Samsung reimagines the London Underground map in new campaign
For the first time in 90 years, London’s public transport map has been redesigned. The circular layout was put forward by Samsung in promotion of a new feature on its Galaxy S24 smartphone. Although the vast majority of Londoners will have at least partially memorised the city’s public transport map,...
Current in Culture
Universal Music set to take songs down from TikTok
Millions of songs will be taken down from TikTok after talks over payment with Universal Music fell through. It means a wealth of material from huge artists will no longer be available. TikTok is once again facing controversy. This time, it’s over payment and music royalty rights. Universal Music, one...
Explicit Taylor Swift AI images cause legal panic
Last week, explicit images of Taylor Swift created using AI were shared across Twitter (X), with some posts gaining millions of views. The ensuing legal panic could have ramifications for the use of celebrity likeness, and AI images in general. Taylor Swift was the victim of AI image generation last...
Google’s Lumiere generates realistic AI videos from text prompts
AI video is fast turning from uncanny valley to genuinely realistic, and Google’s Lumiere is the most sophisticated text-to-video generator we’ve seen to date. Evoking a sense of awe – and a hefty dose of unease – Google recently exhibited how sophisticated AI video has become in just a few...
The reality behind the ‘tradwife’ lifestyle
Across TikTok, young women are expressing the desire to reject capitalism in favour of the 1950s housewife life being marketed to them. But as always with social media, there’s often more than meets the eye. Wake up babe, girl bossing is out and trad-wifing is in. Millennials may have been sold...
Tyler, The Creator named best-selling male artist on vinyl
Rapper and producer Tyler, The Creator is officially the best-selling male artist on vinyl in the US. He was also named the year’s best-selling rapper. Tyler, The Creator has been named as the best-selling male artist on vinyl in the US for 2023. He reportedly sold a total of 552,000 records,...
Opinion – the Mia Goth debate is toxic stan culture exemplified
The actress is being sued by an extra who alleges she ‘intentionally’ kicked him in the head on set. In response, a sub-section of her fanbase has dismissed the assault accusations with trivialising language, highlighting the problematic nature of out-of-control para-social relationships. During the last few years, Mia Goth has cemented her position as the ‘It Girl’ of horror, widely obsessed-over for her leading roles in Pearl, X, and...
FKA Twigs calls out double standards in the modelling industry
The singer’s recent campaign with Calvin Klein faced backlash over her ‘partial nudity.’ ‘I do not see the ‘stereotypical sexual object’ they have labelled me.’ These were the words pasted beneath an image of FKA Twigs, posted by the singer to her own Instagram page this week. The photo features Twigs (as she is known by fans) partially covered by a shirt. The outline of her nude body is visible beneath. Calvin...
This giant ancient ape became extinct because of climate change
An ancient species of great ape, named Gigantopithecus blacki, was driven to extinction hundreds of thousands of years ago. Scientists believe climate change is mostly to blame for putting the giants’ favourite fruits out of reach during dry seasons. Between witnessing entire regions becoming upended by extreme weather and warnings of impending, irreversible changes from eco scientists, we’re hardly lacking for reasons to mitigate climate change. Nevertheless, here’s another for...
Can wooden wind towers make renewable energy even cleaner?
Eradicating carbon-intensive materials from the production of wind turbines, like steel, Swedish start-up Modvion is creating easy-to-assemble alternatives from wood. Is this the way forward? Solar maybe the current undisputed king of the renewable energy farmyard, but wind is a close runner-up. There’s a global consensus that any chance of achieving the terms of the Paris Agreement will rely on drastically increasing renewable forms of energy. Specifically, wind and solar reportedly...
