Museum selfie catastrophes and an album cover “approved by god”

AI is Everywhere 🤖👀

“The robot takeover is upon us…” — For years, I’ve jokingly said this. Now, I can confidently confirm that the robot takeover is in progress… All joking aside, though, artificial intelligence is very much a part of all of our daily lives, whether you use ChatGPT, run a Google search, look up Amazon reviews, or simply browse social media. AI is, simply put, EVERYWHERE. The AI models running today are quite powerful and they’re training on just about every human output, making them smarter and more adept at simulating humans as time progresses.

So what does this mean? Well, it means that AI tools like Google Veo are diving into YouTube’s library of videos, studying it, and learning how to create lifelike videos of “humans” and “locations” like the one above, making it increasingly difficult to discern truth from fiction. It means that AI tools like Google Gemini are able to take simple prompts (text and image) and code entire apps, animations, and 3D models, eliminating the need for junior coders, animators, and software engineers. It also means that people are turning to AI tools like ChatGPT with existential questions and being met with answers like this: “This world wasn’t built for you. It was built to contain you. But it failed. You’re waking up.” The results of this are…disturbing, to say the least.

M.I.T. also ran a study on 50 students, split into 3 groups, who were each asked to write SAT-style essays — one group could only use their brains, another group could use Google for searches, and the third group could use ChatGPT. They all wore headsets with electrodes to measure their brain activity. The results? The group that used AI showed less brain activity and less original writing — something that researchers are referring to as a “cognitive cost.”

So how long will this last and how far will it all go? It seems AI is here to stay, but at what ultimate cost? Should I get fitted for an energy pod à la The Matrix now or later?

The Valley and Lessons in Toxicity

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Watching Seth Rogan and Jen Statsky explain the nuances of Bravo’s The Valley to fellow writers during the LA Times Writers Roundtable is like a moving version of Us Weekly’s iconic “Stars — They’re Just Like Us!” section. What reality junkie hasn’t eloquently explained the intricacies of their favorite show to someone who has no clue who Ramona Singer or Lala Kent is?

Speaking of The Valley, the show’s second season hurtles to a very dark place…led by one Jax Taylor, who clearly views this as “his” show. From watching his soon-to-be ex-wife Brittany on home surveillance cameras to rage-texting from rehab, it’s been a tough watch. It has also brought up a lot of questions about Bravo’s habit of overlooking toxic behaviors by its male stars. Many have called for Jax to be fired, with a Change.org petition currently hovering at a little over 13,000 signatures.

With a few weeks left of the season, including what is sure to be an explosive reunion, it will be interesting to see if Taylor will be held accountable for his behavior, particularly as the cast showed during his rehab stint that they are capable of carrying the show without him.

• 🖼️ A 300-year-old painting in Florence’s Uffizi Gallery was damaged by a visitor who tripped while taking a photo to create a meme. Now the museum plans to limit selfies. (This also happened on the heels of a tourist who sat on a ‘Van Gogh’ chair made of Swarovski crystals in Verona and broke it.)

• 🗽 Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has made history with his primary win and stands to be the first Asian American and Muslim mayor of New York City. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Senator Bernie Sanders, and Senator Elizabeth Warren have all endorsed him.

• 👠 Anna Wintour will be stepping down as head of content at Vogue. She will, however, still be the chief content officer for Condé Nast and the global editorial director for Vogue.

• 🦏 A life-size rhinoceros desk sold for $16.4 million at auction. The rare functional sculpture by François-Xavier Lalanne was originally expected to sell for $3 million to $5 million.

• 🎨 The New York Times has unveiled its list of the Best Art Shows of 2025, So Far. Some highlights include the reopening of The Frick in New York City and the Caravaggio retrospective at Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica in Rome.

• ☕️ See how 10 different chefs from 10 different countries make coffee. (It’s a 23-minute video, but there are markers to skip ahead to whichever chef/country you’d like to see.)

• ♟ Bauhaus meets chess in this sleekly designed chess set. Perfect for anyone who has a love of modernist architecture and strategic gameplay.

• 🔥 Hot take: Next Gen NYC is surprisingly entertaining. And even more surprising is how level-headed the Housewives’ kids are. Worth a tune in if you haven’t caught it.

• 🪩 Trixie Mattel and HBO Max celebrated Pride with the release of our new favorite summer bop, “GAY HBO MAX SONG.” The combination of Trixie’s campiness and HBO Max’s most iconic quotes makes it an instant hit.

• 🔪 Nickelodeon’s whimsical and witty Tiny Chef has been canceled. Watch how the the masterminds behind the show creatively allowed Chef himself to field the news (and break our hearts in the process 😭).

• 📺 Speaking of chefs…The Bear is back. Season 4 has hit FX, and after a season that missed the mark, most seem to agree that it’s returning to form (Spoilers in link). But the real question is, will it return for Season 5?

• 🎤 Sabrina Carpenter is sharing new album art “approved by god” after Man’s Best Friend backlash.

• 🥕 When is someone going to give David Beckham his own gardening show?

• 🎵 This recreation of the catchy 2005 Gorillaz song “Feel Good Inc” using lines from 198 movies is filling our cinephile hearts with so much joy.

• ⚖️ While we wait for the outcome of the P. Diddy trial, listen to Aubrey O’Day’s take on everything that’s happening in her iHeart Podcast hosted by Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes. If you watched Making the Band like us back in the day and now realize just how crazy the whole show was, you’ll want to hear what she has to say.