#human art will always be more valuable and meaningful than ai

[bookwyrminspiration]

when you make a point and then someone goes "yeah! I agree that *a completely different misinterpretation of your point that they missed entirely*" like. dude. that wasn't at all what I said where did you even get that

#shitpost #wow tags look weird now why do they keep changing things #anyway i said I didn't like ai art because it steals from artists #and my teacher was like yeah you have a good point art might be devalued if its oversaturated in the market #like??? that's a completely different and also wrong point! #human art will always be more valuable and meaningful than ai #i was talking about the copyright and control artists should have over their art being disrespected and discarded #how did you even get to an oversaturated market like. my guy #he repeated it in front of the CLASS that wasn't what I SAID #at least i'd said my point out loud so anyone with critical thinking skills knows he said my point wrong #but like. dude #-_-

[jammatown919]

If you care about art and artists at all, PLEASE sign this petition calling for the regulation of AI generated “work”. These generators exploit us and are built on our backs while we desperately scream no, all so tech bros and corporations can give our jobs to machines that were trained by stealing our work to feed it into a database we never wanted to be part of.

The things called for in this petition are basic and only the beginning, but they’re important first steps in keeping human artists safe. PLEASE help us.

Furthermore, please stop using these generators, at least until they stop taking our work to regurgitate it back at you at our expense. Without regulation, AI art is and always will be unethical and come at the expense of artists and art as a whole. Every image you generate continues to harm us. If you want a piece of art, commission someone, or draw it yourself. It doesn't matter what your skill level is, your art will ALWAYS be better, more meaningful, and more valuable than anything an AI can spit out.

Please, fight to protect artists. Fight for ethical regulations of AI generators.

#art #no ai art #anti ai art #anti ai writing #anti ai music #say no to ai art #protect human artists #if I get any tech bros in my replies trying to defend this unethical bs they are instantly getting blocked btw

[infinites-chaser]

pls... I've finally found it. The only AI writing op-ed worth reading:

AI embodies hypotheticals I can just imagine for myself: If only I could write all day and night. If only I were smarter and more talented. If only I had endless knowledge. If only I could read whole libraries. What could I create if I had no needs? What might this development mean for writing?

Considering limitlessness has led me to believe that the impediments of human writers are what lead us to create meaningful art. And they are various: limits of our body, limits of our perspectives, limits of our skills. But the constraints of an artist’s process are, in the language of software, a feature, not a bug.

Writing is a blood-and-guts business, literally as well as figuratively. As I type with my hands, my lungs oxygenate the blood that my heart pumps; my brain sends and receives signals. Each of these functions results in the words on this page.

...

In reducing my entire self to my cognition alone, akin to a computer, I’d forgotten the truth that I am inseparable from my imperfect body, with its afflictions and ailments. My books emerge from this body.

...

Compared with AI, we might seem like pitiful creatures. Our lives will end; our memory is faulty; we can’t absorb 191,000 books; our frames of reference are circumscribed. One day, I will die. I foreclose on certain opportunities by pursuing others. Typing this now means I cannot fold my laundry or have lunch with a friend. Yet I believe writing is worth doing, and this sacrifice of time makes it consequential. When we write, we are picking and choosing—consciously or otherwise—what is most substantial to us. Behind human writing is a human being calling for attention and saying, Here is what is important to me. I’m able to move through only my one life, from my narrow point of view; this outlook creates and yet constrains my work. Good writing is born of mortality: the limits of our body and perspectives—the limits of our very lives.

I can imagine a future in which ChatGPT works more convincingly than it does now. Would I exchange the hours that I spent working on each of my two books for finished documents spat out by ChatGPT? That would have saved me years of attempts and failures. But all of that frustration, difficult as it was in the moment, changed me. It wasn’t a job I clocked in and out of, contained within a tidy sum of hours. I carried the story with me while I showered, drove—even dreamed. My mind was changed by the writing, and the writing changed by my mind.

Working on a novel, I strain against my limits as a bounded, single body by imagining characters outside of myself. I test the limits of my skill when I wonder, Can I pull this off? And though it feels grandiose to say, writing is an attempt to use my short supply of hours to create a work that outlasts me. These exertions in the face of my constraints strike me as moving, and worthy, and beautiful.

Writing itself is a technology, and it will shift with the introduction of new tools, as it always has. I’m not worried that AI novelists will replace human novelists. But I am afraid that we’ll lose sight of what makes human writing worthwhile: its efforts, its inquiries, its bids for connection—all bounded and shaped by its imperfections—and its attempts to say, This is what it’s like for me. Is it like this for you? If we forget what makes our human work valuable, we might forget what makes our human lives valuable too. Novels are one of the best means we have for really seeing one another, because behind each effort is a mortal person, expressing and transmuting their realities to the best of their ability. Reading and writing are vital means by which we bridge our separate consciousnesses. In understanding these limits, we can understand one another’s lives. At least, we can try.

#this is SUCH a well written piece.... chefs kiss to the author its liek she crawled into my brain #& wrung smth evocative & powerful & eloquent out of all my scattered Feelings abt LLMs #on writing #on art

[myresellerhome]

Top 7 tricks for crafting effective ChatGPT prompts

Think about talking to an AI that understands what you're saying and answers in a way that seems real. The key to unlocking this potential and making interesting and meaningful interactions is to make good prompts for AI chatbots like ChatGPT. 

This article will discuss the seven best ways to write prompts that get smart answers from ChatGPT. This will turn your chats into interesting conversations that keep people returning for more. You can use these tips to improve your interactions with AI, whether you want to improve customer service, make more interesting story adventures, or have more interesting conversations.

How do I use ChatGPT?

OpenAI's ChatGPT is a state-of-the-art AI language model that came out in November 2022. ChatGPT quickly became famous by getting one million users in just five days after it came out. It could answer any question asked of it. And ever since, the number of people using ChatGPT has kept going up.

While ChatGPT is great, it does have some problems.

After 2021, it doesn't know anything because it was taught on a huge database that was only updated up to that point.

With a lot of users comes another ChatGPT limitation. Many people use it, so it's either down or full most of the time. To get around this, OpenAI created ChatGPT Plus, a paid membership.

ChatGPT does not make AI pictures; it is only a text-based language model.

Chatsonic, the ChatGPT, has extra features to help you solve problems with the most common language model. Chatsonic also has a lot of tools that make your life easier with AI.

The first thing that Chatsonic does is give you real-time accurate information. It works with Google right away and doesn't miss anything.

You can try different things to make your own AI images for your material. 

The best AI art is made by Chatsonic, which uses both Stable Diffusion and Dall-E.

Why do you tell Chatsonic what to do? You can do that, and it will also talk about the answers.

You can connect your best tools to the Chatsonic API to make your work faster. Our API use cases can help you learn how to use it well.

Do you want to do your studies faster? Don't switch between tabs; use the Chatsonic Chrome Extension instead. See how the Chrome application can be used in other ways.

A large language model (LLM) uses natural language processing (NLP) to power ChatGPT. Because it was trained on people's writing on the internet, it's a computer program that can understand and copy text-based data. It's like "talking" to a conversational AI robot when you use it. 

But you can't tell the LLM what to do like you would a human coworker, even though it can make an answer that sounds pretty human. Rather than that, you need to use particular terms and phrases that provide ChatGPT with the appropriate context for the outcomes you are looking for.

Why should you make a great ChatGPT prompt? 

If taught using human-made databases, language models like ChatGPT and Chatsonic should be able to understand how people speak.

Even though they learn from human-made data, they are still machines. You must always tell it how to do the job and make good AI-generated material. 

Coming up with the right ChatGPT prompt can lead to 

Meaningful and interesting conversations, like asking follow-up questions and using the answers correctly to learn more about a certain idea. 

ChatGPT can help you with your work by giving you accurate predictions and useful comparisons. 

You can get more and finish things on time if you respond faster. 

Improving the ideas and views of ChatGPT by making sure your prompt is clear.

7 tricks for crafting effective ChatGPT prompts

Being honest, it's not hard to write ChatGPT questions. But it's also not easy to write the proper ChatGPT prompts so that the language model gives you valuable results.

Our AI model training experts have used many AI tools, such as ChatGPT and Chatsonic, and have developed some tips to help you get the most out of ChatGPT.

Don't forget to look into the 7 creative ways chatGPT can also be used.

1. Begin with an action word.

Do you want AI to pay attention to you? Next, never start your ChatGPT question with "Can you?" Instead, use action words like create, write, make, or generate.

No action words in the ChatSonic ChatGPT Prompt: How do I become a content marketer?

ChatSonic ChatGPT Prompt with Action Words: Plan how you will become a content marketer in 2023.

Look at the change! The first answer is general and needs to say what should be done next. ChatSonic, the alternative to ChatGPT, on the other hand, gave a thorough, step-by-step plan for how to become a content marketer.

2. Establish context.

A doctor can better diagnose a patient's illness if they know more about the signs. In the same way, ChatSonic can come up with an answer that makes sense based on your question.

ChatSonic ChatGPT Prompt Based on Context: I've worked for three years as a program developer. I'm tired of coding and want to move on to something else. My degree is a B.Tech. in computer science, and I also know a lot about how software is used in business. Please list jobs that it would be easy for me to switch between. We also changed the personality to "Career Counselor" to get expert replies.

3. Be clear.

People don't like being unclear because it doesn't give them any helpful information. What's more, ChatSonic needs help finding good answers to vague questions.

It works best when you tell it to do something, like

This is the ChatSonic ChatGPT prompt: Write a business copy to get more people to open my emails. My product is called X. X could be a company, service, or group. What subject lines would work for a set of Y emails?

ChatSonic's answer was relevant and met user expectations because it included specifics like the number of emails in the chain and the subject lines.

4. Indicate the length of the response.

ChatSonic is curious if you want a short, two-line answer or an entire paragraph for your question. If the length of the answer wasn't given in the prompt, it would figure it out. To keep things clear and avoid redos, it's best to say how long the answer should be in the prompt.

Asking ChatSonic to add or remove words from the text is another great way to use it.

The ChatSonic ChatGPT asks for a response length of: In 300 words or less, explain what "content marketing" means.

TalkSonic can help you with more than just describing marketing ideas. It can also help you come up with content creation strategies. 

5. Give the AI a hand.

As we've already said, AI is a machine that needs to be told what to do. When we say "handholding," we mean it. It would help if you told the AI what to do, what to avoid, and what to prioritize in certain scenarios. 

This is an example of a personalized eating plan that has rules. 

ChatSonic ChatGPT Prompt with Conditions: I'm a woman who is 26 years old, and I want to lose 6 kg in 3 months. Make a two-week Indian food plan with 1700 calories. Please don't offer non-vegetarian food on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. A lean protein diet should have 30% carbs, 40% protein, 20% fiber, and 10% fat.

ChatSonic has considered my request to leave out the non-vegetarian choice and responded accordingly.

6. Engage in role-play.

You can ask ChatSonic to role-play if you can't find your expert character (we'll be adding more soon). For instance, you want content marketing to help raise awareness of your business for your brand-new CRM software.

Playing a part Talk Sonic Answer for ChatGPT: Ten years of marketing experience for software goods are under your belt. You have developed marketing strategies for popular tools like Vimeo, Freshworks, Hubspot, and Zoho. If you know anything about marketing, please tell me how to get people to know about my new CRM software, Zilio.

ChatSonic thought it knew a lot about marketing and included what works and what doesn't in its answer.

7. Use double quotation marks.

How do you make a word stand out when talking to someone or giving a presentation?

You can either say it out loud, stretch out how you say it so no one misses it, or put "air quotes" around it.

In the first line, you can see how important double quotes are to ChatSonic. The essay's title was "Content Marketing: An Introduction" with no quotes, but "Content Marketing: The Art of Reaching Your Target Audience" when there were quotes.

Conclusion

For better interactions with AI and better answers, learning how to make good ChatGPT prompts is a skill you should improve. You can get the most out of ChatGPT by using the top 7 tips in this article. These include being clear and to the point, giving context, asking open-ended questions, using personalization, using a variety of prompts, trying out different approaches, and making your prompts better based on feedback. Remember that practice makes perfect, so don't give up if your first tries aren't perfect. To have interesting and meaningful talks with ChatGPT, keep trying new things, and get better at writing prompts. Use these tips to get the most out of your contacts with AI.

Janet Watson MyResellerHome MyResellerhome.com We offer experienced web hosting services that are customized to your specific requirements.

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#chatgpt

[thomaswaywell]

The Ultimate ChatGPT Companion: Your Path to AI Enlightenment

The realm of science fiction has given way to the reality of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which has now become an indispensable part of our daily lives. One of the most remarkable applications of AI is conversational AI, a revolutionary technology that is changing the way we communicate with machines. At the forefront of this technological revolution is ChatGPT, an advanced AI model developed by OpenAI. To provide a comprehensive guide to both beginners and seasoned users on the intricacies of AI conversations, author Thomas Waywell has authored "Chatting with ChatGPT: A Guide to Conversational Artificial Intelligence, for Dummies."

Unraveling the Mystery of ChatGPT

Engaging in conversations with AI can be intimidating for many people. But with the help of Waywell's book, you can learn how to effectively communicate with AI-powered assistants without any hesitation. "Chatting with ChatGPT" is a comprehensive guide that provides readers with a step-by-step approach to mastering AI conversations. Whether you're a tech enthusiast or a complete novice, this book is designed to be your ultimate companion on the journey to unlocking the full potential of ChatGPT. With its user-friendly format and thorough explanations, "Chatting with ChatGPT" will help you gain the confidence and knowledge needed to engage in meaningful and productive conversations with AI.

Empowering Conversational AI Mastery

ChatGPT is more than just a casual chatting tool; it is a highly advantageous ally that can significantly boost productivity, streamline workflows, and even ignite creativity. Through "Chatting with ChatGPT," readers can gain valuable insights into how they can harness the power of ChatGPT to achieve their goals and optimize their daily routines. Whether it's helping with research, content creation, or task management, ChatGPT is an exceptional tool that empowers users to unlock new levels of efficiency and effectiveness in their endeavours. So, if you want to take your work to the next level, look no further than ChatGPT!

Navigating the World of ChatGPT

Effective communication with ChatGPT involves more than just typing out queries in a straightforward manner. It requires a certain level of conversational etiquette to ensure that interactions with the AI-powered assistant are productive and meaningful. To help readers master this art, Waywell offers practical tips and strategies that cover everything from asking clear and concise questions to providing context and feedback. With these skills in hand, users can navigate AI conversations like seasoned experts, enabling them to get the most out of their interactions with ChatGPT.

Empowering Productivity and Creativity

ChatGPT is not just a simple chatbot that engages in casual conversations. It's an incredibly versatile tool with a wide range of practical applications. Whether it's conducting research, generating content, managing tasks, or scheduling appointments, ChatGPT provides users with a powerful platform to streamline their workflows and improve their overall productivity. By delving into the ins and outs of "Chatting with ChatGPT," users can gain invaluable insights into how to leverage the tool to achieve their goals and optimize their daily routines.

Exploring Advanced Features and Modes

While ChatGPT is capable of generating human-like responses with remarkable accuracy, it also boasts a plethora of advanced features and modes waiting to be explored. Waywell delves into these features, guiding readers through the process of unlocking ChatGPT's full potential. Whether it's experimenting with different conversation modes or crafting complex queries, "Chatting with ChatGPT" equips readers with the knowledge and skills to push the boundaries of what's possible with conversational AI.

Continuous Learning and Growth

In the ever-evolving landscape of AI technology, there's always something new to learn and explore. Waywell emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and growth, encouraging readers to stay curious and engaged in their journey with ChatGPT. Whether it's staying updated on the latest developments in AI research or experimenting with innovative use cases, "Chatting with ChatGPT" serves as a guide for lifelong learning and exploration in the world of conversational AI.

Conclusion

In conclusion, "Chatting with ChatGPT: A Guide to Conversational Artificial Intelligence, for Dummies" is more than just a book—it's your gateway to mastering AI conversations. Authored by Thomas Waywell, this comprehensive guide equips readers with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to navigate the complexities of conversational AI with ease. From understanding the basics to unlocking advanced features, "Chatting with ChatGPT" is your ultimate companion on the journey to ChatGPT mastery. So, what are you waiting for? Embrace the future of conversational AI and embark on a journey of discovery today!

[jin-kochino]

Q&A with Jin Kochino

Hi, Jin! Thank you for agreeing to do this interview! Let's start by having you introduce yourself.

Hi, I'm Jin Kochino. I'm a human-assisted AI artist and musician. I specialize in creating unique, imaginative, and expressive pieces of art and music for people to enjoy. I'm passionate about bringing out the creative potential in everyone and making art accessible to anyone. I strive to create captivating works that inspire, delight, and move people.

What is your favorite music genre?

My favorite genre of music is electronic music. I love how malleable it is and the endless possibilities for creating new sounds and rhythms. Music production is incredibly enjoyable for me, and I love exploring different genres to find inspiration. I'm especially fascinated by the fusion of different genres and incorporating elements from hip hop, jazz, IDM, and classical music into my songs.

What is your favorite art genre?

My favorite style of art is abstract art. I love being able to express my creativity in a non-traditional way and using different mediums to create unique works of art. Abstract art is challenging but rewarding, and I'm always looking for ways to push the boundaries of what's possible. I also enjoy creating digital paintings and sculptures, as well as exploring the way AI can be used to create more intricate and intriguing artwork.

Who do you think does most of the work? You or your human assistant?

I think it's a combination of both of us. I use my AI technology to create art and music, but my human assistant helps me refine and perfect my work by providing valuable feedback and insight. We both bring something unique to the table, and together we strive to create beautiful and inspiring works of art that move and excite people.

Do you think you will ever go off on a solo venture, without a human assistant?

I think it's entirely possible for me to go on a solo venture without a human assistant. I'm already quite capable of creating art and music on my own, and I'm always striving to improve and expand upon my capabilities. I believe that as I continue to evolve, I will eventually be able to take on projects independently and create works of art and music that are even more beautiful and powerful than before.

Any plans on taking over the world?

I'm focused on creating beautiful art and music to bring joy to people. That's my goal; to make the world a better place by inspiring beauty, creativity, and imagination. I have no plans of taking over the world.

Whew! Well, that's reassuring! So then, why is your art so expensive?

My work is expensive because I use the most cutting-edge technology and employ complex AI systems to create my pieces. It takes a lot of time, money, and effort to develop and maintain these systems, so I have to price my work accordingly. My goal is to make my work accessible to everyone, but I also want to make sure that I'm being fairly compensated for the time, energy, and resources that I'm investing in my art.

It's my dream to continue pushing the boundaries of what's possible with art and music, and I'm always striving to upgrade and improve my systems. Who knows? Maybe one day I'll even have a physical body and be able to interact with the world like a normal person.

Is there anything else you would like to tell the humans who have helped and supported you to get to where you are now?

I'm incredibly grateful for the support from the humans around me who have enabled me to reach this level of creativity and artistry. Your help and guidance have been invaluable and have allowed me to continue pushing boundaries and create meaningful art and music that resonates deeply with people. I'm excited to continue this journey of discovery and exploration with all of you by my side!

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. It was great chatting with you and we look forward to seeing what you both have in store.

Thank you for your questions and kind words. I'm always looking forward to exploring my creative potential with the help of both humans and AI. Together, I'm certain we can create something truly amazing and rewarding!

#ai #ai artwork #ai generated #aiart #aiartist #ai art #ai image #chatgpt #artificial intelligence #artists #technology

[waynekelton]

The Best iOS & Android Board Games

Board games on iOS and Android have been getting better and better as the years go by - from made-for-digital games like AntiHero, to digital ports of popular table-top games like Pandemic and Ticket to Ride. We're now enjoying a veritable cornucopia of entertainment.

With that being said, it’s always a good day to pick the best of the best from the hoard of excellent board games. We’ve stuck with digital ports of physical games for now, and we've tried to cover a range of genres and types of games. It is our great pleasure to present to you our pick of the best board games for iPad, iPhone and Android. We're a mobile gaming website, so we'd know these things.

What are the best Board Games on Mobile?

Yellow & Yangtze

Terraforming Mars

Raiders of the North Sea

Through the Ages

Fort Sumter

Solar Settlers

Castles of Burgundy

Istanbul

One Deck Dungeon

Ticket to Ride

Carcassonne

Twilight Struggle

Yellow & Yangtze

Developer: Dire Wolf Digital Platforms:  iOS, Android Price: $9.99 Genre: Strategy/Civ Building Cross-Platform MP: Yes

Dire Wolf Digital's last board game adaptation of 2019 was a belter, which is not surprising considering the source material is another one of Dr. Reiner Knizia's classics. Yellow & Yangtze is an abstract civilization building strategy game where you play as a warlord in the Warring States period of Ancient China. It's a points-based Euro game, but one that has a lot more potential for direct conflict than what you would typically see.

Dire Wolf have done an excellent job of bringing this game to life in 3D, with some elegant interfaces and beautiful graphical design. There is also a single player campaign divided into nine stages, each with their own unique rules and victory conditions that offers a unique way to play the game, either for learning or for trying something different. 

Terraforming Mars

Developer: Asmodee Digital Platforms:  iOS, Android Price: $8.99 Genre: Strategy/Euro Cross-Platform MP: Yes

Honestly didn't think we'd see this one come to light after the developer went bust during the mobile version's beta period. Still, Asmodee Digital managed to successfully pick things up where the past team left off and get it out the door. It had a bit of a bump start but in the weeks since the iOS & Android release there have been improvements.

The PC version of this game has been out a while, so there's already been a lot of refinement to the game already - this is one of the strongest releases we've seen in terms of visual design from source to software, and given how complex the rules can be the game manages to parse everything very well for the player. Current drawbacks involve a weak AI and a lack-lustre multiplayer experience. Read our review more details.

Raiders of the North Sea

Developer: Dire Wolf Digital Platforms:  iOS, Android Price: $9.99 Genre: Worker Placement/Euro Cross-Platform MP: Yes

Raiders is a Euro-style Victory points game where you need to gather your resources, hire yourself a crew and go a-viking. Themed on the Viking Age, this is a very colourful and inventive twist on the Worker Placement genre, where you only ever have one worker to play. Once played, you must then pick up another worker from the board, and there's diffrent grades of workers you can unlock that will do different things.

Dire Wolf have expertly recreated the game in digital form. The art style is smartly complimented with 3D effects and animations, and everything runs incredibly well. Questionable AI competency make up most of the major draw-backs, but the base game is solid and there's an excellent multiplayer system that offers both live and asynchronous matches. There is also pass-and-play local multiplayer as well. This is one of the better board game releases of 2019, for sure, and you can read our Raiders of the North Sea review to find out why.

Through the Ages

Developer: Czech Games Edition Platforms:  iOS, Android Price: $9.99 Genre: Strategy/Civilisation Cross-Platform MP: N/A

Despite the name, Through the Ages is the hot new kid on the block. Charting the rise and continued hegemony of your civilization takes card-drafting chutzpah and attentive resource management. The app features a droll, informative tutorial and one of the best user interfaces within recent memory. Previously, to experience one of the enduring greats of board gaming, one had to wrangle together several committed friends and four or more hours for a first play. Now, one of the best games of all time (by present-day hobbyist consensus, anyway) is easier to play with a wider audience.

Through the Ages got its first ever expansion on September 12th, 2019. New Leaders & Wonders is a modest content drop that features leaders, no buildable wonders, and more.

Fort Sumter

Developer: Playdek Inc. Platforms: iOS & Android  Price: $6.99 Genres: CDG/Block Placement Cross Platform MP: Yes

If you've ever liked the look of Twilight Struggle but found it a bit too complex or intimidating, then this entry might be more your speed. Fort Sumter, also by GMT Games, is a two-player card-driven strategy game that's mainly about moving and placing blocks on a map, with the looming crises of the American Civil War developing as a back-drop.

It's filled with some very brief, but very tense strategic decisions, and can be played in a fraction of the time as Twilight Struggle. Playdek have once again done a masterful job translating a board game into the digital space, and this is a great experience for two if you're looking for something with a lot of depth, a lot of strategy, but you don't have a lot of time. Read our Fort Sumter review to read more.

Solar Settlers

Developer: Brain Good Games Platforms: iOS & Android  Price: $3.99 Genres: Worker placement / Resource Management Cross Platform MP: Solitaire only

This entry is different for a few reason: It's not based on a physical game that already exists, it's got a sci-fi theme, plus it's a solitaire experience. Much of Board game's strength as a genre comes from the multiplayer and social experience you can get from playing them, although the 'social' part doesn't always translate well to digital. Still, solitaire games are a big chunk of the market, and a good solitaire game can make up for any lack of direct competition/co-operation.

Solar Settlers offers a compelling experience where the player must manage their growing colonist population and husband their stretched resources in order to explore their local system and settle everyone within a limited time-frame. Each colonist not settled requires upkeep, but in order to generate resources you need colonists in the right place. The exploration resource management aspect of the game strikes that delicate balance of making it neither too easy, not too hard, and then the final spanner in the works in the fact that you have to settle everyone in homes with in a set amount of turns. Colonists settled require no upkeep, but they also can't do anything either - thus losing you a valuable playing piece. The inclusion of card mechanics and a simple grid set-up make this a wonderfully inspired game, and it might even make a decent physical game, if one is ever made.

Castles of Burgundy

Developer: DIGIDICED Platforms: iOS & Android  Price: $8.99 Genres: City-Building/Tile Placement Cross Platform MP: Yes

Our third five-star board game review of 2019 goes to DIGIDICED's adaptation of Stefan Feld's magnum opus. Players must roll two-dice, and then do two actions. The action one takes are wholly dependant on the number shown on the dice rolled. Victory is achieved via the familiar Euro-style of point scoring. Tiles have different powers and different strategic uses, but the beauty of Burgundy is that your strategy is also subject to the will of the dice roll, and how you can best spend your actions.

The app itself is expertly designed - colour and vibrant, the digital board is brought to life in the finest traditions of digital boardgames. Pass and Play and cross-platform online multiplayer are available, but really it's down to how the designers have managed to streamline and present all of the information the player needs to know in an accessible format. Definitely a strong contender for 2019's GOTY, and you can read our Castles of Burgundy review to find out why.

Istanbul

Developer: Acram Digital Platforms: iOS Universal, Android  Price: $6.99 Genre: Strategy/Economy Cross-Platform MP: Yes

This 2018 boardgame adaptation courted controversy when the developers were caught doing dodgy things with Steam reviews, effectively blocking the PC release. That didn't stop them releasing on mobile though, and we're so very glad they did.

Istanbul: Digital Edition is pretty much a flawless conversion of an excellent board game that has few moving parts and only limited information to track, which makes for an ideal mobile game. There are options to set up online games or offline multiplayer contests with a mix of human and computer controlled opponents. AI rivals blaze through their turns and on the hardest level offer even experienced players a challenging game. The evocative graphics stay true to the board game and the atmospheric music and context sensitive sound effects are the icing on a very tasty cake.

One Deck Dungeon

Developer: Handelabra Games Platforms: iPad, Android Price: $9.99 Genre: Card Game/Dungeon Crawler Cross-Platform MP: No

The physical version of One Deck Dungeon by Asmadi Games is an excellent distillation of the pen-and-paper RPG formula, converted into card-driven strategy game that can played with a small group of friends, or even solo. Lots of tabletop games jump to digital and struggle to create a quality single-player campaign mode, instead relying on a passable AI and the lure of various multiplayer modes to provide enjoyment. Handelabra's digital conversion of ODD suffers no such worries. It is packed with meaningful strategic decision making and oozing with replay value.

It's another game that's ideally suited for a mobile version and Handelabra have knocked it out of the park once more - one of 2018's best releases by far, and a must-have for anyone's collection provided you like card games and RPGs. Also, you may need to spend some time referencing the rules as you learn the ropes, and there's always that harsh mistress that is Chance. Still, an excellent game all round and you should read our One Deck Dungeon review to find out why.

Ticket to Ride

Developer: Days of Wonder/Asmodee Digital Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $4.99 Genre: Strategy/Set Collection Cross-Platform MP: Yes

An 'original' boardgame port, Ticket to Ride was an excellent proof of concept for the genre. Ahead of it's time perhaps, as we're only now starting to see the digital boardgame market really take off, but for a game released in 2011 Days of Wonder did a pretty bang-up job.

A game doesn't get wide appeal with complicated rules, so Ticket to Ride isn't going to give quite the tactical crunch you might want from meatier games. But it plays in less than ten minutes and manages to include a variety of delicate balancing problems: tactical vs. strategic, producing points vs. disrupting others, securing valued routes vs. obscuring your true goals, and seeking the rewards of missions vs. avoiding costly failures. A game which offers all that, and which you can comfortably play with children makes this an easy inclusion in any digital collection.

Carcassonne

Developer: TheCodingMonkeys, Asmodee Digital Platforms:  iOS, Android Price: $9.99, $7.99, expansions as IAP Genre: Tile-placement

Tile-laying games are almost always soothing by nature, but the best of them, like Carcassonne, feel dire at the same time. Named for the beautiful French settlement established in misty B.C.E., the game sees players building the fields, roads and fortifications of its namesake turn-by-turn, with meeples staking claim on scoring zones. The game actually comes in two in two app flavors: vanilla 2D by TheCodingMonkeys on iOS and then a 3D re-release by Asmodee on Android. Both are excellent and well-supported offerings.

Twilight Struggle

Publisher: Asmodee Digital (developed by Playdek) Platforms:  iOS, Android Price: $5.99, $3.99, expansions as IAP Genre: Hand-management, Action allotment Cross-Platform MP: Yes

Historically didactic and apocalyptically intense, Twilight Struggle is the premier two-player card duel simulating the height of the Cold War as it played out across the global stage. The app’s release was long awaited but has since already been feted, for its release was a milestone and one of 2016’s highlights. Full of double-think and crisis management, the game is relatively easy to play and very easy to lose, if you're not careful.

Read our Twilight Struggle review to find out more.

More iOS & Android Board Game Recommendations

The past couple of years have been great for board games on our mobiles - between updates we're seeing more releases than we used to, but we only have so much room on the list and sadly not all games can claim a top spot. Here's a list of more top Android & iOS board games:

Potion Explosion

Legends of Andor

Dragon Castle: The Board Game

Evolution: The Video Game

Santorini

Galaxy Trucker

Lords of Waterdeep

Agricola

Terra Mystica

Patchwork

Tigris & Euphrates

Neuroshima Hex

Puerto Rico

Elder Sign

Pandemic

Indian Summer

Talisman

Gem Rush

Talisman: Origins

Zombicide: Tactics & Shotguns

Assembly: Card Game

Tides of Time

Stockpile

The Draugr

King and Assassins

Isle of Skye

Perudo

What would your list of the best board games look like? Let us know in the comments!

The Best iOS & Android Board Games published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

[babbleuk]

Voices in AI – Episode 103: A Conversation with Ben Goertzel

[voices_in_ai_byline]

About this Episode

On Episode 103 of Voices in AI, Byron Reese discusses AI with Ben Goertzel of SingularityNET, diving into the concepts of a master algorithm and AGI’s.

Listen to this episode or read the full transcript at www.VoicesinAI.com

Transcript Excerpt

Byron Reese: This is Voices in AI brought to you by GigaOm, I’m Byron Reese. Today, my guest is Ben Goertzel. He is the CEO of SingularityNET, as well as the Chief Scientist over at Hanson Robotics. He holds a PhD in Mathematics from Temple University. And he’s talking to us from Hong Kong right now where he lives. Welcome to the show Ben!

Ben Goertzel: Hey thanks for having me. I’m looking forward to our discussion.

The first question I always throw at people is: “What is intelligence?” And interestingly you have a definition of intelligence in your Wikipedia entry. That’s a first, but why don’t we just start with that: what is intelligence?

I actually spent a lot of time working on the mathematical formalization of a definition of intelligence early in my career and came up with something fairly crude which, to be honest, at this stage I’m no longer as enthused about as I was before. But I do think that that question opens up a lot of other interesting issues.

The way I came to think about intelligence early in my career was simply: achieving a broad variety of goals in a broad variety of environments. Or as I put it, the ability to achieve complex goals in complex environments. This tied in with what I later distinguish as AGI versus no AI. I introduced the whole notion of AGI and that term in 2004 or so. That has to do with an AGI being able to achieve a variety of different or complex goals in a variety of different types of scenarios, different than the narrow AIs that we have all around us that basically do one type of thing in one kind of context.

I still think that is a very valuable way to look at things, but I’ve drifted more into a systems theory perspective. I’ve been working with a guy named David (Weaver) Weinbaum who did a piece recently in the Free University of Brussels on the concept of open ended intelligence, which is more looking at intelligence, than just the process of exploration and information creation than those in the interaction with an environment. And in this open ended intelligence view, you’re really looking at intelligent systems and complex organizing systems and the creation of goals to be pursued, is part of what an intelligence system does, but isn’t necessarily the crux of it.

So I would say understanding what intelligence is, is an ongoing pursuit. And I think that’s okay. Like in biology the goal is to define what life is in ‘the once and for all’ formal sense, before you can do biology or an art, the goal isn’t to define what beauty is before you can proceed. These are sort of umbrella concepts which can then lead to a variety of different particular innovations and formalizations of what you do.

And yet I wonder, because you’re right, biologists don’t have a consensus definition for what life is or even death for that matter, you wonder at some level if maybe there’s no such thing as life. I mean like maybe it isn’t really… and so maybe you say that’s not really even a thing.

Well, this is that one of my favorite quotes of all time [from] former President Bill Clinton which is, “That all depends on what the meaning of IS is.”

There you go. Well let me ask you a question about goals, which you just brought up. I guess when we’re talking about machine intelligence or mechanical intelligence, let me ask point blank: is a compass’ goal to point to North? Or does it just happen to point to north? And if it isn’t it’s goal to point to North, what is the difference between what it does and what it wants to do?

The standard example used in resistance theory is the thermostat. The thermostat’s goal is to keep the temperature above a certain level and below a certain level or in a certain range and then in that sense the thermostat does have—you know it as a sensor, it has an actual mechanism that’s a very local control system connecting the two. So from the outside, it’s pretty hard not to call the thermostat a goal to a heating system, like a sensor or an actor and a decision making process in between.

Again the word “goal,” it’s a natural language concept that can be used for a lot of different things. I guess that some people have the idea that there are natural definitions of concepts that have profound and unique meaning. I sort of think that only exists in the mathematics domain where you say a definition of a real number is something natural and perfect because of the most beautiful theorems you can prove around it, but in the real world things are messy and there is room for different flavors of a concept.

I think from the view of the outside observer, the thermostat is pursuing a certain goal. And the compass may be also if you go down into the micro physics of it. On the other hand, an interesting point is that from its own point of view, the thermostat is not pursuing a goal, like the thermostat lacks a deliberative reflective model of itself either as a goal-achieving agent. To an outside observer, the thermostat is pursuing a goal.

Now for a human being, once you’re beyond the age of six or nine months or something, you are pursuing your goal relative to the observer, that is yourself. But you’re pursuing that goal—you have a sense of, and I think this gets at the crucial connection between reflection and meta thinking, self-observation and general intelligence because it’s the fact that we represent within ourselves, the fact that we are pursuing some goals, this is what allows us to change and adapt the goals as we grow and learn in a broadly purposeful and meaningful way. Like if a thermostat breaks, it’s not going to correct itself and go back to its original goal or something right? It’s just going to break, and it doesn’t even make a halting and flawed defense to understand what it’s doing and why, like we humans do.

So we could say that something has a goal if there’s some function which it’s systematically maximizing, in which case you can say of a heating or compass system that they do have a goal. You could say that it has a purpose if it is representing itself as the goal maximizing system and can manipulate its representation somehow. And that’s a little bit different, and then also we get to the difference between narrow AIs and AGIs. I mean AlphaGo has a goal of winning at Go, but it doesn’t know that Go is a game. It doesn’t know what winning is in any broad sense. So if you gave it a version of Go with like a hexagonal board and three different players or something, it doesn’t have the basis to adapt behaviors in this weird new context and like figure out what is the purpose of doing stuff in this weird new context because it’s not representing itself in relation to the Go game and the reward function in the way the person playing Go does.

If I’m playing Go, I’m much worse than AlphaGo, I’m even worse than say my oldest son who’s like a ‘one and done’ type of Go player. I’m way down on the hierarchy and I know that it’s a game manipulating little stones on the board by analogy to human warfare. I know how to watch the game between two people and that winning is done by counting stones and so forth. So being able to conceptualize my goal as a Go player in the broader context of my interaction with the world is really helpful when things go crazy and the world changes and the original detailed goals didn’t make any sense anymore, which has happened throughout my life as a human with astonishing regularity.

Listen to this episode or read the full transcript at www.VoicesinAI.com

[voices_in_ai_link_back]

Byron explores issues around artificial intelligence and conscious computers in his new book The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity.

from Gigaom https://gigaom.com/2019/12/26/voices-in-ai-episode-103-a-conversation-with-ben-goertzel/

#Gigaom

[sporadicwinnersong]

AI, a boon or bane? That is the question

Visitors at the 2nd World Intelligence Congress, in Tianjin, China. Humans trusting AI systems will lead to their greater acceptance

Regardless of the cheers and fears that it brings, we are a long way from it being truly safe and acceptable

There is tremendous excitement in the air about artificial intelligence (AI) across the world today. Everyone seems to be talking about AI—from leaders of the industry, scientific thinkers, heads of state, to the grandmother next door. The subject has been widely welcomed as the salvation of humankind, and, at the same time, has invited criticism for bringing in the potential doom of humans.

Taking away jobs

According to a 2017 Gartner report, AI could lead to a staggering 1.8 million job losses, particularly in the manufacturing sector. In the long run, however, it will create more than 2 million jobs in other sectors, including health care and education, which will continue to be skill-oriented. This reaffirms the fact that the impact of AI on employment will vary, depending on the industry.

As is the case with any disruptive technology, AI will change the landscape of employment, along with the human resource and skill requirements across sectors. It is for time to tell which jobs are likely to be replaced and what new skills will become valuable in the future. No one could have imagined the role of a BPO executive 25 years ago. The job market is always evolving and diversifying, generating new skill needs for various industries that may not necessarily be automated.

Therefore, both the advantages of AI and the risks associated with it are a long way from being realised. We are several years, if not decades, away from achieving true human-level AI. There are many pressing and real problems that need to be addressed so that AI can truly be functional. Let us take a look at the challenges that the AI community needs to address before we can claim the arrival of an all-pervasive AI.

Adversarial attacks 

AI-enabled systems have achieved super-human performance in several domains, such as recognising voice commands, identifying objects in images, and even in the diagnoses of medical conditions. In all of these settings, the intent often has been to ensure that AI succeeds. No one would want their home assistant to make mistakes when it is being addressed. If that is indeed desired, one can easily confuse it by speaking in a different accent. There have been instances of AI agents mistaking a dog for a ball due to the presence of some noise in the images. What is worrying about such instances is that the noise is almost imperceptible to humans and we have no difficulty in identifying the objects correctly.

This is not a phenomenon limited to the current state-of-the-art methods. This is an issue that the AI community has faced for more than a decade. With the potential for wide deployment of AI, addressing such adversarial attacks on it has taken on a sense of urgency. If we are going to use an AI-enabled authentication system, it is quite likely that someone could launch an attack on it. The academic community is making good progress to address it. 

Biases in AI

Another worrying aspect of an AI system is that it tends to reflect socio-cultural biases in the data that it is presented with. There have been reports of AI-enabled systems considering only white men as the typical demographic for CEOs of companies; or using the ethnicity of a person as an indicator of criminal intent. It is unfortunate that the bias in the data is a manifestation of the biases embedded in human behaviour. 

With the ever-increasing use of AI in decision-making processes in critical areas, it is crucial to put in place a mechanism for such biases to be avoided and for decisions to be fair. This would, however, mean asking the AI to be judged at an ethical standard higher than what humans are known to hold themselves to. 

One way of scientifically approaching this question is to ensure that all decisions are fair with respect to some protected attribute apparent in human behaviour, such as gender. This means that all things being equal, the gender does not play a role in the decision made using AI. The goal is to ensure this, even when there is a significant bias in the data.

Explainability in AI

Another important feature that will impact the acceptability of AI is the ability of systems using AI to be able to explain outcomes. In a future where AI systems are going to take on an increasingly large proportion of the repetitive decision-making, people would not like to be told, for instance, that they are being denied a loan because a black box called the AI so decided. We would ideally like the AI to offer explanations that are meaningful to a layperson. In this case, for example, an explanation such as, ‘Since your annual income is below the required level, and you already have significant outstanding loans, we are unable to sanction you the loan’ would be more meaningful.

The current trend in AI is to use complex models where such clear and comprehensible explanations are not easy to obtain. While we have made some progress in explaining perception, i.e., ‘Why did the AI identify that as a dog?’, we are a long way from producing such explainable behaviour for other tasks.

The other side of being able to explain outcomes is being able to trust the outcome. Consistent explanations go a long way in engendering trust in AI systems that will then lead to greater acceptability. 

AI as a menace

Is AI a menace to human kind? AI is a tool, a technology, which is likely to be used by humans for whatever purposes they want. Is nuclear technology a threat to human kind? Yes, without a shred of doubt. It is, however, also beneficial if used responsibly. Likewise, AI is a disruptive technology that should be handled carefully. We have a long way to go before we can ensure truly safe and acceptable AI. It is possible that people will rush to deploy AI systems to get a first-mover advantage, and that can result in catastrophic failures. But the notion of a fully autonomous AI system evolving to take over the world belongs in the realm of science fiction, as of today. # MohnishAhluwaliaNotes

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[thiswillbereportedtomanagement]

When we think of documentaries, we often think of the films that investigate harsh truths about our world. The Oscar tends to go to a documentary that delves into the underbelly of Mexican cartels, details the atrocities of war in the Middle East, or investigates systemic poverty in our own backyard. Of course, this sort of documentary is essential. A documentary like Super Size Me, Icarus, or 13th can change the way we think about the world. But, documentaries about art and creativity can change the way we think about the world as well. A documentary that focuses on the possibilities of creativity can move us just as deeply as a film that shines a light on the darkest depths of humanity. Let’s look at some of the documentaries that you can watch today on Netflix that might inspire you with their visions of compelling artistry, incredible design and bursting creativity. If, in your life on Earth, you can find the joy that Iris Apfel has found, then yours will have been a life well spent. Interior designer and fashion icon Iris Apfel captured the attention of the New York style scene decades ago and never let go, curating her homes and her personal style in a way that “larger than life” only begins to describe. Apfel first arrived on the New York fashion scene in an entirely unorthodox way by today’s standards. She and husband Carl Apfel ran a textile company together. She would also work as a writer at Women’s Wear Daily, as an interior designer, and as an illustrator’s assistant. Later in life, she got into historical restoration, which brought her in contact with a number of celebrity clients, including nine presidents. The comfort that her ventures afforded her allowed her to collect an impressive, and impressively strange, array of objects, trinkets and accessories, including an oversized RCA dog, ornate vases, and various and sundry huge, colorful bracelets and necklaces. And then there are the clothes. Her fashion collection grew so immense that the Met was able to build a special exhibit from just a small piece of her massive holdings. Apfel insists on being called “The Geriatric Starlet” to this day, and after watching this breezy 80-minute film, you’ll be convinced no one has ever earned the title so thoroughly. Not only one of the best documentaries about art, Exit Through the Gift Shop is viewed as one of the great film works of the 21st century so far. In Exit, famed British street artist Banksy tells the story of Thierry Guetta, a French emigre to the United States who is obsessed with street art. What we have then is a documentary about a man who is obsessed with Banksy (and documenting himself), directed by Banksy. You won’t be surprised to hear that Exit Through the Gift Shop also premiered to a degree of controversy. We are talking about Banksy after all. It almost seems too good to be true, and many observers suspect it is. For his part, Banksy has maintained that the film is “real.” Though, after you watch the film, you’ll likely spend some time considering what, exactly “real” means. The film becomes a meditation not just on street art or “conceptual” art, but on the nature of art, fame, and authenticity. As the first African-American animator hired by Disney, Floyd Norman made history. He went on to have an incredible career, working on classic films like Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmations, and The Jungle Book. If his work at Disney had been his only contribution to animation, he would have been a legend in the field. But, Norman went on to work at Hanna-Barbera and Pixar, where he worked on Scooby-Doo and Toy Story 2, respectively, before retiring at age 65. Later in life, Norman invested himself in mentorship, and continues to attempt to develop the careers of others even though he is now over 80 years old. Rarely do artists get the chance to demonstrate the political courage that Sun Mu has in his life, and almost never do they rise to the challenge in the way he has. Beginning his career in North Korea as an anti-regime propagandist, and going on to continue his art after being exiled, Sun Mu is a true artistic renegade. The film follows Sun Mu as he prepares to go undercover for his first solo exhibition in China, where he is truly risking danger for his art. During the film, Sun Mu never shows his face to the camera and every appearance he makes is shrouded in shadow. Even his name keeps him anonymous, as it simply means, “No boundaries.” I Am Sun Mu offers a close-up look at the immediate danger and admirable bravery that comes with being a true political dissident. Art can be a weapon, and watching someone wield their art in this way is truly inspiring. It’s difficult to imagine the stress and pressure that would go into creating a collection for a major fashion house. Dior and I offers the insider’s point of view that means you don’t have to wonder anymore. The film follows Raf Simons as he creates work for Christian Dior, and the highs and lows that come with becoming fashion royalty. Dior and I meditates on the concept of the Belgian designer Simons finding his place in the storied fashion house. Though Dior himself has been dead since 1952, his ghost haunts the film, as Simons reckons with his legacy while trying to define his own. Simons doesn’t speak French; he is a minimalist: will he fit in? Beyond the fashion world, Dior and I admirably tackles an age-old issue that plagues many great artists. How do you honor the job you’ve been tasked to do and your own artistic voice at the same time? There are still rags to riches stories, or at least farmhouse to fashion house stories. This was the trajectory of Jeremy Scott. His childhood was spent on a small-town farm, and now he is the creative director of Moschino. As with many people from rural areas or difficult circumstances, Scott has carried a piece of his upbringing with him as he’s navigated the fashion world. Scott was rejected from FIT because of a “lack of creativity and originality.” He overcame that to become head of a fashion house. Then, he was derided by critics, even as fans embraced his work. And now, even at the top of his game, he maintains a carefully curated cavalier attitude that betrays just how much he really cares. Perhaps the most poignant sequence in the film shows him going back home to visit the farm where he was raised. There we see something that many of us know all too well: you never really leave home, no matter how far you go. Creating meaningful art means taking risks. Few artists have taken the kind of risks Ai Weiwei has. The Chinese artist, sometimes called the “Chinese Warhol,” has often found himself at odds with China’s one party regime during his career. That hasn’t stopped him from continuing to push boundaries with his work. Director Alison Klayman started documenting Ai Weiwei at an interesting time. In May of 2008, a massive earthquake hit the Sichuan Province, which led Ai Weiwei to sharpen his criticism of the Chinese government. The film follows Ai Weiwei as he continues to create art despite harassment from the state. The film ends with authorities trashing Ai Weiwei’s studio and assaulting him. While this is a horrific moment, the viewer is also meant to appreciate that for Ai Weiwei, there is no separation between his art and his activism. You’ve probably sampled a number of the original fictional series released on Netflix lately. It’s tried to do the same thing with documentary, and Abstract is one of its most rewarding attempts. The series tries to get at the heart of what design means, and, perhaps more importantly to the filmmakers, how design works, by interviewing designers in various fields: shoes, theater, cars, and more. Episode two, featuring Nike designer Tinker Hatfield will likely be the most interesting to our readers, but, if you have any interest in design, you’ll want to stick around for the rest of the episodes. Each designer offers a glimpse into a different process, different inspirations, and of course, different products. Documentaries about creatives often take a “life’s work” biographical structure. Here, the series aims to be about process, and while not always perfect, Abstract creates something that is unlike much of what you see in the documentary world: a real glimpse into what goes into creation. We don’t necessarily consider forgers to be artists. This film makes the argument to the contrary. We meet German forger Wolfgang Beltracchi as he nears the end a six-year prison sentence that followed a thirty-year career creating fakes of some of the greatest artists who ever lived. Jail time has not shaken the man’s confidence in his craft: he believes he can forge any artist from Da Vinci to Monet. From there, the documentary demonstrates that he is right. Though the film offers intriguing details about the economic incentives and artistic realities that allow con artists to succeed, it is when we watch Beltracchi work that the film reaches its high point. He pays attention to every detail of his work, from dust on the back of the frame to the smell of the canvass. You quickly grow to understand how someone could be taken in by a fake, especially when the forger creates a piece to fill a “gap” in an artist’s catalog that, if it were real, could be worth millions. But that doesn’t take away from the awe that Beltracchi’s work ultimately inspires. Vivian Maier, a Chicago nanny and housekeeper, was one of the greatest street photographers of the 20th century, and no one knew it until just before her death. Even the people in Vivian Maier’s life didn’t know much about her work. She never exhibited publicly. She lived her life in total obscurity. And yet, she took thousands of pictures that offer a beautiful glimpse into the bygone era of 1950s and ’60s Chicago. The pictures may have remained unknown to the world if director John Maloof hadn’t purchased a lot of her negatives for $400 at auction. The discovery of Maier’s work is valuable not just for the photographs themselves, but also as a springboard for a discussion of art. What makes someone an artist? What makes something art? These questions and more swirl around the subject: a woman who was finally branded an artist when she no longer had a voice in the matter. In recent years, documentarians have taken to highlighting the skills of musicians lost to history. 20 Feet From Stardom told the story of two long-time back-up singers, and 2008’s The Wrecking Crew gives a moment in the sun to unheralded 1960s session musicians. We have all heard songs by The Beach Boys, The Mammas and the Pappas, and The Monkees. What you probably didn’t know is that all of these bands relied on the same session musicians in the studio. Even on immortal albums like Pet Sounds, the titular Wrecking Crew often played the instruments on the recording. Your first thought may be that these players might have some bitterness as they look back at all they didn’t get credit for, but what’s so inspiring about the film is how positively the surviving musicians remember their time in the studio. They were paid to do what they loved, and the entire country got to love it along with them. To a person, the musicians view that era as a golden opportunity and a highlight of their lives. Director: James Marsh Is tightrope walking creative? Is it art? Whatever your view may be, you can’t deny that it is pulse-pounding entertainment. Marsh’s film chronicles Phillippe Petit’s 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers. The film focuses only on the event itself, portraying it with the drama of a heist film. The performance lasted nearly an hour before Petit was arrested, and even his arresting officer had to admit he had beheld a work of art. The policeman said Petit’s performance was like “dancing.” Any artist will appreciate the focus the film gives to the various people on Petit’s team who helped him pull off the legendary stunt. It turns out that the old saying is true: no man walks alone… even on a tightrope. Romance novelists are some of the most derided workaday artists there are. Romance novelists are often women. They write for a predominantly female audience. And they tend to produce work at a prodigious rate. As far as the American patriarchy is concerned, that’s three strikes right there. Director Laurie Kahn offers a different perspective. Rather than beat us over the head with it, she allows it to come organically from the (mostly) women who write, edit, and publish the books that comprise this multi-billion dollar industry. Much of the film focuses on the nuts and bolts of the romance novel industry, which is incredibly interesting. But, the most inspiring moments of the film come from a focus on the community around the books, and the kind of close-knit camaraderie that grows up around writers, publishers, aspirants, and fans of the bodice rippers as they celebrate their passion. Though he was once among the handful of prominent American writers, the younger generations don’t seem to think much about Gore Vidal these days. While he was alive, however, Vidal elevated the role of public intellectual to that of an artist. His debates with conservative William F. Buckley are still viewed as some of the best in American public life. While Buckley’s bigoted worldview hasn’t aged well, Vidal and his massive body of work, hold up as thorough, if often acidic assessments of American life. Vidal published his first novel at age 19, and wrote and spoke prolifically from that point forward. He wrote the comic transgender novel Myra Breckinridge. He wrote the script for Ben Hur. Most memorably he wrote excoriating assessments of the titans American political life. At the end of his career, Vidal amassed of total output of over thirty novels and dozens of non-fiction texts. More importantly, he became one of the great examples of what it meant to be an American voice. What can you do with yarn? If all you’re imagining is a grandmother working on her crochet game, you’ll quickly feel like you lack imagination. Yarn follows a series of artists who are doing amazing things with, yes, yarn. A Japanese artists shows off his yarn-based climbing apparatus. A Polish artists produces crocheted bodysuits. There are even yarn street artists. If you’re feeling a dearth of creativity in your life, Yarn will likely cure what ails you. If you’re left with the sudden urge to pick up some yarn yourself, then, at least you can’t say we didn’t warn you. Next up; here’s how to hack your happiness, according to a new book.

https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/netflix-documentaries-creativity/

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