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.
Just when we thought tech companies couldn’t get more odious, they took a page from the long, tyrannical tradition of book burning. Author and bibliophile Ed Simon opines today about the horrific revelation that Anthropic scanned and then shredded out-of-print books to train its large language models, a shameless act of artistic plunder aimed at gutting our humanity. Read and share, and take this as a sign to support your local library while you’re at it.
Meanwhile, artists continue to offer glimmers of hope in unexpected places. Case in point: psychedelic pickleball courts in Pittsburgh (say that five times fast). A co-founder of the experimental collective Hilma’s Ghost and proponent of public art, Sharmistha Ray designed vivid murals in their signature geometric style to bring one of the city’s recreational spaces to life. Say what you want about pickleball, but it gets the people going.
More today, including a tribute to beloved dealer and Lubov gallerist Francisco Correa Cordero, who passed away on Sunday at age 37.
—Lakshmi Rivera Amin, associate editor
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. | Ed Simon
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- Three of Pittsburgh's pickleball courts are transformed into vibrant artworks as part of Sharmistha Ray's "Geometry of Play."
- Francisco Correa Cordero, the founder of the downtown New York gallery Lubov, dies at the age of 37.
- Two alumni from the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan have come forward with previously unreported abuse allegations against Jeffrey Epstein while he was a benefactor of the school.
- The Eric Carle Museum staff are pushing to unionize due to allegations of understaffing, a lack of promotions, and poor workplace conditions.
From Our Critics
Ellen Pau’s Elegy to a Vanishing Hong Kong
In the video art pioneer’s first US exhibition, water’s changing states become a metaphor for the city. | Gladys Lou
Read MoreMember Comment
—Sandy Sanders on "AI Companies Are Pulping Our Humanity"
From the Archive
A Mystical, Obsessive Encounter With the Ginseng Root
Craig Thompson’s rhizomatic new graphic novel about the root’s farming industry exposes the paradoxes of Trump’s America. | Noah Fischer
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