For a broad range of Sifnians the island is rapidly approaching a state of crisis, as unregulated development and overtourism have kick-started a grim cycle of widespread water scarcity, unmanageable quantities of garbage and sewage, loss of agricultural land, and soil erosion. - The New Republic
As schools reopen for fall, educators and district leaders are wrestling with complex questions posed by the A.I. tools: What should writing assignments look like in an era when students can simply employ chatbots to generate prose for them? - The New York Times
When specific reference to drag in the bill, known as SB 12, attracted national criticism, it was redrafted to cover "sexually-oriented performance" — defined vaguely enough that, for instance, the Dallas Theater Center doesn't know if it could be prosecuted for its upcoming staging of The Rocky Horror Show. - KERA (Dallas)
Northern Ireland's state arts funding body is reportedly reconsidering its support of the Metropolitan Arts Centre in the province's capital. MAC — which includes two theatres, three art galleries, a dance studio, and workshops — has had 2.5 million visitors since opening in 2012. - BBC
The European tendency to mistake Europe for the world – what might be called “the Eurocentric fallacy” – has obscured our understanding of the EU and its role in the world. It has led to an idealisation of European integration as a kind of cosmopolitan project: what I call the myth of cosmopolitan Europe. - The Guardian
Damage to Ukraine's cultural sites has been extensive, according to Unesco (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation). Its Red List of Cultural Objects at Risk records verifiable damage to more than 259 cultural sites since the war began. - BBC
Politicians and state officials, often with the help of management consultants, are making liberal arts education scarce in some of the poorest states in the Union. This trend, typically led by Republican-controlled legislatures and often masquerading as budgetary necessity, threatens to have dire long-term effects. - The New York Times
For the first time since its release last year, traffic to the ChatGPT website fell by almost 10 percent in June. Downloads of its iPhone app have fallen off, too, the report said, although OpenAI wouldn’t comment on the numbers. - Vox
If we focus on independent artists — writers and artists who say they’re either in publishing or outside of any defined industry — D.C. remains on top. But that little data clarification clamps shut the yawning gulf between D.C. and the rest. - Washington Post (Scroll down)
If, when someone searches online, they are served a paragraph-long answer from an AI tool that refashions reporting from the Times, the need to visit the publisher's website is greatly diminished, said one person involved in the talks. - NPR
"Sling in the right sort of suit and those who knew what Bernstein looked like would surely think the actor close enough. There was no need to tamper with the hooter." - Irish Times
Are things changing? Reports say Disney's and Netflix's CEOS pressured the studios for a deal- "an offer that reportedly included ensuring human beings would not be replaced by artificial intelligence for screenplay credits." - The Verge
In Blue Beetle, the main character "takes a job at a wealthy CEO’s mansion to help his family. ... The working-class themes of the film resonated with working actors on the picket lines" at Warner Bros. - Los Angeles Times
