The New Culture War Is Real Vs. Bogus

My latest arts and culture briefing

Below is my latest arts and culture briefing.

I cover a dozen recent developments below, but the recurring theme is the rise of a new culture war—which pits the real against the bogus.

Which do you prefer?

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AI garbage is spreading rapidly—and contaminating every field of inquiry with hallucinations.

A few weeks ago, I pointed out that Google search results were giving priority to goofy AI images of famous people—even when actual portraits or photos are available.

But in the last few days, I’ve seen AI slop spreading elsewhere. For example, if you want to see an animal, Google now shares a totally inaccurate AI image instead of an actual photo.

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And now real news photos of Hurricane Helene are getting replaced by AI fantasies.

Why worry about the real victims of disasters, when you can cry over make-believe AI?

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But you don’t need to live in a flood zone to get victimized here. That’s why I’m advising my buddies to avoid potential online girlfriends who look like this:

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We are now using fourth generation AI, but the cultural pollution is getting worse, not better.

For example…

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Newspaper pretends a dead critic is writing reviews again—thanks to AI.

Art critic Brian Sewell died in 2015 at the age of 84. But a few days ago, he reviewed the new Van Gogh exhibit in London.

The London Standard brought back the dead journalist with the help of AI. The newspaper’s CEO said this was part of a plan to be “bold and disruptive.”

By total coincidence, this newspaper recently eliminated 150 employees, including 70 members of the editorial staff.

The AI-raises-the-dead move was widely mocked on social media, and by other newspapers.

But what would Brian Sewell think about this. Somebody got the bright idea of asking AI—and the response was best writing I’ve ever seen from a chatbot.

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New York Times gives up on literature.

This is how bizarre it’s getting—the most disturbing stories are now the optimistic ones.

Last week, a highly touted essay announced that, hey, it’s okay that the novel and film are dying, because (wait for it)….we now have cooler online stuff, like Instagram twerking videos and Twitter shitposting.

I kid you not, my friends.

According to this emerging theory, influencers are themselves works of art—but you and I are just not savvy enough to grasp it yet.

If this is the good news on culture, I’d hate to hear the negative take.

And now the New York Times offers its own cheery assessment of cultural stagnation.

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Is greatness overrated? What’s next—Is disease the new health? Is losing the new winning? Is stupid the new smart?