Authenticity

Sunday’s duet between Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs at the Grammys brought us one of those rare moments in today’s America in which appreciation was louder than criticism. From the illuminating joy on her face to the admiration on his, we were once again reminded of music’s undeniable ability to turn strangers generations apart into sisters and brothers … if only for a song. Opinion Columnist LZ Granderson LZ Granderson writes about culture, politics, sports and navigating life in America.…

As 2023 comes to a close, it has become evident that the once-unstoppable global AI race is quickly transforming into a mad dash.Just this month, The Arena Group, which operates Sports Illustrated, unceremoniously fired its CEO Ross Levinsohn weeks after the publication was found to have published articles written by fake authors with AI-created biographies and headshots. (The Arena Group has insisted that Levinsohn’s ouster “had absolutely nothing to do with the AI issue at all.”)Google, too, is facing a storm of…

Christmas is one of the most magical times of the year. All the cities and towns light up their Christmas trees, streets shine from different lights and beautiful decorations. People rush to buy presents and bring this wonderful celebration to their homes.Decorating one's home for Christmas, I think, is one of the favorite activities of many of us. However, it’s not a surprise that everyone has different visions of what we want our Christmas decorations and tree to look like, which, let's say, occasionally leads to…

When Canadian producer Jordan Young started playing around with AI voice-cloning technology — ultimately creating a fake Kanye West song that sounded, well, just like Kanye West — it immediately prompted him to think about the ethical implications of the technology. "As soon as I made it, I started to think ... if anybody can make music with anyone's voice, what does this mean for artists? What does this mean for music?" said Young, who has worked with Beyoncé, BTS and Dua Lipa.He and his company Hooky recently developed…

Somebody randomly suggested to me that I should assist a producer instead because in the US, you can get paid well doing that. I got a job as an intern at a producer’s office; I was one of the seven or eight interns there. Our job was to just read scripts. That job was essentially divided into two parts. The first one was — because that producer was chiefly into reality shows — to look through the Facebook profiles of potential contestants and see if they were interesting. It might sound a little creepy but that was part…

Why did you want to be a screenwriter? Screenwriter Karan Vyas (Courtesy the subject) I think anybody who wants to be a part of the film industry either wants to become an actor or a director. That’s how most of the stories begin. You ask anyone at an early stage, and they would say either of those two things. It’s only later that some of them get into other aspects of cinema. I wanted to be a director, and I went to film school at UCLA in California for a two-year programme. I was looking for an internship and…

On July 25, 2021, Pedro Huertas, an American doctor trying to cross from Canada into the U.S. at the Highgate Springs border crossing in Vermont, told a border guard he was bringing one $2,000 stone statue with him.  He was lying. A search of his vehicle revealed nine bubble-wrapped packages of various sizes, one of them long and thin, others small, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. court. When border guards asked Huertas what was inside, he and his wife would not respond to their questions.Three of the…

Deinfluencing involves influencers discouraging their followers from buying overpriced or otherwise ineffective products. Credit: Shutterstock A new social media trend has recently emerged in response to the materialistic nature of influencer culture: deinfluencing. This trend involves influencers discouraging their followers from buying overpriced or ineffective products. …

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain The tragic news of the destruction of the Titan submersible has brought attention to the thrilling, dangerous and expensive world of extreme tourism. As a researcher who studies hospitality and tourism management, I pay attention to the trends in tourism and study ways in which organizations like…

When Ariana DeBose hosted February’s BAFTA Awards, she opened with a meme-generating performance that conquered the internet, with reactions ranging from cringe to double cringe. DeBose — who co-wrote the lyrics “Angela Bassett did the thing, Viola Davis my Woman King, Blanchett Cate you’re a genius, Jamie Lee you are all of us” — seems to be having the last laugh … all the way to the bank. The 32-year-old Oscar winner hit the London Palladium stage April 1 for a one-night engagement that saw her…