Letture per la domenica

Anche se sono passati 70 anni tondi tondi, gli americani sono ancora ossessionati da Lolita.

Money quote: "We certainly read Lolita very differently than we used to. For decades after its publication, readers both nodded to the horror at the center of the novel but also believed it was a little unsophisticated to dwell only on the assault. In pop culture, Lolita became synonymous with a teenaged seductress who deserves whatever she gets. Today, however, the received wisdom is that Lolita is not a romance but a horror story.

In the 70 years since its publication, Lolita — lovely, sensual Lolita; obscene, monstrous Lolita; bleak, tragic Lolita — has become a barometer of sorts for cultural change. Vladimir Nabokov’s novel is so multifaceted that it reflects the priorities of its readers back at us, showing us what we value and fear most at any given moment in time. We’re still arguing over Lolita today, and our debates mirror the contours of our current culture war: a horror at an abuser’s attempt to cover up their abuse; a terror that all that is pleasurable will be moralized into oblivion."

https://www.vox.com/culture/458464/lolita-70th-anniversary-culture-wars-vladimir-nabokov

archivio https://archive.is/ovm78

Soggettivamente gli anni passati all'università sono molti (e nel caso dei fuoricorso, possono essere davvero molti) ma in realtà sono pochi: tre.

Tuttavia, nell'arco di tempo necessario a una matricola per finire l'università abbiamo avuto l'avvento dell'intelligenza artificiale. Per la prima volta c'è una leva di neo laureati che ha fatto tutta l'università con a disposizione l'AI mentre le università ancora non hanno assunto una postura chiara (e tutto il sistema funziona come se non esistessero strumenti come l'intelligenza artificiale). È la prima volta che c'è una discontinuità così forte in così poco tempo.

Gli studenti universitari sono cambiati per sempre. L'università (ancora) no.

Money quote: "“I cannot think that in this day and age that there is a student who is not using it,” Vasilis Theoharakis, a strategic-marketing professor at the Cranfield School of Management who has done research on AI in the classroom, told me. That’s what I’m seeing in the classes that I teach and hearing from the students at my school: The technology is no longer just a curiosity or a way to cheat; it is a habit, as ubiquitous on campus as eating processed foods or scrolling social media. In the coming fall semester, this new reality will be undeniable. Higher education has been changed forever in the span of a single undergraduate career."

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/08/ai-college-class-of-2026/683901/

archivio: https://archive.is/1gA7k

Gli Stati Uniti stanno anche affogando dentro i tribunali, in un caos pilotato.

Money quote: The bottom line is that, because there are five votes for the proposition that some parts of this case go to the district court, and also five votes for the proposition that other parts of it go to the claims court, Barrett’s opinion controls the case. By the time this mess gets sorted out, it is likely that most — if not all — of the research at issue in NIH will be lost, even if the plaintiffs do prevail.
As Jackson writes, without any money to fund their operations, the grant recipients will need to “euthanize animal subjects, terminate life-saving trials, and close community health clinics.”"

https://www.vox.com/scotus/458863/supreme-court-nih-public-health-grants-gobbledygook

Archivio: https://archive.is/0V9nx

C'è un problema con la scrittura a mano, che non ha solo a che fare con la calligrafia ma più in generale con la perdita delle funzioni di coordinamento della mano per scrivere. È un problema che si manifesta a scuola e che sta neanche tanto lentamente erodendo a capacità di milioni di studenti di scrivere a mano. Il che non è un bene.

Money quote: " Over the past two decades or so, as schools have evaluated how much to focus on handwriting, there has also been a push for more STEM education. In some cases, that means spending less time on penmanship to make room for those subjects. But, Wiley says, it’s a mistake to think that writing isn’t necessary. Mathematicians need to jot down problems; scientists need to take notes in the lab. These things can be done digitally, but they still require base-level communication skills. “Science, technology—we don’t proceed in those things without reading and writing,” he says.

Even if kids acquire adequate handwriting skills in elementary school, there is still the chance that they could lose them."

https://www.wired.com/story/the-end-of-handwriting/

Archivio: https://archive.is/4iOyZ

🇨🇦 Un piano per l'istruzione sull'uso etico dell'IA ha inserito fonti che non esistono - probabilmente con l'IA

Un documento redatto per riformare il sistema scolastico della provincia canadese di Terranova e Labrador contiene almeno 15 citazioni inventate.

Parliamo dello "Education Accord Newfoundland and Labrador", 418 pagine di documento frutto di 18 mesi di lavoro, presentato il 28 agosto dalle copresidenti Anne Burke e Karen Goodnough, docenti della Facoltà di Scienze della Formazione della Memorial University, insieme al ministro dell’Istruzione Bernard Davis.

Le citazioni contestate sarebbero state generate da un modello linguistico di intelligenza artificiale. Il fatto che questi sistemi abbiano la tendenza a produrre riferimenti dall’aspetto impeccabile (ma in realtà inesistenti) è un fenomeno ben noto in ambito accademico e giudiziario, perché il falso ben confezionato può trarre in inganno anche le figure più esperte che non vanno oltre una verifica superficiale.

Interpellata, Goodnough ha dichiarato via e-mail che lo staff sta ricontrollando le fonti e che, per il momento, non può aggiungere altro.

Nel frattempo, il documento non è più online.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/education-accord-nl-sources-dont-exist-1.7631364

#Notizia #IA
@EticaDigitale

Alla fine, voliamo da poco più di un secolo. Alcune vecchie foto sul volo commerciale.

Money quote: "Gone are the days of passengers sitting pilot-side in open-air seats. Depending on what you’re able to dole out for a ticket, flying today can either be a luxurious experience in a first class cabin or a cramped one in the ever-shrinking seats of most commercial planes. Take a gander at these images of passenger planes through the decades (click to expand to full size), and ask yourself—do you miss the days of wicker seats?"

https://www.popsci.com/technology/vintage-commercial-airplane-photos/

La storia delle origini di Riccardo Palombo, che poi è il mio socio nel podcast Tilde: ha scritto un libro questa estate e varie altre cose.

Money quote: "**Ci racconta le sue origini?** «Il mio lavoro è nato nel 2005 -- racconta --, quando mia cognata mi portò un netbook dall'America. Io aprii un blog per parlarne che ebbe successo, nel giro di pochi mesi quadruplicai gli introiti monetari e nel 2007 mollai il lavoro che avevo, iniziando a fare questo mestiere. Ancora non c'era YouTube, ma continuai creando il sito "eeevolution", che poi ho venduto a un network. Da lì sono andato a lavorare per Hd Blog, il più grande network di tecnologia in Italia. Nel frattempo sono stato uno dei primi da quando ha aperto YouTube Italia a fare video, sin dal 2010. Addirittura i primi erano senza parlato, solo con la musica."

https://www.lanazione.it/grosseto/cronaca/youtuber-e-lelettronica-racconto-i-13fb33fa

La vita fragile delle garibaldine, le ragazze dei maranza. Gran storia, raccontata in modo magistrale da Allegra Ferrante per il Corriere.

Money quote: "**Yasmine conosce Orwell, ma preferisce García Márquez**. Ha 15 anni, metà tunisina, metà marocchina; va bene a scuola, liceo delle scienze umane di Legnano. Indossa una tuta Lacoste, ha un chakra dipinto con l'eye-liner sullo zigomo sinistro. Figlia più piccola di una famiglia numerosa, un complicato percorso migratorio. Sua madre fa la cuoca di giorno e
la badante di notte. Padre muratore. «Esce di casa presto, non lo vedo mai». Il fratello più grande, 26 anni, elettricista, lavora col padre. «Io e i miei fratelli più piccoli siamo maranza. Col cazzo che ci infiliamo in questa vita di merda!».** Maranza è la rottura di un'aspettativa sociale e familiare. Scelta di un'identità forte, che si impone, che ha già dei codici**: per allontanarsi rabbiosamente dalla vita dei propri genitori. Nichilismo (molto appariscente) in alternativa a restare invisibili. «Non voglio fare la lavapiatti/ma voglio andare in giro in Bugatti», suona la cassa JBL che le ragazze ascoltano nel parcheggio di Piazza Freud."

https://milano.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/25_settembre_14/vita-fragile-delle-garibaldine-le-ragazze-dei-maranza-tra-spray-al-peperoncino-liberta-sessuale-e-orsacchiotto-nel-letto-matte-3a84ba69-876a-491f-a160-569db1679xlk.shtml

Letture per la domenica: molto interessante per noialtri creativi/lavoratori della conoscenza

Cosa può fare l'AI? Una giornalista del Financial Times si è messa d'impegno per vedere se potrà sostituirla. L'idea è che no: non la sostituirà.

Moey quote: "I started by giving ChatGPT Plus a road map of how to work in collaboration on a book, a template developed by a technologist friend who is likewise experimenting with AI’s creative capability.

The template laid out in detail what long-form narrative writing is and how to expand on an author’s existing ideas and/or body of work. As someone who had rarely used AI, and never done so in my professional life, I was amazed by how much preparation is required just to get ChatGPT to understand the basics.

LLMs can give you answers to precise questions, but they don’t necessarily understand how to land on tone, style, tension or originality, nor do they have the power to benefit from serendipity, all of which are components of good writing.

ChatGPT took about 48 hours to churn out a first chapter after gobbling up several samples of my own 33-year body of work, a detailed book proposal with footnotes, a chapter outline of where I wanted to go, taped interviews with sources and plentiful background reading selected by me.

Sadly, what I got back was a kind of Muzak version of myself — predigested, relatively accurate, but thoroughly uninspired. This result was both amusing and depressing."

https://www.ft.com/content/0b56a85d-e71e-49c4-802f-316ed83cb386

archivio: https://archive.is/4IXkL

La strategia della Cina per l'AI, spiegata bene

Money quote: "Ten years later, with the rise of generative AI, China is shifting from “Internet Plus” to “AI Plus.” According to some experts, “Internet Plus” was about “connection” (连接)—linking information to redesign processes and improve efficiency. “AI Plus” builds on that by adding cognitive ability, moving from “information connection and diffusion” to “knowledge application and creation.” Its essence is “empower”(赋能). It promises to reorganize production factors, upgrade value creation models, transform organizational structures, and reshape governance."

https://www.geopolitechs.org/p/china-releases-ai-plus-policy-a-brief

L'impatto dell'AI in Africa: intanto, aiutare i contadini

Money quote: "Artificial intelligence has the potential to uplift agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, where an estimated 33-50 million smallholder farms like Maere’s produce up to 70-80% of the food supply, according to the U.N.'s International Fund for Agricultural Development.

Yet productivity in Africa — with the world’s fast-growing population to feed — is lagging behind despite vast tracts of arable land."

https://apnews.com/article/malawi-ai-farmers-climate-weather-agriculture-31979c49ed66b8222ea6afe7e3247770

Quando lo spirito di osservazione fa tutta la differenza.

Money quote: "A small detail in a photograph led to one of the most extraordinary discoveries of Florent Jeanniard’s career. In this episode of Sotheby’s Stories, Florent — Head of the Design Department in Paris — recalls how a client reached out with a simple question about a painting, unaware of the hidden treasures that surrounded it. What began with a single image gradually revealed a remarkable collection by one of the most celebrated designers of the 20th century. Piece by piece, the story unfolded — transforming what seemed like an ordinary request into a once-in-a-lifetime find.

The collection went on to achieve a record-breaking result at auction, with more than €3.5 million realized. Join us as Florent shares how a tiny clue opened the door to an unforgettable chapter in the history of design."

https://www.sothebys.com/en/videos/the-collection-hidden-in-plain-sight-florent-jeanniard-shares-his-sothebys-story

"Critterz" è il film con cui l'AI manderà in pensione la Disney - il mio articolo per Fumettologica

https://fumettologica.it/2025/09/critterz-film-open-ai-animazione/

Il 30 settembre se ne va TypePad, una delle prime piattaforme di blogging

Money quote: "We have made the difficult decision to discontinue Typepad, effective September 30, 2025.

What Does This Mean for You?

After September 30, 2025, access to Typepad – including account management, blogs, and all associated content – will no longer be available. Your account and all related services will be permanently deactivated.

Please note that after this date, you will no longer be able to access or export any blog content. "

https://everything.typepad.com/blog/2025/08/typepad-is-shutting-down.html

E poi dicono che non succede mai niente di nuovo. Hanno pure ritrovato un Picasso (e già lo vendono all'asta)

Money quote: "Un chef-d’œuvre de Pablo Picasso retrouvé. Il s’agit du portrait de sa compagne, Dora Maar, peint en 1943 et conservé par la famille de son premier propriétaire depuis 1944. Le tableau a été dévoilé ce jeudi 18 septembre à l’hôtel Drouot, à Paris, où il sera mis aux enchères le 24 octobre."

https://www.liberation.fr/culture/arts/un-portrait-retrouve-de-dora-maar-signe-picasso-devoile-a-paris-20250918_ULJMLSXUKRDY3HQ7RVOVW54ZQU/

Da sempre le narrazioni hanno un "problema" con la tecnologia. Nell'epoca in cui viviamo, in cui non solo il progresso è accelerato, ma si è fatto qualitativamente sempre più complicato da addomesticare e metabolizzare, per un autore capire dove mettere i social o l'intelligenza artificiale in una narrazione può essere molto complicato.

Per questo molti autori sembrano preferire ed essere legati alle tecnologie analogiche: sono facili da capire e integrare. Ma c'è anche chi va avanti in questa esplorazione.

Money quote: "This juxtaposition—tech-savvy teen, antiquated technology—may seem unusual, but it’s actually become quite common in fiction. In the 2020s, Mark Athitakis writes in an Atlantic article this week, “vintage media have emerged as tactile objects that symbolize integrity, solve the crime, and radiate realness.” Airey’s novel is just one of a number of stories that seek some kind of lost meaning in the reels, discs, and cartridges that were ubiquitous before the turn of the 21st century. Athitakis points to the popularity of Stranger Things as a catalyst for this trope, but I imagine it also reflects a more personal longing. Lyca’s quest isn’t only about investigating her familial roots. It’s the story of a person who’s never lived without the internet in their pocket envisioning a lost past—and learning what life was like when their parents were young."


https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2025/01/books-briefing-contemporary-fiction-analog-tech-confessions-catherine-airey/681528/

archivio: https://archive.is/ZoU4l

Letture per la domenica

Nel 1813, in piena Foresta Nera, l'inventore G.F. Roskopf creò un orologio da tasca super economico, con pochissimi pezzi (57 anziché 160 circa). Un miracolo di semplificazione, osteggiato dalla concorrenza. Lui voleva abbattere il prezzo per portare il dono del tempo al popolo, e infatti lo chiamò “Prolétaire”. Oggi è praticamente dimenticato, ma si tratta di un caso clamoroso nella storia dell'orologeria.

Money quote: "It was an immediate success, but Swiss watchmaking competitors took it badly. They all refused to work with him, and accused him of ‘destroying’ their artisanal craft. Roskopf was forced to call on workers from the French Jura and from the canton of Bern. Presented at the Universal Exhibition in Paris, the “Prolétaire” caught the attention of Louis Breguet, who praised it highly. The international markets then began to open up. While Switzerland totally rejected the watch, France, Belgium, the Indies, Brazil and Egypt, among others, were all quick to embrace it. From 1868 onwards, Roskopf had to expand and invest to meet the demand. As he hadn’t registered any patents, his work was also quickly copied, with varying degrees of success. Poorly-made ‘fake’ Roskopfs damaged his reputation. Eventually, he registered a patent in the United States and handed over the company to his friend Charles Léon Schmidt and the Will brothers."

https://www.europastar.com/the-watch-files/archives-heritage/1004089869-roskopf-the-forgotten-proletarian-watch.html

Un po' di tempo fa sono (ri)caduto nella tana del bianconiglio-MiniCisc. Cioè, alla faccia della comodità dello streaming, ascolto la musica principalmente su questo supporto. Mai usato sistematicamente i dischi in vinile, piuttosto ascoltavo i cd. Comunque, sono di nuovo innamorato dei MiniDisc anche perché sono un ritorno alla seconda metà degli anni Novanta, quando li usavo per lavoro in radio. Poi, chiaramente: chissenefrega, quel che conta è la musica, non il suo contenitore. Però, insomma, a ciascuno la sua ossessione, no?

Money quote: "As a consumer audio format, MiniDisc actually became a massive phenomenon, at least back in Sony’s homeland of Japan. The peculiar economics of the Japanese music market, especially back in the 1990s, made CDs about twice as expensive there as they were in the United States. Enter the music-rental shop, where customers could check out a dozen albums for the cost of buying a single one of them, then go home and copy them all to their MiniDiscs. Veritably printing money, Sony and other MiniDisc hardware manufacturers came to the defense of music-rental chains when the displeased Japanese record industry took them to court. By the time the issue was settled, MiniDisc had already entrenched itself in the Japanese market to the point that its devices surpassed CD players in sales."

https://www.openculture.com/2021/06/the-story-of-the-minidisc.html

Divertente: vecchie tecnologie che oggi si vendono per un botto di soldi (così rimpiangete un po' di cose che avete buttato via nel corso degli anni).

Money quote: "Nowadays, vintage and original models that haven't been used or come with original features are highly prized. But sometimes, even used ones can command head-scratching prices. Take this clearly dinged-up 5th generation iPod that's going for five grand on eBay, for example. Who's buying this stuff?!"

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/11-vintage-electronics-that-now-sell-for-a-fortune/ss-AA1wCjp5

Mamma mia quanto mi piaceva Jimbo
(occhio che questo è un articolo del 2013)

Money quote: "A blue-collar kid from Belleville, Ill., Connors, who is now 60, joined the men’s tour as the sport was shaking its country-club gentility. He strutted combatively; he pointed fingers. His displays often crossed the bounds of good taste — he knew better than anyone how to exploit the phallic possibilities of a racket — but that was decades ago. Since then, his demons have quieted; what endures is his incomparable tennis intelligence. Last month, Connors, who was mentored on the court by both his mother and grandmother, was hired to pass some of that aptitude to Maria Sharapova, currently the No. 3 women’s player in the world, who seemed to have confronted an impenetrable barrier in the form of her nemesis, Serena Williams. (Williams has won 14 of their 16 matches.)
Well, it didn’t quite work out that way"

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/25/magazine/jimmy-connors-ladies-man.html

archivio: https://archive.is/pBXy3

La mia generazione, la Generazione X (1964-1984) quando fa attività lavorative di tipo creativo (incluso il giornalista freelance, ma ovviamente non solo) paga pegno perché è nel mezzo tra due mondi, schiacciata da una serie di trasformazioni epocali. Tanta roba davvero, forse troppa.

Money quote: "Pam Morris, 54, a freelance prop stylist, noticed another unsettling trend a few years ago, when a U.S. client asked her to art-direct a crew in Asia remotely for a shoot. “They’re just outsourcing,” she said. “It must be cheaper.”

Ms. Morris added that, in her group chats with colleagues, the main topic lately has been the effect of A.I. and computer generated imagery on ad campaigns. “If an art director can say, ‘Give me an image of X, Y, Z,’ what does that mean for our jobs, if they don’t need to have actual photo shoots anymore?” she said.

Similar shifts have taken place in music, television and film. Software like Pro Tools has reduced the need for audio engineers and dedicated recording studios; A.I., some fear, may soon take the place of actual musicians. Streaming platforms typically order fewer episodes per season than the networks did in the heyday of “Friends” and “ER.” Big studios have slashed budgets, making life for production crews more financially precarious.

Typically, workers in their 40s and 50s are entering their peak earning years. But for many Gen-X creatives, compensation has remained flat or decreased, factoring in the rising cost of living. The usual rate for freelance journalists is 50 cents to $1 per word — the same as it was 25 years ago.

The precariousness has affected even those who have risen to corporate posts in the media industry. For nearly 20 years, Liza Demby managed writers in the marketing department at Nickelodeon, the children’s cable network. She started there in 2005, the year YouTube went live."

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/28/style/gen-x-creative-work.html

archivio: https://archive.is/WeoPj