ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

IDEAS

First Came AI. Now The “De-Skilling” Of Humans

Now that chatbots are going the way of Google—moving from the miraculous to the taken-for-granted—the anxiety has shifted, too, from apocalypse to atrophy. Teachers, especially, say they’re beginning to see the rot. The term for it is unlovely but not inapt: de-skilling. - The Atlantic (MSN)

Hollywood Writers Seem To Have Lost Their Way On AI

Sure, old Black Mirror episodes about AI (creepily, eerily) presaged our present — but current TV can’t quite figure out what all of the AI “spaces” will do to our future. - The New Yorker

It’s Getting Harder And Harder To Take OpenAI Seriously

Curing cancer? Hm, not so fast. “Slop, memes, and sex seem like such a comedown from OpenAI’s carefully cultivated reputation as an ambitious but responsible pioneer.” - Fast Company (Archive Today)

Guillermo Del Toro Says He’d ‘Rather Die’ Than Use Generative AI

“My concern is not artificial intelligence, but natural stupidity. I think that's what drives most of the world's worst features. But I did want it to have the arrogance of Victor be similar in some ways to the tech bros. He's ... creating something without considering the consequences.” - NPR

Why It Doesn’t Bother Me That My Students Are Using AI

 It seems wrongheaded to feel wistful for a time when students had far less information at their fingertips. And who can blame them for letting AI do much of the work that they are likely to let AI do anyway when they enter the real world? - The Atlantic

Why We Travel

 There’s something about motion that triggers creative thoughts. This has been true for a long time. Charles Darwin’s budding theory of evolution jelled while he was riding in the back of a carriage. “I can remember the very spot on the road … when to my joy the solution occurred to me,” he wrote later. - The Walrus

Why We Need A Commons

The structure of our societies is such that when you’re wealthy, availability of The Commons is of negligible benefit. However, when your private command over resources is limited, i.e. you’re broke, the “cultural-infrastructure” determining which level of access to which resources is permissible, may set the entire course of your life. - 3 Quarks Daily

Those Who Are Resisting Using AI

As the tech industry and corporate America go all in on artificial intelligence, some people are holding back. - Washington Post

When George Orwell Became Just A Part Of The Landscape

Orwell’s name has too often been flattened into an adjective, and 1984 into mere speculative fiction. - The Atlantic

AI Video Is An Attack On Reality

Sam Altman, OpenAI’s leader, had proclaimed it “the most powerful imagination engine ever built.” The truth is that using it made me want to run, screaming, into the ocean. - The New York Times

AI Slop Is Eating The Internet

Synthetic content is not exactly new, but lately it has become a load-bearing part of the internet. - The Atlantic

Are Today’s Younger Generations More Narcissistic?

Is there really any truth to the idea that narcissism is on the rise or is it just a popular myth? - Psyche

How Gamification Is Killing Hobbies

Birding is not the only hobby with an app problem. So many leisure pursuits now have their own gamified digital platforms: Untappd for beer enthusiasts. Strava for runners. Ravelry for knitters. Fishbrain for fishermen. Beli for foodies. Goodreads and Letterboxd for bookworms and movie buffs. The list goes on. - The Atlantic

What Ireland’s Basic Income Plan For Artists Accomplished

The basic income for the arts (BIA) initial pilot ran from 2022 to 2025 and helped 2,000 artists. The results of an independent study found that it had a noticeable positive impact on the lives of those who received it. - The Conversation

Traditional Arts Criticism Is In Trouble

“Today, more and more critics pay their own bills, build their own followings, and invent their own rules. ... For better and for worse, the adage “Everyone’s a critic” no longer seems like an exaggeration.” - The Atlantic (MSN)

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