Headlines

AI Is the New Book Burning

Humanity at stake in Anthropic’s mass book destruction, remembering gallerist Francisco Correa Cordero, pickleball murals in Pittsburgh, and more.

Towards an AI for Africa

Western-developed AI rides roughshod over Ubuntu values of connection and community that animate African ethical life - by Fainos Mangena Read on Aeon

Preference falsification

People lie. They lie in focus groups, they lie on surveys and they lie to themselves. Culture can be seen as an organized lying function. Be aware of what other people are thinking and make choices about your preferences so you can fit in. Without this effect, we wouldn’t have

Every Sample from Paul’s Boutique by the Beastie Boys

This video catalogs every borrowed sample from Paul’s Boutique by the Beastie Boys, from the soundtrack to Car Wash to the Sugarhill Gang to the Eagles to the Ramones to the Beatles. They play the original first and then what they did with it on the album. Somehow this video

Pilcrow, Dagger, and Octothorp, Oh My!

So, I don’t know what kind of nerd you are, but my brand of nerdiness dovetails neatly with this video about the origins of some of the most common symbols on your keyboard: #, @, &, §, *, ¶, †, and ‡, as well as ☞. The “and” symbol or ampersand does not look like a word, but

AI Companies Are Pulping Our Humanity

The recent revelation about Anthropic’s systematic digitization and destruction of out-of-print books portends a rapacious future, one where soulless LLMs swell while the shelves starve.

“A Los Angeles Costco parking lot [has] become a...

“A Los Angeles Costco parking lot [has] become a hotspot for skaters over 40. Its long, low curb lets us keep doing tricks on safer, lower-risk terrain […] Curbs represent the twilight of skateboarding, the end being closer than the beginning .” Lovely.

Opportunities in August 2026

Residencies, fellowships, grants, and open calls from the Erie Canal Museum, Jentel Artist Residency, Princeton University, and more in our monthly list of opportunities for artists, writers, and art workers.