Latest news with #LondonMetropolitanUniversity
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Oscar-nominated film under fire for use of AI — and their response may surprise you
Hollywood's latest AI experiment isn't another deepfake or sea of digital extras. It's a tweak to human voices. In the Oscar-nominated film The Brutalist, actors had their foreign dialogue improved by artificial intelligence, raising concerns about the technology's growing role in filmmaking — and in our lives. The Brutalist follows a Hungarian-Jewish architect who survives the Holocaust, escaping postwar Europe to settle in America and rebuilding his life, career, and marriage. In the film, lead actors Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones speak partially in Hungarian with Jewish accents, which is where the use of AI comes in. The movie's editor, Dávid Jancsó, recently told industry publication Red Shark News that he used an AI tool called Respeecher to make portions of the Hungarian dialogue sound more authentic. "Most of their Hungarian dialogue has a part of me talking in there," Jancsó, a native Hungarian speaker, said. "We were very careful about keeping their performances. It's mainly just replacing letters here and there." The recent admission caused a major debate among film industry professionals, especially with The Brutalist sweeping award nominations this season. Brody and Jones are both nominated for Oscars for their respective roles, and the film is in the running for best picture. Industry experts say The Brutalist isn't the first — and won't be the last — movie to use AI in its filmmaking. In fact, editors of Emilia Pérez, a film also nominated for a slew of Oscars including best picture, recently admitted to using AI to enhance the singing voice of lead actor Karla Sofía Gascón. Gascón is also nominated for an Oscar for her role. "I suspect the use of AI in production will become increasingly common and openly admitted, particularly for what might be seen as minor labor-intensive work such as generative backgrounds, crowd scenes, and the like," Louis Heaton, digital film and TV production lecturer at London Metropolitan University, told CNN. Heaton credits AI's popularity with the tech being "cheaper and quicker" for production studios. Jancsó cited the same reasoning for using Respeecher in The Brutalist. "It is controversial in the industry to talk about AI, but it shouldn't be," Jancsó told Red Shark News. "It just makes the process a lot faster. We use AI to create these tiny little details that we didn't have the money or the time to shoot." AI may be an inexpensive shortcut, but the cost to the arts — and the planet — is hard to justify. AI data centers use a massive amount of electricity, which is often powered by dirty fuel. Data centers also churn through billions of gallons of freshwater, which is used to cool their equipment. Moreover, AI technology also relies on rare minerals and elements, which are often mined unethically and unsustainably, per the United Nations Environment Programme. The demands of AI are expected to contribute to the doubling of data center power consumption from 2022 to 2026. "There is still much we don't know about the environmental impact of AI but some of the data we do have is concerning," said Golestan Radwan, chief digital officer of the United Nations Environment Programme, on the UNEP website. "We need to make sure the net effect of AI on the planet is positive before we deploy the technology at scale." Not only that, but using AI to enhance acting performances could be seen as watering down the art form, taking some of the humanity out of storytelling. As Heaton told CNN: "As AI here appears to be directly altering/improving an element of the actor's performance, it could be seen as calling into question the authenticity of that performance. Would the average moviegoer really care if the lead actors were speaking perfect Hungarian? ... I'd say no." Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Trump seeks to expand his influence over arts and culture with Kennedy Center moves
After dominating U.S. politics for nearly a decade, President Trump now appears to be setting his sights on the country's cultural landscape. A Friday announcement that Trump is naming himself chair of the Kennedy Center's board is a step toward giving his administration a much bigger role in and influence over the world of arts and entertainment overseen by the federal government. Political experts say the unprecedented move by a commander in chief could be just the beginning. 'It's like an assault on every kind of norm that has existed in American social and political and cultural life that he's engaging in,' said Mark Wheeler, a political communications professor at London Metropolitan University in England. The surprise Kennedy Center news from Trump, Wheeler said, is one that both plays to his GOP base and is part of a 'shock and awe' strategy he's pursuing in 'many different kinds of fronts in terms of public policy but also the cultural precepts.' 'It's the kind of disruptor process that Trump is engaged in, in terms of the kind of celebrity and political outsider image that he's constructed or has been constructed for him,' said Wheeler, the author of 'Hollywood: Politics and Society.' Trump, who on Sunday became the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl, has made it clear that he wants to prevent the Kennedy Center from putting on cultural works with which he disagrees, criticizing 'drag shows' in a Truth Social post and raising questions over how much politics might influence Washington's leading performing arts center, which opened in 1971. 'Since bursting onto the political stage in 2015, President Trump has made culture the dominant issue in American politics and society — with some unwitting support from the Democratic left,' former Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) said. 'Appointing himself to this position will allow him to continue casting himself as a cultural warrior undoing the excesses of the left and restoring what he would call traditional American culture.' Trump and the GOP on the campaign trail in 2024 successfully leaned into issues such as drag shows and transgender surgeries as talking points about how liberals had taken 'wokeism' too far. And Republicans say growing the influence conservatives have in cultural institutions is essential. 'I think there is a keen sense that conservatives should have a place at the table in cultural institutions again. And cultural institutions should welcome this,' said Patrick Wilson, a political appointee from Trump's first term. 'As this present era should remind everyone, including higher education and arts organizations, you need to be bipartisan and recruit friends and have patrons from across the political spectrum. It's just smart. I think that's actually what this is about,' Wilson added. In response to the president's Friday night post, the Kennedy Center highlighted its historically 'collaborative relationship with every presidential administration,' noting it had not received any information from the Trump administration about his move, which also involved terminating the terms of multiple board members. Trump is moving quickly to put his allies in positions at the Kennedy Center. He named Richard Grenell, his envoy for 'special missions,' the interim executive director of the institution Monday. Even some Democrats pointed to the president's authority to make changes at the Kennedy Center, while expressing weariness about what a Trump-controlled future might look like. 'He is president, and he gets to make these decisions. To many people like me, the Kennedy Center and its shows are the city's cultural icons,' said Ivan Zapien, a former official at the Democratic National Committee. 'So, I'm rooting for it to continue to be cool.' But Trump suggested there could be an overhaul of the shows that are featured at the Kennedy Center. 'Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP,' he said. He added that he thought the Kennedy Center was 'an American Jewel' and should reflect the 'brightest STARS' from across the U.S. 'I think it's part of his larger effort to remove DEI and diversity from sports, other things, and pieces of American culture,' said Amy Bree Becker, a professor of communication and media at Loyola University Maryland. 'And so, if the Kennedy Center is Washington's hub for culture, he wants it to reflect his vision of what culture should look like. Not, I think, what maybe it has been in the past,' Becker said. Former President Biden's White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, responded for the first time publicly Monday to Trump's vow to reshape the Kennedy Center's board. Jean-Pierre, one of several Biden-era names on the board, wrote in a post on the social platform X: 'I love everything about this remarkable institution and will always hold many precious memories close to my heart.' 'I'll be fine,' she said, 'But we all must continue the work to ensure that the arts and humanities remain a core fabric of our society and culture.' Trump is seeking broader influence over other parts of American culture, too. In the days before he was sworn in, he named new eyes and ears in Hollywood to keep tabs on the traditionally left-leaning moviemaking business. He gave Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone, and Jon Voight — all actors who have expressed political support for him — roles as 'special ambassadors' to the entertainment industry. He attempted to target another D.C. institution, the National Cathedral, after Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde last month publicly called on him to be merciful toward transgender people and immigrants. But the cathedral can't be financially threatened by the president — it doesn't receive any federal funding and relies only on private donations. During his first term in office, Trump rarely explored D.C. establishments. While other presidents visit local restaurants during their time at the White House, Trump would opt instead to go out to his golf club in the Virginia suburbs or dine at his own hotel property in downtown Washington before it was sold in 2022. He delivered remarks at a gala at Ford's Theatre in his first year in office but never attended the Kennedy Center Honors; he bucked tradition and declined to go after several of the award's recipients criticized him. Trump also skipped the White House Correspondents' Association dinner — one of the buzziest events of the year in Washington and which typically includes remarks from the sitting president — for the entirety of his first term. The headliner for this year's dinner, Amber Ruffin, said earlier this month that 'no one' wants Trump to be at the April 26 gala. Trump hasn't indicated whether he'll attend. It's still unclear how much Trump's actions may leave a mark on the nation's cultural and artistic institutions. But Becker said 'small changes' have already happened, and more could be on the way. 'I think that you could see subtle cultural shifts across a variety of areas, in part because of his administration, but in part because maybe certain leaders in different organizations or companies are also responding to that as well.' Becker didn't hesitate when asked if Trump will actually chair the Kennedy Center's board, pouring cold water on the idea that the president would do so and questioning the media's coverage of it. 'Part of it is to draw attention and to distract from other things,' she said, and the press 'is covering it as this big story.' While Trump can be unpredictable, Wheeler agreed that between time constraints and other pressing issues, it seems unlikely that the president will actually take on the role of heading the Kennedy Center's board. 'This does seem to be more a question of, 'I'm going to be doing these shots across the bow and getting everybody kind of concerned,'' the author said. 'Maybe he feels that this will make people, therefore, march to his demands.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hill
Trump seeks to expand his influence over arts and culture with Kennedy Center moves
After dominating U.S. politics for nearly a decade, President Trump now appears to be setting his sights on the country's cultural landscape. A Friday announcement that Trump is naming himself chair of the Kennedy Center's board is a step toward giving his administration a much bigger role in and influence over the world of arts and entertainment overseen by the federal government. Political experts say the unprecedented move by a commander in chief could be just the beginning. 'It's like an assault on every kind of norm that has existed in American social and political and cultural life that he's engaging in,' said Mark Wheeler, a political communications professor at London Metropolitan University in England. The surprise Kennedy Center news from Trump, Wheeler said, is one that both plays to his GOP base and is part of a 'shock and awe' strategy he's pursuing in 'many different kinds of fronts in terms of public policy but also the cultural precepts.' 'It's the kind of disruptor process that Trump is engaged in, in terms of the kind of celebrity and political outsider image that he's constructed or has been constructed for him,' said Wheeler, the author of 'Hollywood: Politics and Society.' Trump, who on Sunday became the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl, has made it clear that he wants to prevent the Kennedy Center from putting on cultural works with which he disagrees, criticizing 'drag shows' in a Truth Social post and raising questions over how much politics might influence Washington's leading performing arts center, which opened in 1971. 'Since bursting onto the political stage in 2015, President Trump has made culture the dominant issue in American politics and society — with some unwitting support from the Democratic left,' former Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) said. 'Appointing himself to this position will allow him to continue casting himself as a cultural warrior undoing the excesses of the left and restoring what he would call traditional American culture.' Trump and the GOP on the campaign trail in 2024 successfully leaned into issues such as drag shows and transgender surgeries as talking points about how liberals had taken 'wokeism' too far. And Republicans say growing the influence conservatives have in cultural institutions is essential. 'I think there is a keen sense that conservatives should have a place at the table in cultural institutions again. And cultural institutions should welcome this,' said Patrick Wilson, a political appointee from Trump's first term. 'As this present era should remind everyone, including higher education and arts organizations, you need to be bipartisan and recruit friends and have patrons from across the political spectrum. It's just smart. I think that's actually what this is about,' Wilson added. In response to the president's Friday night post, the Kennedy Center highlighted its historically 'collaborative relationship with every presidential administration,' noting it had not received any information from the Trump administration about his move, which also involved terminating the terms of multiple board members. Trump is moving quickly to put his allies in positions at the Kennedy Center. He named Richard Grenell, his envoy for 'special missions,' the interim executive director of the institution Monday. Even some Democrats pointed to the president's authority to make changes at the Kennedy Center, while expressing weariness about what a Trump-controlled future might look like. 'He is president, and he gets to make these decisions. To many people like me, the Kennedy Center and its shows are the city's cultural icons,' said Ivan Zapien, a former official at the Democratic National Committee. 'So, I'm rooting for it to continue to be cool.' But Trump suggested there could be an overhaul of the shows that are featured at the Kennedy Center. 'Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP,' he said. He added that he thought the Kennedy Center was 'an American Jewel' and should reflect the 'brightest STARS' from across the U.S. 'I think it's part of his larger effort to remove DEI and diversity from sports, other things, and pieces of American culture,' said Amy Bree Becker, a professor of communication and media at Loyola University Maryland. 'And so, if the Kennedy Center is Washington's hub for culture, he wants it to reflect his vision of what culture should look like. Not, I think, what maybe it has been in the past,' Becker said. Former President Biden's White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, responded for the first time publicly Monday to Trump's vow to reshape the Kennedy Center's board. Jean-Pierre, one of several Biden-era names on the board, wrote in a post on the social platform X: 'I love everything about this remarkable institution and will always hold many precious memories close to my heart.' 'I'll be fine,' she said, 'But we all must continue the work to ensure that the arts and humanities remain a core fabric of our society and culture.' Trump is seeking broader influence over other parts of American culture, too. In the days before he was sworn in, he named new eyes and ears in Hollywood to keep tabs on the traditionally left-leaning moviemaking business. He gave Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone, and Jon Voight — all actors who have expressed political support for him — roles as 'special ambassadors' to the entertainment industry. He attempted to target another D.C. institution, the National Cathedral, after Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde last month publicly called on him to be merciful toward transgender people and immigrants. But the cathedral can't be financially threatened by the president — it doesn't receive any federal funding and relies only on private donations. During his first term in office, Trump rarely explored D.C. establishments. While other presidents visit local restaurants during their time at the White House, Trump would opt instead to go out to his golf club in the Virginia suburbs or dine at his own hotel property in downtown Washington before it was sold in 2022. He delivered remarks at a gala at Ford's Theatre in his first year in office but never attended the Kennedy Center Honors; he bucked tradition and declined to go after several of the award's recipients criticized him. Trump also skipped the White House Correspondents' Association dinner — one of the buzziest events of the year in Washington and which typically includes remarks from the sitting president — for the entirety of his first term. The headliner for this year's dinner, Amber Ruffin, said earlier this month that 'no one' wants Trump to be at the April 26 gala. Trump hasn't indicated whether he'll attend. It's still unclear how much Trump's actions may leave a mark on the nation's cultural and artistic institutions. But Becker said 'small changes' have already happened, and more could be on the way. 'I think that you could see subtle cultural shifts across a variety of areas, in part because of his administration, but in part because maybe certain leaders in different organizations or companies are also responding to that as well.' Becker didn't hesitate when asked if Trump will actually chair the Kennedy Center's board, pouring cold water on the idea that the president would do so and questioning the media's coverage of it. 'Part of it is to draw attention and to distract from other things,' she said, and the press 'is covering it as this big story.' While Trump can be unpredictable, Wheeler agreed that between time constraints and other pressing issues, it seems unlikely that the president will actually take on the role of heading the Kennedy Center's board. 'This does seem to be more a question of, 'I'm going to be doing these shots across the bow and getting everybody kind of concerned,'' the author said. 'Maybe he feels that this will make people, therefore, march to his demands.'
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Overpaid university bosses show what is wrong with Starmer's Britain
It's certainly taking some getting used to, this age of unparalleled nonsense from on high. Just when you think you can't hear anything stupider and meaner – Starmer's pledge to plaster over beautiful bits of countryside with electricity pylons nobody in their right mind wants; an anti-Islamophobia task force that seems set to introduce blasphemy laws in Britain; the decision to axe a dirt-cheap programme of Latin tuition at state schools to save little more than £1 million per year – you hear that the vice-chancellors of our universities, who are busy sacking vast swathes of staff working in departments deemed non-remunerative enough (sorry, humanities; sorry, nursing; sorry, languages) are earning bumper salaries. The average pay package for university bosses in Britain is now £340,000, a more than inflation-busting increase of £40,000 since the 2020-21 academic year. Top earners were the heads of Leeds University, at £694,000, and London Metropolitan University, at £595,000. The figures recording the richly fattening salaries of their bosses comes after universities announced up to 10,000 further redundancies. Already this year the chopping and squeezing has continued, with 1,000 layoffs between four universities, including two in the Russell Group. No fewer than 90 universities are currently 'restructuring' through layoffs. This alone should make the VC salaries a matter of public outrage. The annihilation of departmental staff is the result of the massive failure of universities, and the UK, to attract enough students and make them pay, a situation not helped by the Tories' curtailment of foreign students' visas. But it's not just this. It's also the pervasive wokeness that has sapped a once vibrant national scholarly community; the poor running of courses with staff either overstretched or underperforming, and all of it mired in unfriendly and ubiquitous tech platforms. You'd have thought the heads of this mess would be punished, not rewarded. It doesn't even have to be about punishment but about the greater good, since the taxpayer helps out so much. Why don't the universities halve the pay of the VCs and save a department or two? Then there's the minor detail of what a vice-chancellor actually does. Nobody I've ever spoken to has been able to answer that question. If they're meant to run an educational business then they're clearly failing. If they're meant to keep morale up and oversee unity of purpose, a scholastic culture of sorts, then that's also a fail; morale among academics is at an all time low. But if their sole duty is making pathetic comments about how the university supports this or that hideous woke move, or initiative, then they do deserve an A*. In most British universities there have been truly disgusting, unprecedented shows of student anti-Semitism since October 7 – this week the Jewish Chronicle exposed some of the experiences regularly endured by Jewish students on UK campuses that make the blood run cold. Leeds, Cambridge and Oxford have been among the worst offenders, clearly fostering a culture that encourages such behaviour, and failing to take a strong stand on it. In the US, President Trump is making any university that fails to mop up its foul anti-Semitic messes pay dearly – financially. In the UK? The heads of the universities where Jewish students are called 'baby killers' get bumper pay. All of which suggests that half a million per year is a gravy train that is very hard to justify. It's not just timing and optics. The bigger issue underlying all of this, of course, is the insane overpaying of the bureaucratic class in this country. We have a dying economy, with stagflation – caused by the unholy mixture of high inflation, stagnant growth, high unemployment and low productivity – highlighting how we have utterly lost our economic way. The country is held back by a litany of stalled infrastructure projects, from a third runway at Heathrow to the plan to build a vital tunnel (the Lower Thames Crossing) between Essex and Kent to ease chronic congestion, which has been kicked around the long grass for 36 years and cost £300 million for the planning application. Benefits bills are bulging, with the Office for Budget Responsibility warning we cannot keep providing such costly free services of such poor quality. Small businesses, meanwhile, are punished, and dying, thanks to Rachel Reeves's war on firms that hire small numbers of staff. The rich and ambitious are flocking elsewhere, along with our greatest brains, put off by the climate around innovation and business in science and technology, and the foolish, harmful funding decisions of our once great centres of science. Labour preaches about growth, but hasn't the foggiest what that really means. As such Starmer sounds like a wind-up doll, set to repeat growth-related buzzwords. If he did understand, he'd be doing everything in his power to create a Britain in which pay reflects skills, merit and hard work, and above all, results. He'd be making it easier, not harder, for the private sector to go gangbusters, so that ordinary, even out-of-work citizens of this isle, could dream of riches and success – and, with enough hard work, attain them. Instead, he's pursuing a deranged path to 'growth' through bulging the state, and the only beneficiaries of this bloating anti-market mode of governance are the very people who should be paid less, if not entirely sacked, American Doge-style: the bureaucratic fat cats who sit in their comfy chairs pushing paper around and doing nothing for the health of our services or economy. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
