“Safety issues loom large at OpenAI — and seem to just keep coming. Current and former employees at OpenAI recently signed an open letter demanding better safety and transparency practices from the startup, not long after its safety team was dissolved.” - The Verge
“Western University on Friday took a step toward reconsidering its relationship with acclaimed local writer and Nobel laureate Alice Munro, announcing it has decided to pause a chair created in her honour.” - CBC
“The problem of visas for visiting artists has become almost as much part of festival season as festivals themselves. … There is also an unpalatable whiff of profiteering, with analysis showing that the UK last year raised £44m in fees for visa applications that were rejected.” - The Guardian (UK)
The share of the typical white-collar workday spent in meetings has steadily increased for the past few decades, and it continues to grow by the year. - The Atlantic
"While the outcome is a relief for many, it has flung the French government into a state of confusion with no one faction establishing the clear majority of 289 (National Assemble) required to take power." - Artnet
We find the volume of new projects – both announced and completed – increasing, while we see the value of investment decreasing, reflecting the current economic uncertainty affecting both the public and private sectors. - AEA
"Art history, visual and performing Arts, and graphic design majors nationwide have the bleakest employment prospects across all college majors in the United States, according to data analyzed by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for the first quarter of 2024." - ARTnews
The French committee of art historians warned against the “xenophobic hold up of cultural heritage” and the union of art gallery owners said its “values are not those of the National Rally”. - The Art Newspaper
Although some entities — like the Tampa Museum of Art — expected to receive more than half a million dollars from the state, it will be small organizations that feel the budget cuts most strongly. - Tampa Bay Times
In the century since the creation of the modern Turkish Republic in 1923, Istanbul's population has soared from fewer than 1 million people to a sprawling megalopolis of roughly 16 million people (the largest city in Europe), spurring a building boom that has left ancient monuments marooned in seas of concrete. - BBC
As more tools proliferate and their capabilities keep improving, relatively few observers believe education can remain AI free. At the same time, even the staunchest techno-optimists hesitate to say that teaching is best left to the bots. The debate is about the best mix. - Wired
Thousands of protestors furious about the ills of overtourism marched down La Rambla and other areas of the city popular with visitors, accosting vacationers with aqueous armaments and chanting and carrying signs with slogans such as "Tourists go home" and "Barcelona is not for sale." - CNN
Lisa Nandy: "For too long, for too many people, the story we tell ourselves, about ourselves as a nation, has not reflected them, their communities or their lives. This is how polarisation, division and isolation thrives. ... Changing that is the mission of this department." - The Guardian
Haidt is like the friend who tells you you’re overreacting before you’re ready to hear it. And he fulfils that role with the glee of the kid who always wins in debate class. - 3 Quarks Daily
