understanding. Ease became an unquestioned good. Complexity became something to hide.” – Slate
- Is The Vice President Trying To Use His Book Titles To Squash The Books Of Bell Hooks?
No, you can’t “steal” a book title, but this is … hm, interesting. – LitHub
- Melvin Edwards, Sculptor Who Welded The African Diaspora, Has Died At 88
“Edwards rose to prominence in 1963 with the first works of what would become his most notable series, ‘Lynch Fragments.’ … He combined fragments of found and recycled steel and welded them into forms of chains, sharp tools, barbed wire and other metal objects.” – Los Angeles Times (MSN)
- Nuns Inspired Call The Midwife
“Sister Margaret-Angela saw their involvement in Call the Midwife as something that would endure. ‘We’ve bought all the DVDs so it’ll be in our archives,’ she said. ‘It’s part of the community history now.’” – BBC
- Honestly, Who Would Serve On The Smithsonian’s Advisory Board Right Now?
Also, what’s that board going to look like once the president gets finished with it? “Smithsonian officials declined to comment on the appointment process, and offered no explanation for the delays.” – The New York Times
- The Increasing Accusations That Everything Is Made With AI
- Dali Made Some Iffy Choices, Including Layering Whites And Then Varnishing Them
“Dalí prescribes this very method, deeming zinc white the color with which ‘you will achieve the most absolute whites in your picture.’ But chemically speaking, this approach causes problems.” – Artnet
- How That Guy Is Reshaping The English Language
“The president uses verbs to evade responsibility and even proclaim a new form of leadership. Perhaps surprisingly, this is true even when Mr. Trump is proudly, if also prematurely, declaiming military successes.” – The New York Times
- Portland State University Eliminates Its Once-Storied Dance Program
PSU’s “dance program had once been a cornerstone of Portland’s artistic community, even as it struggled against decades of intermittent support, administrative turnover, and shifting school priorities.” – Oregon ArtsWatch
- An Atlanta Theatre Loses Its Lease, Asks Its Audience For Real-Estate Leads
“According to producing artistic director Rachel May, Synchronicity’s programming, partnerships, and community impact have never been stronger, and the theatre’s leadership is actively engaged in a search for a new theatrical home.” – American Theatre
