enki magazine (September/October 2023) – The cover features a luxury treehouse, one of series of treetop retreats at Nymetwood, a 20-acre site overlooking Dartmoor in the UK.
Wall Street Journal (August 15, 2023) – For decades, Taiwan has looked to its east coast as a safe haven to survive a Chinese invasion until allies, particularly the U.S., can arrive to assist.
Video timeline: 0:00 Taiwan’s current strategy 1:38 The problem 4:15 Taiwan’s reliance on allies
In the east, Taiwan’s rugged mountain terrain also helps create a natural shield in the event of an attack. But China’s PLA activity on the island’s east has thrown that strategy into question. WSJ takes a look at how serious China’s threats to Taiwan’s east coast are and explores whether the island needs to change its defense strategy.
CNBC International (August 15, 2023) – In the Italian city of Venice, the number of beds dedicated to tourists is now almost on par with the number of beds allocated to residents.
An electronic counter installed by activists in the city tracking this number illustrates the ever-growing demand for short-term rentals, popularized by the home-sharing platform Airbnb, which is now as popular as hotels. The short-term rental market is projected to be worth $228.9 billion in 2030, boosted by the rise of commercial operators.
But as the housing crisis deepens worldwide due to land and labor shortages, residents are questioning the impact of Airbnbs and second homes locally. “We have more than 7,000 apartments involved in this kind of system of short-term tourist rentals.
And now it’s very difficult for a young guy or a new family to find an affordable house to rent,” Dario Nardella, Florence city mayor, told CNBC. So what is the economic impact of Airbnb and short-term rentals? And can restrictions ease the crisis? Watch the video to find out.
In the coming decades, as the pace of technological change continues to increase, millions of workers may need to be not just upskilled but reskilled—a profoundly complex societal challenge that will sometimes require workers to both acquire new skills and change occupations entirely.
New research looked at the extent to which the employees of a fashion retailer followed the stocking recommendations of two algorithms: one whose workings were easy to understand and one that was indecipherable. Surprisingly, they accepted the guidance of the uninterpretable algorithm more often.
‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (August 14, 2023) – Three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, why Biden’s China strategy isn’t working, Saudi Arabia’s plan to dominate global sport (10:20) and how green is your electric vehicle, really? (17:55).
THE NEW YORK TIMES – If artificial intelligence had a voice, what would it sound like? Calm, like HAL 9000? Perky, like Alexa? Polite, like C-3PO?
Brent Katz, an editor of the A.I.-generated poetry collection, with Mr. Herzog at a Los Angeles recording studio.Credit…via Brent Katz
For the editors of “I Am Code: An Artificial Intelligence Speaks,” a collection of poems generated by A.I., the answer was obvious: Werner Herzog.
The 80-year-old German director, actor and author is a titan of independent cinema whose films often concern the hubris and folly of humankind. His speaking voice, known to audiences mostly through the stark, literary voice-over narration that accompanies many of his documentaries, carries an existential pathos and Teutonic gravitas that have made it a pop culture trademark.
Something like this, anyway, was on the minds of Brent Katz, Josh Morgenthau and Simon Rich, the editors of “I Am Code,” when they reached out to Mr. Herzog to ask if he would lend his formidable instrument to the audiobook version of their project.
Some are brought against their will. Others are encouraged in subtler ways. But the over-all efforts seem aimed at the erasure of the Ukrainian people.
CBS Sunday Morning (August 13, 2023) – Putting together the first authorized exhibition in 14 years of works by the anonymous street artist Banksy required extensive planning and a cover story to hide its true identity until it opened, unannounced, in Glasgow this summer.
Photo Credit Banksy
The show will feature work from across his career titled CUT & RUN: 25 years card labour! Stencils from 2008 until 2023 are on display at this historic event.
Correspondent Seth Doane explores the art and the mysteries of Banksy’s world, including the continued speculation about the artist’s true identity, a closely-held secret for decades.
Harper’s Magazine – September 2023: This issue features Justin E. H. Smith’s Elegy for Gen X; Zadie Smith and the Gen X novel; The Rise and Fall of an Iranian Exile and John Jeremiah Sullivan plumbs the Depths…