Some things I’ve been thinking about
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The death (again) of the internet as we know it by Noah Smith
On AI slop:
”What is the point of images of kids driving cars made of plastic bottles? What is the point of nonsense recipes? The answer is: There doesn’t have to be a point. Since the marginal cost of producing this stuff is essentially zero, and there’s at least some nonzero chance that any one of these random things will catch on and become a meme and get people to subscribe to a channel and make some ad dollars, it makes sense to spam as much of this slop into the world as you can.”
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This is what the internet looks like now by Ryan Broderick (mentioned in the previous article)
AI slop still feels too uncanny valley for me, but I do love a niche, absurd video like the one featured of a goth girl arriving at her prom in a casket. Maybe the difference between the two is that AI slop is engineered for maximum engagement whereas the rest unites people around a specific interest or brand of humor. There’s human solidarity knowing you enjoy something that someone else enjoys, especially if it’s strange. Or maybe there is no difference and I’m just fooling myself into believing that I can outsmart the algorithm. Put AI slop behind a human influencer and I’ll probably be done for it.
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“André 3000 is At Peace (For Now) by Hanif Abdurraqib
“So then, sacrifice becomes about risk assessment. Not just for the Black musician or celebrity, but, to a different degree, the Black retail worker, who knows the way they are treated by coworkers or customers isn’t right, but also knows they’ve got rent due. There’s a cost to be paid, not only to an audience, but at times, to self. And it has to be measured. Is the truth that may be revealed actually worth what might be lost in the process?”
“He mentions that he’s played New Blue Sun for Big Boi, in a series of people he’s played it for, with mixed results. Two people cried. One director friend thought it transcendent. He took it to his old hood, and one of his old friends fell asleep while listening. This same friend, he tells me – hardly able to finish the story because he’s laughing so hard – woke up and shouted, You gonna put some beats on that shit?”
I love the idea of pursuing a craft just because you feel called to it or because you feel called to evolve and surrounding yourself with people that’ll help you get there.
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Gael García Bernal’s Four Favorites w/ Letterboxd
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Photo dump