When Calgary detectives found images of highly sensitive police database searches on the cellphones of men associated with the FK and Independent Soldier gangs twice in a six-week period, they knew they had a problem: someone on the inside was feeding protected investigative information on rival gangsters to organized crime groups.
Jenna Ellis, a onetime attorney for former President Donald Trump, has agreed to a cooperation agreement with Arizona’s attorney general in the state official’s “fake electors” case.
(Image credit: John Bazemore)
Google has lost a major anti-trust lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice. The judge ruled that google illegally abused its monopoly power to ensure it dominated the search engine market.
Tyson Foods has been closing plants, sometimes driving chicken farmers out of business. Some farmers allege that the company put their life’s work in jeopardy in order to raise the price of chicken.
Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. admitted to dumping a dead bear cub in New York City’s Central Park and making it look like a bicyclist had hit the animal.
I understand she’s wonderful. I have no serious critiques. My only concern is… is she electable?
I know she’s a fantastic communicator. Every clip of her I see, I’m blown away by her knowledge, poise, and warm meme-able laugh. I just worry about what others think of her. Not everyone is as willing as I am to take substance, style, content, reputation, qualifications, and confidence over vague vibes. Will they find her electable?
I will vote for her, for sure. No question. I’m a male feminist. And I’m hearing plenty of people say the same thing, including those who were planning to vote for the other guy. But even though millions of individual Americans are willing to cast their ballots for her, I’m just not sure she’s as electable as we need her to be.
When I ask people if they’re with her, they say yes. But when I ask if they find her electable, almost everyone says no. Or they say yes. Or they say, “What does that mean?” which is rude. I’m just trying to make conversation. All of which is to say: I’m worried.
She’s just so much. I won’t explain. I worry she’s not electable.
What does it really take to be electable? In practice, it requires votes. In theory, it’s a je ne sais quoi. Here are a few examples of people who have it, though: Bill Clinton. Donald Trump. Joe Biden. George W. Bush. Generic Rich White Man TK. Oops sorry, this is the unedited version. Anyway, I’m just not sure she has it, and without it… I don’t know.
She can’t win! I heard someone say that on a podcast in May 2019, and it really stuck with me.
She could fix her electability, but she hasn’t. For instance, I think if she made someone else the face and name of her campaign, that might help. It’s just sad to see someone with so much promise blow it because she wasn’t considering her own electability.
Is America progressive enough for our first unelectable president?
My great fear is that other people won’t vote for her, because they think other people aren’t voting for her, because those other people said other people aren’t voting for her. In the face of such grave uncertainty, the only logical reaction is to not vote for her.
My concerns about her electability are growing as the election nears. The fundraising is good. The polls are better. But money is ephemeral, and you can’t trust polls, especially when they contradict what you know in the most racist, sexist part of your gut.
Hillary lost. Just FYI.
Oh god. Election day is tomorrow, and she still hasn’t solved the electability crisis. Every clip of her I see, I think, “She’s good, but is she… electable?” I only watch the news with the sound off, but still. I think a lot of people are in the same boat as me.
The votes have been counted. In a landslide, she defeated her opponent. Okay sure, she’s been elected.
But is she electable?
I Love Lucy star Lucille Ball, who was born Aug. 6, 1911.'/>Acts range from family-friendly slapstick to edgy standup at the four-day comedy event held in Jamestown, N.Y., home of the I Love Lucy star.
(Image credit: Brendan Halbohm)
The Nasher Sculpture Center has announced the recipients of its 2024 Nasher Artist Grant: Clint Bargers, Fabian Guerrero, Bonny Leibowitz, Analis Minjarez, and Sweet Pass Sculpture Park. Learn more about how the awardees will use their funds below, via descriptions provided by the Nasher.
Formerly named the Nasher Microgrant, the museum’s granting initiative was launched in 2015. The name has changed throughout the years and most recently it has been renamed in honor of Jeremy Strick, the longtime director of the museum who retired earlier this year. The 2024 Nasher Sculpture Center Artist Grant in Honor of Jeremy Strick, provides funds to North Texas artists that can be used to purchase equipment and materials, support travel or research, acquire studio space, or support artist-run curatorial projects.
In a press release, Jed Morse, the Nasher’s Interim Director and Chief Curator, stated, “Over the last 15 years under Strick’s leadership, the Nasher has engaged with hundreds of local artists, and we hope to honor his legacy through this endowment. This year’s awardees span a variety of media and styles with projects that put communities at the forefront of their practice and shine a light on a range of critical contemporary issues.”
This year’s awardees were selected by a panel that included artists Christian Cruz, Antonio Lechuga, Mary Miss, and Terri Thornton, as well as the Nasher’s Curator Dr. Leigh Arnold and Curator of Education Anna Smith. Each grantee will receive $2,000 to support their proposed project.
Learn more about the Nasher Artist Grants via the organization’s website.
2024 Nasher Artist Grant Projects
Clint Bargers, “Kiln Load
5,” 2024, ceramic, photo courtesy of the artist
Clint Bargers
Irving, Texas
Clint Bargers will use funds to repair his ceramic kiln, which has become a shared resource for artists in his community who need an affordable means to fire their work. Mr. Bargers will invest in additional shelving for the kiln, allowing him to expand the space available for firing sculpture and hand-built ceramics by fellow artists.
Fabian Guerrero, “Untitled (Jose),” 2023, Mamiya Rz67, 19 x 16 x 3 inches, photo courtesy of the artist
Fabian Guerrero
Irving, Texas
Fabian Guerrero will continue his photographic series Sueños Norteños, which delves into the nightlife and community lifestyles of queer individuals within the Norteño scene, a term that refers to both an inhabitant of northern Mexico and a style of folk music prevalent in northern Mexico and Texas. Mr. Guerrero will use funds for the casting and production of photographs that amplify voices within the Chicano/Texan LGBTQ+ community and celebrate a vibrant culture that defies stereotypes and embraces diversity.
Bonny Leibowitz, “Plunderland Park,” 2024, wire, scrap metal, tree parts, plastics, photography, 8 x 25 x 20 inches, photo courtesy of the artist
Bonny Leibowitz
Richardson, Texas
Bonny Leibowitz plans to produce a permanent installation titled Trees I Have Loved at Jim Bob Art Park & Nature Trails in Benjamin, Texas — an 80-acre expanse of lush, fertile land, four hours west of Dallas, known for its high winds, thunderstorms, and dynamic weather patterns. Funds will support materials for a die-cut aluminum tree that relates to the ongoing impact of climate change on the land and environment in North Texas.
Analise Minjarez, “Line as Space,” 2022, ceramic and wire, 56 x 30 x 8 inches, photo courtesy of the artist
Analise Minjarez
Dallas, Texas
Analise Minjarez will divide funds between research-based travel and a front-loading kiln which can accommodate a new body of work that features ceramic shards caught in a handmade wire net. These works will incorporate clay harvested from Minjarez’s hometown of El Paso and build on her experience as a Texas/Mexico fronteriza, exploring the transformation, consumption, repurposing, and healing qualities of the material.
Concrete Workshop at Sweet Pass Sculpture Park, 2024, photo courtesy of the artists
Sweet Pass Sculpture Park
Dallas, Texas
Tamara Johnson and Trey Burns plan to offer artist stipends to participants in the 2024 iteration of Sweet Pass Sculpture School and produce an illustrated catalog documenting their work. Sculpture School is an alternative education and exhibition program inviting artists to explore the concept of place more deeply. The 2024 Sculpture School program examines the meaning and materiality of concrete, the world’s most widely used material.
The post Nasher Sculpture Center Announces 2024 Artist Grant Awardees appeared first on Glasstire.
Being Human
For the past two months, I’ve been immersed in the online course Understanding AI and Art taught by Bruce Campbell at Rhode Island School of Design. My goal was to understand how the AI generators work and learn more about artists using this technology in their practice. After multiple experimentations with a variety of image generators, I found them to be inherently biased towards western white males. I’m not sure why that surprised me. I guess I expected the cyber world to be more egalitarian. When artist, educator, and curator Zack Nguyen contacted me about his current exhibition featuring five artists who explore the intersections between humans and technology, I was curious if/how AI might play a role in their work.
In Nguyen’s curatorial statement, he writes, “Being Human is an alternative world that invites the audience to explore the complex interplay between personhood and the ever-evolving sphere of technology.” The exhibition questions not only how we interact and rely upon technology, but also how that reliance takes its toll on our individual and collective psyches. The artists’ work is at once playful, invoking subversive humor but also critically examining the effects of technology on our culture.
Caroline Trotter, “Who’s Imitating Who?,” 2023, photo: Zack Nguyen
Texas sound artist Caroline Trotter’s installation Who’s Imitating Who? (2023) uses ChatGPT as a tool to explore language. The work features two screens on a table surrounded by an abundance of fake flowers. Indecipherable vocal sounds emit from hidden speakers. The screens contain scrolling text of poetry about grief, loss, and questioning one’s identity. Trotter put her writing into ChatGPT and the resulting words contain both her original poems and the AI versions. I thought it would be easy to distinguish between the two since ChatGPT tends to be very wordy and somewhat generic, but I kept second-guessing myself. For the soundscape, the artist read her poems into the software Ableton, which transformed them into a hybrid form —a haunting melody part-human and part machine. The flowers made me think of a memorial or altar with the voice singing a eulogy to lost words.
Jiatong Yao, “Life is Full of Screens,” 2023, photo: Zack Nguyen
Multimedia digital artist and computer programmer Jiatong Yao has two works in the exhibition. The 3D digital sculpture Life Is Full of Screens (2023) is set up like an altar with a large monitor placed on a cloth-covered table with another printed fabric work just above it. On the screen is a digital still life of eight different smaller screens placed chaotically throughout the composition. Upon closer inspection one notices the webcam at the top of the monitor projecting the viewers’ image in each smaller screen. Influenced by gaming systems, VR, and augmented reality, Yao also used AI for this work. She trained her own model to generate images of a motherboard and clay figures that are printed on the fabric.
Jiatong Yao, “Become Circuit Envelop,” detail, 2024, photo: Zack Nguyen
Her second work Become Circuit Envelop (2024) is a sculptural, digital self-portrait. In her artist statement, she says she has “an optimistic hope for the virtual world, believing that with decentralized online spaces and advanced AI computing technology, a better space could emerge—one free of class distinctions, harm, and violence.” I admire that type of optimism, but I interpret these works quite differently. In both pieces, I see the results of screen fatigue and burnout. In the self-portrait work, the “brain” has become a circuit board with the wires representing the mind as unbalanced and chaotic.
Yoona Bang, “o-p-h-e-l-i-a-you.live,” 2023, image courtesy of the artist
Interested in internet subcultures, artist and cyberfeminist Yoona Bang’s work o-p-h-e-l-i-a-you.live (2023) is a net artwork exploring girl internet culture, specifically coquette core through the lens of Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The work is a documentation video of the internet piece, so it was not set up as interactive. I enjoyed the playful digital collaged aspects of the work, as well as a deep dive into a culture that I knew nothing about. The artist explained that coquette core celebrates frilliness, femininity, and all things Lana Del Ray. The visuals appear to celebrate the coquette visual aesthetic. However, juxtaposing Shakespeare’s narrative with internet girl culture presents a biting critique. After all, Ophelia dies young, suffering from grief and madness.
Yoona Bang, “It all starts with an ode,” 2024, photo: Zack Nguyen
Bang has two additional small-scale ceramic works: men who work; men who remember playing in pastures and It all starts with an ode (2024) that are easily overlooked amongst the other works. These small gems are worth a close viewing. The artist creates glazed ceramic “houses” or house fronts. In the windows of the houses are miniature videos. Using old iPhones hidden behind the sculptures, the works nostalgically remind me of childhood play and creativity.
Maryam Ashkaboosi. “Cyborg 2,” 2023, photo: Zack Nguyen
Interactive artist Maryam Ashkaboosi’s cyborg sculptures explore the intersections between science, technology, and humans. A cyborg is defined as a mythical hybrid creature with both human and machine systems. Cyborg 1 (2023) is a video installation using six outmoded monitors. The structure made me think of Nam June Paik’s early work, while the looped animations reminded me of a creature trying to communicate in a symbolic visual language. Cyborg 2 (2023) has more direct references to humans with cast body parts attached to the sculpture. The Frankenstein-esque entity’s disembodied ears, eyes, and fingers reference genetic cloning gone awry.
Tyler Haws, “Balance,” 2023, photo: Zack Nguyen
While Ashkaboosi’s work embraces the cyborg as the future, Texas artist Tyler Haws’ work looks to the past embracing old technology in his readymade sculptural sound installation. Balance (2023) is a surround-sound interactive experience where visitors can manipulate the sonic environment by playing with a child’s ball atop a moving turntable. There is also a projector mounted at the ceiling, so that the participants’ hands and bodies become part of the projection, allowing multiple perspectives to emerge. The textured scratchiness of the sounds is strangely soothing and repetitive like ocean waves. I was a bit nervous about touching the ball and needle, not wanting to scratch the record before the official opening. I appreciate the playfulness and absurdity of the work. It embodies the spirit of Fluxus.
One common material thread in all the artists’ work is the use of upcycled materials. From an environmental perspective, I appreciate the fact that outdated technology is a source material for artists to mine and create new works, rather than going to the landfill. Conceptually, it also speaks to the fast-paced evolution of technology and how humans must rapidly adapt or risk having inoperable systems. Zack Nguyen’s thoughtful curation allows for multiple dialogues between the works and as all interesting exhibitions do — it raises more questions than it answers.
Creature Feature
I love classic horror films, especially ones where the monster is misunderstood. Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water (2017) is my favorite current example of this film type. As the horror genre evolved, it wasn’t always easy to identify the monster. When I read about Rosabel Rosalind’s exhibition Creature Feature, the title piqued my interest.
Rosabel Rosalind, “Creature Feature,” detail, photo: John Paul Thompson
Rosalind’s drawing and sculptural installation investigates antisemitism, conspiracy theories, and real-life catastrophes through the lens and language of a film set. The work challenges viewers to question how they make sense of the world despite current modern-day horrors.
Rosabel Rosalind, “Creature Feature,” installation view, photo: John Paul Thompson
I had the opportunity to meet Rosalind during installation and she gave me a tour through the work. The first thing I noticed was the non-traditional placement of the drawings and post-it notes on the walls. The artist transformed the gallery into a large conspiracy wall, where viewers are encouraged to function as the red string, making connections through seemingly disparate subjects.
Rosabel Rosalind, “Black Void,” photo: John Paul Thompson
As I perused the gallery, I noticed a recurring elliptical shape — a black void with swirling miasma. It reminded me of the sci-fi neo-western TV series Outer Range where Josh Brolin discovers a black hole on his land, which serves as a conduit for time travel. Rosalind’s Black Void is an orb that she explains is the monster named 5G. Unlike most creature feature films, the 5G monster is invisible, emitting dangerous electromagnetic waves. I admit my ignorance in all things 5G so I did a bit of research. Like all good conspiracy theories, there are conflicting reports about the level of risk to human health.
Rosabel Rosalind, “Christ Circumcision,” detail, photo: John Paul Thompson
In the exhibition, there are sections on flat-earthers, car crashes, Jesus’ circumcision, detonation, and the bowels of the earth. The post-it notes provide humor and film set references. Viewers must get close to see the drawings’ details and the overall effect is one of obsessive compulsion. To adhere the drawings to the wall, Rosalind uses small magnets which are red hands with the pointer finger pointing to other people as well as drawings. This design element adds another layer of context to the conspiracy theory syntax. I mistakenly thought the black and white drawings were graphite, but Rosalind explained that she used a clickable ballpoint pen with 4 colors —black, red, green, and blue. The level of detail and mastery over her medium is quite impressive.
Rosabel Rosalind, “Creature Feature,” detail, photo: John Paul Thompson
One large drawing features gesturing hands amidst swirls of clouds of smoke. In the lower right corner, Rosalind includes a blue drawing of an open-mouthed female who resembles a sex doll. A small red drawing in the upper right corner depicts baby Jesus’ circumcision. The juxtaposition of these three drawings made me smile. I don’t recall seeing Jesus’ circumcision in my art history books, so I did a deep dive asking Google for some help. I found two references, a 1523 painting by Mannerist artist Parmigiano and a 1490-91 fresco painting by Italian Renaissance artist Luca Signorelli. Digging deeper, I found that this was a serious point of contention dividing Jews and Christians and that artworks depicting Jesus’ circumcision often went missing.
Rosabel Rosalind, “Detonations,” detail, photo: John Paul Thompson
Another drawing delineates explosions and the accompanying post-it note identifies it as the detonations prop closet. Rosalind skews the perspective, which creates a disorienting effect for the viewer. The idea of the prop closet led me to think about Pandora’s Box and what happens when the box or in this case, the door is opened, and disaster is unleashed? Are the detonations meant to distract or destroy?
Rosabel Rosalind, “Scorched Earth,” detail, photo: John Paul Thompson
Cut-out wooden explosion-shaped props add a sculptural element to the exhibition, as well as provide additional perspectives for viewing. Upon closer inspection, the wood has been either shot or burned adding textural detail and the additional context of gun violence. The post-it notes refer to the Biblical story of the burning bush and scorched earth.
Rosabel Rosalind, “Bowels of the Earth,” detail, photo: John Paul Thompson
Another drawing of an elliptical shape entitled The Bowels of the Earth made me laugh out loud, as it quite literally depicts human bowels. The drawing makes me consider the synergistic and often detrimental relationship between humans and the earth. The phrase usually references that which is unseen and located in the most interior of spaces. Going back to the artist’s 5G monster reference, this brings up the question of how technology affects our physical and emotional health.
I write this in the wake of the assassination attempt of former President Trump. Within hours, the media floated conspiracy theories about the shooter’s motivation, the possibility of a pre-planned publicity stunt to raise ratings, and other absurdist ideas that pass for news these days. A creature feature unfolds in HD on our large screens in slow motion as a real-life horror unfolds. Who or what is the real monster? Rosabel Rosalind’s work resonates with salient, dark humor as we navigate through our complicated and mediated existence.
After 22 years, Fort Worth Community Art Center will close its doors due to lack of funding. It provided thousands of visual and performing artists exhibitions and a space to grow their careers. It’s a sad day for the DFW arts community. Both Creature Feature and Being Human will be part of the last cycle of exhibitions before the closing at the end of the year.
Being Human is on view at Arts Fort Worth from August 1 – August 28, 2024
Creature Feature is on view at Arts Fort Worth from July 5 – August 28, 2024
The post Review: “Being Human” + “Creature Feature” at Arts Fort Worth appeared first on Glasstire.
The presidential candidate said he'd planned to take the roadkill home and skin it, but got waylaid by a long day of falconry and steak dinner. The mystery of the bear cub made national news in 2014.
(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch)
In her first solo interview of the campaign, Usha Vance discussed how her family is adjusting to vice presidential campaign life and what she wants voters to know about her husband.
(Image credit: Julia Nikhinson)
Missouri had argued that the rights of Missouri voters to hear from presidential candidates were being violated by the New York criminal proceeding.
(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Hurricane Debby made landfall near Steinhatchee, Florida this morning as a category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph.
Debby had a pressure of 979 mb, compared to 80 mph and 979 mb with Hurricane Beryl in Texas. Two storms, identical intensities, vastly different impacts. Cedar Key saw about 6 foot surge with Debby, compared to an 8 to 9 foot surge during Idalia last summer.
Overall, surge and wind damage will likely be less than Idalia, but still rather widespread in parts of Florida. There will continue be periodic tornado warnings in Florida and perhaps Georgia or South Carolina as Debby’s bands spread across the area. Additionally, flooding is underway in parts of Florida that have seen the heaviest rain from Debby as it moves northward.
Debby is expected to slowly track northeast and east-northeast into Georgia today, with improving conditions in parts of Central Florida but continued heavy rain and gusty winds in North Florida and Georgia, as well as South Carolina. Debby may make its way back offshore on Tuesday or Wednesday, which could allow for some re-organization to the storm. We’ve seen this a lot in the past, where people see that the storm goes offshore and fear reorganization and another big one. Usually in these cases, the system can gain a hair of strength before it comes back ashore, so we aren’t worried about Debby rejoining the ranks of hurricane or anything. Look for Debby to slide offshore, then back onshore after 24-36 hours or so, remaining a tropical storm.
Debby’s rainfall
The primary threat from Debby will remain the rain. The rainfall forecast continues to call for in excess of 20 inches on the coast of South Carolina, including Charleston, with coastal Georgia, Hilton Head, and Savannah not far off. This is in addition to rain that has already fallen.
This will all lead to potentially historic, catastrophic flooding for portions of South Carolina, possibly Georgia, and even some bad flooding in portions of North Carolina as well. It’s tough to show river forecasts, as they only include 48 hours of rainfall forecast data, but expect major to record flooding of multiple rivers in southeast Georgia and South Carolina as we head into midweek. Anyone living in a flood zone in those areas should be prepared to take quick and immediate action. This is a fairly high confidence forecast, with fairly minimal risk that it dramatically changes unfortunately.
If you’re curious about South Carolina flooding history as it pertains to tropical systems, Melissa Griffin, an assistant state climatologist put together a pretty outstanding overview at this link.
Our thoughts are with the folks in South Carolina and beyond that will be dealing with some pretty terrible weather this week.
The question in the tropics is always “what’s next?” Well, we continue to watch a tropical wave moving into the Caribbean. This will carry about a 30 percent chance of development right now as it comes west.
Model support for this one is not terribly strong. Odds of 30 percent seem very reasonable at this point. Yes, the GFS operational crashed a storm into Texas overnight, but it is quite the outlier right now, with little to no support from other models. One reason to expect that this system would continue to go west or west northwest is a large ridge of high pressure that’s expected to establish over Texas this week and perhaps much of next week as well. The five day average for the weekend and next week (when the GFS shows the system making it to Texas) from the European ensemble shows a rather robust pattern of high pressure.
This pattern looks similar to last summer, where Texas was essentially “shielded” from tropical activity by a persistent ridge. We do not expect that this is going to hold up beyond next week right now, but for this particular tropical wave, I would say that a track into the Bay of Campeche or southward is most likely at this time.
There is another wave behind this one that may try to develop in the open Atlantic next week. As of now, we don’t see any significant landfall threats anywhere in the tropics, but we’ll be watching.
In brief: Congratulations, Houston. We’ve reached the hottest week of the year so far. Many locations in the area will hit 100 degrees for several days this week as sunny skies predominate, with warm and sultry nights. As high pressure backs off, temperatures may start to come down slightly by the weekend.
The first full week of August is, historically, the hottest week of the summer in Houston. At this time of year the Sun still reaches a high angle in the sky (77 degrees), we’re prone to high pressure systems, and there’s no possibility yet of a meaningful cool front. Every day we get deeper into August we lose about 1 minute and 30 seconds of daylight, the Sun is slightly lower in the sky, and start to get on a glide path toward fall. But early August? There is no hope for anything but heat and humidity. And we are going to have plenty of that this week as high pressure dominates.
Temperatures may not reach 100 degrees today for most of the Houston area, but they’ll be close, in the upper-90s for all locations but the coast. Winds will be light, from the east, at about 5 mph. Skies will be sunny. For areas south of Interstate 10, there’s the barest chance of a shower this afternoon, perhaps 10 percent or so. I mention this only because chances are essentially zero for the rest of the week. Low temperatures tonight are unlikely to fall below 80 degrees for much of the region.
Most of Houston is likely to hit triple-digit heat during this period. In addition to highs in the vicinity of 100 degrees, each day will see sunny skies, with light westerly winds. Lows will only reach about 80 degrees. Please take heat and sunshine precautions if you’re outside during the middle of the day.
At some point the high pressure system firmly in control of our weather this week is going to relent somewhat. That should begin to happen this weekend, but I still expect mostly sunny skies with high temperatures in the upper 90s. A slight chance of rain returns on Sunday, likely in the form of isolated showers along the sea breeze. Most of next week should see slightly cooler temperatures, with highs in mid- to upper-90s and possibly some higher rain chances. We’ll see.
Hurricane Debby made landfall in the coastal bend area of Florida this morning, near where Hurricane Idalia did so a year ago. As we’ve been recounting on The Eyewall all weekend, this will not be a messy storm just for Florida, but a very serious inland flooding event for parts of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. In Houston we know about the potency of stalling storms and heavy rainfall.
In addition to Debby, there is a tropical wave that is about to enter the Caribbean Sea and should to track more or less due west this week. The global models have been all over the place in regard to what will ultimately happen to this system over the next 10 days. Although it’s conceivable that an organized tropical system could ultimately come to Texas, that is just one of a range of many possibilities. Since it’s August, we’ll need to watch the tropics closely now.
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
A reader writes:
I’ve recently taken on a new role that’s a professional downshift so that I can ultimately pivot toward more fulfilling work. It’s fun, varied work that I love, but it does mean that I am earning significantly less, and I have been taking on freelance copywriting jobs to help make up the difference. I have a strong reputation in my field and my clients have been universally pleased with my work.
However, despite personally writing every word of my most recent assignment, the final work was run through an AI detector and was determined to have been generated by ChatGPT. This stung — it was an accusation of dishonesty, discounted my years of skill, and feels like the first of what may become many such instances in the future.
I know that AI scanners are unreliable and have been widely discredited — hell, even OpenAI has pulled the plug on their own detector, citing a low rate of accuracy — but I still wonder how I can protect myself against this kind of thing happening with future projects. I worry that I’ll put in hours and hours of work, only for clients to lose trust in the integrity of my work and/or skip out on invoices, having been convinced by a faulty program that they’re getting ripped off.
Any suggestions for reassuring clients and proving my work is, in fact, human-generated?
That’s infuriating.
Anyone who’s using an AI detector needs to be aware that they’re notoriously inaccurate. You can run pieces of writing through them that were created decades ago, long before AI existed, and get told AI wrote them. One “detector” even claimed the U.S. Constitution was written by AI. And as you point out, OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT, shut down its own AI detector because of low accuracy. They’re ridiculously problematic.
So, you could start by asking your client which AI detector they used and explaining their well-documented inaccuracies. (Here are some links you could use: 1, 2, 3) You could say firmly that as a professional writer whose reputation is your livelihood, you take allegations of using AI very seriously and you hope they’ll give you the opportunity to show how baseless the assertion is.
Then offer to show them your version history. Google Docs, Microsoft Word, and many other writing programs keep a version history that tracks every change you made and when you made it, which will make it clear that you wrote through a normal, messy, human process with revisions and that whole chunks of fully formed text weren’t simply pasted in.
If they don’t backtrack once you calmly educate them, is this even a client you want?
MONTPELIER, VT—Making the announcement from the steps of the powerful organization’s national headquarters, the Federated Union of Bear Cub Carcass Dumpers endorsed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for president on Monday. “The Federated Union of Bear Cub Carcass Dumpers stands 100% behind Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the only…
NEW YORK—In what experts are calling an economic downturn that could deliver shocks to markets for months to come, stocks plunged Monday as traders realized it was the beginning of the week and that they had to go to work. “Today, the Dow Jones industrial average sunk over 900 points after investors across the nation…
Please help me. I’ve accidentally become the perfect choice to be Kamala Harris’s running mate. And I really, really don’t want to be VP.
Last week, I had everything going for me: I am white male middle-aged governor of a crucial battleground state, have a 72 percent approval rating among single mothers, and am a boat owner. Now, everybody’s telling me it’s my “duty to help save democracy.” I don’t want that target on my back.
What’s good about being vice president? Absolutely nothing. You spend the entire fall (apple-picking season) campaigning in the worst places on earth (Battle Creek, Michigan) for a job where, at best, you do nothing (boring) and, at worst, you get blamed for some crisis you had nothing to do with (the border).
Meanwhile, my term as governor of a popular swing state is up next January, and I was dreaming of finally going to culinary school. Now, I’ll probably have to meet J. D. Vance and shake his sweaty little hand.
If only my résumé wasn’t so damn impressive…
Why, oh why did I ever save that squad of student cadets from toxic gas on my tour of duty in Syria, all while sustaining a bullet wound that gave me a noticeable but ruggedly valorous limp? Pod Save America is saying my background is perfect for winning over white men ages 18–72. That’s way too much pressure for a job where my greatest contribution would be matching my tie to the president’s suit.
I wouldn’t have developed my platform of progressive-yet-palatable policies if I’d known they’d appeal to single Black mothers, gen Z, and closeted racists ages 45–63? Who knew that could be a coalition? I guess I’ll have to wait till I’m eighty to learn how to make risotto.
If only I could unlearn fluent Spanish, I might be able to get out of this. Dios mio. I only ever wanted to be able to order enchiladas on my eleventh-grade Spanish club’s trip to Cancun, not turn Miami-Dade County blue and flip Florida. Now, I’m likely four months away from working a job where the best-case scenario is my boss dying. Any other American could do that!
Naturally, I have the money too. My donors include a diverse coalition of elite party donors, Wall Street titans, corporate power players, beloved Hollywood character actors, basketball players with podcasts, and politically active college students using their parents’ credit cards. They’re unstoppable.
By the way, if you’re waiting for some damning information to come out about my ancestors that I have to shamefacedly answer for, keep waiting. Not only did they NOT own slaves, but my grandparents’ tale of bravery and resilience across war-torn Europe has multiplied my support among the 92–105 crowd ten-fold. If only my grandparents had known that their courage would mean their grandson had to spend two days in fucking Toledo. TOLEDO. I’d rather endure a year of the German Blitz than a single night at a sit-down Italian option in Toledo.
Oh, and of course, Democratic leadership loves how approachable and attractive I am. Just attractive enough that voters can look at me for hours without feeling threatened. None of my attempts to make myself less attractive over the last few days have worked. The glasses only made me look professorial, the baseball cap only made me look like a baseball fan, and having Glen Powell stand next to me made me seem even more approachably attractive by comparison.
Naturally, I’d like to give a big sarcastic thank you to President Barack Obama for endorsing me for the ticket. Your unparalleled support has ensured that I’ll spend the next four years explaining the president’s stance on Gaza to an auditorium full of college students who get most of their news from slime video TikToks.
Even if I wanted to wiggle out of this nomination, my wife wouldn’t let me—not since she got shot by a terrorist, recovered only to look even hotter than before, and decided she didn’t want to waste her new clout on watching me struggle through a baked Alaska. Listen: I’m happy she’s okay. And I’m thrilled she’s still hot. But she’s become such a story of triumph and strength that even the 47 percent of white women who voted for Trump in 2016 are starting to gravitate toward her for her “southern toughness.” She’s from eastern Connecticut, ladies. The bougie part!
Maybe this all could have been avoided if I’d said yes to Ron Howard and let him adapt my memoir into a shitty movie no one saw. J. D. Vance really knew what he was doing there. I, on the other hand, just had to let James Cameron turn it into the 4D once-in-a-lifetime theater experience that grossed $2 billion. Now I’ll probably have to spend the better part of a decade at state funerals in Oslo.
I might as well start preparing my answer for Lester Holt’s favorite little debate question: “What is one thing you admire about Senator Vance?” Well, for one thing, I like that he won’t have to be vice president.
Oh, and I’m 6′2". Fuck. So long, seared ahi tuna. See you in eight years. (Actually, make that sixteen, because God knows I’ll be the perfect candidate to “save democracy” again when my salt-and-pepper hair comes in.)
To be completely honest, I'm not sure what the Emblems...are. They occasionally mention things that happened to them "in life," so...they're ghosts, right? I think this game is about being haunted by ghosts from a parallel universe.
1. Cash In Hand
2. Robb Bank$
3. Bryson Tiller
4. Quincy B
5. Toto Jr.
6. Jagerbomb
7. Ghostemane
8. Bluetooth OLD
9. Wifisfuneral
10. Blueface
11. Zatchmo
12. Tiffanys Diamond
13. Ugly God
14. Russ
15. Wendy
16. Marcy Mane
17. Greek Air
18. Hit Plus
19. Eclips
20. The Real Meladee
21. Scarlxrd
22. Shutterflyke
23. Famous Dex
24. Delmonte 7
25. Gunna
26. Smokepurpp
27. Lil Yachty
28. Sir Greg
29. Fine Fellow
30. Shadow Man
Answers:
1. Olympic Horse (Morocco)
2. SoundCloud Rapper
3. SoundCloud Rapper
4. Olympic Horse (Australia)
5. Olympic Horse (Netherlands)
6. Olympic Horse (Great Britain)
7. SoundCloud Rapper
8. Olympic Horse (Germany)
9. SoundCloud Rapper
10. SoundCloud Rapper
11. Olympic Horse (Singapore)
12. Olympic Horse (Finland)
13. SoundCloud Rapper
14. SoundCloud Rapper
15. Olympic Horse (Germany)
16. SoundCloud Rapper
17. Olympic Horse (Finland)
18. Olympic Horse (Portugal)
19. Olympic Horse (Canada)
20. SoundCloud Rapper
21. SoundCloud Rapper
22. Olympic Horse (Czechia)
23. SoundCloud Rapper
24. Olympic Horse (South Korea)
25. SoundCloud Rapper
26. SoundCloud Rapper
27. SoundCloud Rapper
28. Olympic Horse (Finland)
29. Olympic Horse (Portugal)
30. Olympic Horse (Australia)
WICHITA FALLS, TX—Forgetting partisan battles for a moment amid laughter and shrieks of “Don’t let it bounce,” a bitterly divided U.S. populace came together Monday to keep a beach ball in the air. “As much as our differences may seem like they define us, at our core all Americans share a love of not letting this…
WASHINGTON—In a sobering report on the impact of climate change and deforestation, U.S. environmentalists warned Monday that the nation was running out of small wooded areas where a group of buddies could smoke up. “Sadly, accelerating levels of industrialization have led us to a point where our nation’s stoner…
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Russia, the United States, and several other countries engaged in an extraordinary 24-prisoner exchange, the largest of its kind since the Cold War and one in which President Joe Biden was directly involved. What do you think?
