SUNDAY SCROLL: Kate vs. The Internet 🥊
Something new to read, watch, look at, listen to and do to #bemorehuman.
This week was an interesting one for humans vs. tech what with all the online gossip and amateur investigations around Princess Kate’s whereabouts. There were real fake photos, fake fake photos, forged palace announcements, elaborate conspiracies - no one knew what to believe. Backed into a corner, this profoundly ill mother of three was forced to reveal her diagnosis to a world that felt entitled to her medical history.
As it happens, I’m a fan of the royal family. As cultures get flattened by globalisation (driven by algorithms), I think they are one of the things that keep Great Britain unique, make it worth visiting and still able to exert influence on the world outside of political arena. Furthermore, even if you did get rid of them, do you think we could just leave the palaces to rack and ruin? Or turn them into hospitals or homeless shelters? No! Tax payers would still have to pay for their upkeep as part of our national heritage, they’d just be even less relevant and thus less attractive to paying visitors. Anyway, moving on - here’s what I’ve been staring at this week. Nx
Read this…
It was somewhat serendipitous that whilst ‘Katespiracy’ a.k.a. ‘Kate-gate’ was unfolding, international PR firm Edelman released its annual trust barometer. CNA did a particularly thorough breakdown of the results for Singapore, which revealed that: Over half in Singapore say society, technology changing too fast in ways that don’t benefit them. There was also a notable decrease in trust of government, business and the media.
It seems that Singapore, like most of the rest of the world, is suffering from a growing cynicism and tech is not, currently, helping. My question is, how come tech platforms claim to be able to identify the perfect consumer, at the perfect moment, with the perfect message for advertisers, but cannot identify misinformation, disinformation, deep fakes and child pornography? Misaligned incentives I guess 🤔
Watch this…
Have you heard of the A.I. Beatles? They sing songs that the real Beatles never sang. The music is written/performed by humans. Vocals are modified using A.I. technology. How do you feel about that? The Beatles themselves did much the same recently with their final single ‘Now & Then’, but they were always innovators. A.I. can only parody, it cannot create (yet). But do you care as long as it meets your minimum expectations and has the air of ‘truthiness’ about it? See for yourself with new single ‘As If Nothing Ever Happened’ released by the A.I. Beatles this month.
Look at this…
Now, this particular story originally came to light in 2019 but is making the rounds again in light of calls to ban smartphones for under 16s because they are ‘hostile to human development’, at least according to Jonathan Haidt in his brilliant article in The Atlantic (and every parent I know).
In the US, a teacher called Mary Garza instructed her students to set their phones to loud mode. Each time a notification was received they’d stand up & tally it under a suitable category. This is what occurred during one class period. Each mark is a learning disruption.
N.B. I tried to verify this image because it has been reposted so many times, and it seems it was originally published by Ms. Garza on her Facebook page but she has since taken it down. However, the story was reported at the time by a number of credible media outlets including Fox, Huffpost & Popsugar (you see how hard it is to get to the truth?).
Listen to this…
On Tuesday night I saw Slowdive supported by local band Motifs at the Capitol Theatre in Singapore and I just want to highlight, again, how good Motifs are - holding their own with ease and a massive sound in the theatre.
Having drawn your attention to an A.I. band above I feel duty bound to draw your attention now to the real thing. Listen to their songs and buy their wares, preferably in your local record shop (such as Bizarro Market where I spent a happy afternoon crate-digging yesterday).
Incidentally, most of the crowd for the headliners - an obscure, British, 90’s, shoegaze outfit - were not middle-aged duffers like me but local 20-somethings who barely touched their phones throughout the gig. As The Who sang, the kids are alright!
Do this…
I am a firm believer that multi-tasking is a myth, not just when working but when enjoying yourself too (and I am backed by science here). Did you ever recommend someone a film or an album that changed your life so they give it a try, shrug and tell you it was okay? Ask if they were on their phone at the same time. Multitasking doesn’t only limit your productivity, it limits your enjoyment, which is why I like to read in silence, listen to music with the lights off and watch films in a darkened cinema. This, therefore, seems like the ultimate experience for me; Ryuichi Sakamoto’s final performance, shot before he succumbed to cancer in March 2023.
Consisting of only Sakamoto and his piano, ‘Opus’ features the final live performances of 20 songs that he meticulously curated to encapsulate his distinguished 40-year career, and is showing only at The Projector this month. Leave your phone at home, join me in the dark and experience this no frills, powerfully human performance in depth.