As Bolivia celebrates its main Andean festival, it feels the pain of mounting crises

LA PAZ, Bolivia — Bolivia's largest Andean religious festival has long inspired joyous revelry and offered a chance for the nation to forget about its perpetual political turmoil and escape into the world of its rich folklore.
But this year on Saturday, Bolivians say the day of the Great Power, the beloved carnival dedicated to a 17th-century painting of Jesus Christ, reflects more than distracts from the country's spiraling economic and political crises .

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The Verge

a day ago

• The Verge

AI residencies are trying to change the conversation around artificial art

At a recent exhibition in Copenhagen, visitors stepped into a dark room and were met by an unusual host: a jaguar that watched the crowd, selected individuals, and began to share stories about her daughter, her rainforest, and the fires that once threatened her home — the Bolivian Amazon. The live interaction with Huk, an AI-driven creature, is tailored to each visitor based on visual cues. Bolivian Australian artist Violeta Ayala created the piece during an arts residency at Mila, one of the world's leading AI research centers. These residencies, usually hosted by tech labs, museums, or academic centers, offer artists access to tools, compute, and collaborators to support creative experimentation with AI. 'My goal was to build a robot that could represent something more than human; something incorruptible,' Ayala says. Ayala's jaguar is a clever use of early AI, but it is also emblematic of a wider movement: a fast-growing crop of artist residencies that put AI tools directly in creators' hands while shaping how the technology is judged by audiences, lawmakers, and courts. Residencies like these have expanded rapidly in recent years, with new programs emerging across Europe, North America, and Asia — like the Max Planck Institute and the SETI Institute programs. Many technologists describe them as a form of soft power. Pieces by artists who have participated in AI art residencies have been featured in galleries such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Centre Pompidou in Paris. One of the newest programs was started by Villa Albertine, the French American cultural organization. In early 2025, the organization created a dedicated AI track, adding four new residents per year to the 60 artists, thinkers, and creators it hosts annually. The initiative was announced at an AI summit in Paris with French Minister of Culture Rachida Dati and backed by Fidji Simo, OpenAI's CEO of applications. 'We're not choosing sides so much as opening space for inquiry,' says Mohamed Bouabdallah, Villa Albertine's director. 'Some residents may critique AI or explore its risks.' In 2024, Villa Albertine also hosted a summit called Arts in the Age of AI, drawing more than 500 attendees and participants from OpenAI, Mozilla, SAG-AFTRA, and both US and French copyright offices, according to Bouabdallah. Bouabdallah says these programs are designed to 'select the artist, not just their work.' They provide artists with the time and resources needed to explore art projects that use AI. 'Even if someone uses AI extensively, they must articulate their intent. It's not just about output—it's about authorship.' As he puts it, 'The tool must be behind the human.' This kind of cultural framing is meant to promote artistic production, but it can also influence how AI is viewed by the public, pushing back on the often negative perception around AI art. 'An AI developer might want to change minds about what's legitimate by packaging the use of AI in a form that resembles traditional artistic practice,' says Trystan Goetze, an ethicist and director at Cornell University. 'That could make it seem more acceptable.' 'The real value here is giving artists the space to grapple with that themselves.' Residencies may support specific artists, but they don't address the broader concerns around AI art. 'Changing the context from random users prompting models in Discord to formal residencies doesn't alter the core issues,' Goetze says. 'The labor is still being taken.' These legal questions around authorship and compensation remain unresolved. In the US, class-action lawsuits by artists against Stability AI, Midjourney, and others are testing whether generative models trained on copyrighted work constitute fair use. Courts will decide these questions, but public sentiment may shape the boundaries: if AI-generated art is culturally perceived as derivative or exploitative, it becomes harder to defend its legitimacy in policy or law, and vice versa. A similar dynamic played out over a century ago. In 1908, the US Supreme Court ruled that piano rolls, then a new format for reproducing music, were not subject to copyright, because they weren't readable by the human eye. Widespread backlash from musicians, publishers, and the public spurred Congress to pass the 1909 Copyright Act, introducing a compulsory licensing system that required payment for mechanical reproductions. 'These models do have a recognizable aesthetic,' Goetze says. 'The more we're exposed to these visuals, the more 'normal' they might seem.' That normalization, he speculates, might soften resistance not just to AI art but also to AI in other domains. 'There's always been debate around inspiration versus plagiarism,' Bouabdallah says. 'The real value here is giving artists the space to grapple with that themselves.' Ayala argues that 'the problem is not that AI copies — humans copy constantly — it's that the benefits are not distributed equally: the big companies benefit most.' Despite those challenges, Ayala sees residencies as important sites of experimentation. 'We can't just critique that AI was built by privileged men, we have to actively build alternatives,' she says. 'It's not about what I want AI to be: it already is what it is. We're transitioning as a species in how we relate, remember, and co-create.'

Forbes

a day ago

• Forbes

Wellcome Photography Prize Captures Topics In Science And Health

The Wellcome Photography Prize announced their shortlist of 25 photos that highlight topics in health and science. Besides artistically captured photographs that show human life around the world, the competition also includes a biomedical imaging category that features stunning photographs taken with high-tech scientific equipment. 'Cholesterol in the liver', 2022 By Steve Gschmeissner Courtesy of Wellcome Photography Prize 2025 This photography competition, which was last held in 2021, is organised by Wellcome, a charitable foundation that supports health research around the world. As a charity, Wellcome focuses on big topics like global health, mental health and the link between climate and health. These themes are reflected in the competition's submissions, which capture how issues that sometimes feel overly complex and abstract impact real people in their daily life. For example, in 'A Dream to Cure Water', Ciril Jazbec photographed a man in the Andes next to a small stream. The indigenous community that lives in this area of Peru has had to rely on purifying glacial runoff water with basic tools. It illustrates the impact that climate change has on people living in this region where 40% of glaciers have disappeared in the last half century. 'Dream to cure water', 2022 By Ciril Jazbec Courtesy of Wellcome Photography Prize 2025 Another shortlisted photo, by Pyaephyo Thetpaing, almost looks like a Renaissance painting, but it is an image of Ko Tun, a craftsman in Myanmar, who paints images and carves pots using his left foot after having lost his three other limbs. In a description of his photo, Thetpaing says 'Ko Tun's resilience is not just physical – it is mental and emotional. His story speaks to the importance of purpose and adaptability in overcoming life's challenges. By channelling his energy into his craft, he has found a way to heal, thrive, and inspire others.' Resilience artist', 2024 By Pyae Phyo Thet Paing Courtesy of Wellcome Photography Prize 2025 FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder This year's Wellcome Photography Prize is also the first year that the competition includes biomedical images. These images, often created with high tech scientific equipment, were originally part of the Wellcome Image Awards, but when the competition was rebranded as the Wellcome Photography Prize in 2019 this category was originally left out. Although there are other competitions that feature biomedical and scientific images, it's good to see this category back at the Wellcome award, because it shows such a unique view of the world through scientists' eyes. The images in this category often start out as research. Biologists have access to high-resolution microscopes and other tools that make minuscule details of cells or tissues visible. These images reveal new knowledge of the world, but they're often also very pretty. At the top of this article is an image of cholesterol in the liver, captured by Steve Gschmeissner using scanning electron microscopy. It captures the very tiny cholesterol crystals that can damage blood vessels or lead to strokes and heart attacks. Seeing the spikes in the image with such clarity really brings home the damage cholesterol can do. Another photo in this category (shown below) was made by researchers in Brazil who study the parasite that causes Chagas disease. This tropical disease, which is transferred by food or insects that contain the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, can cause a range of health problems. It's particularly prevalent in low-income populations in the Americas, and despite its devastating effects it has not been studied as much as some other diseases. Ingrid Augusto, Kildare Rocha de Miranda and Vânia da Silva Vieira are hoping to change that with their research into the disease. This image, which they took as part of their research, shows the inner structure of the parasite. 'Ice and Fire Chronics: The Chagas Disease Invader', 2020 By Ingrid Augusto, Kildare Rocha de ... More Miranda and Vania da Silva Vieira Courtesy of Wellcome Photography Prize 2025 These and other shortlisted competition photos will be on display at the Francis Crick Institute in London, UK, from July 17th to October 18th. One the day before the exhibit opens, the winners in each category will be announced at an awards ceremony. Besides the 25 Wellcome Photography prize finalists, this exhibit will also include a project by young people in Khayelitsha, South Africa. In 'Things We Left Unseen', they document daily life and issues around topics such as mental health or water access in their area of Cape Town, which has been significantly underserved compared to the rest of the city.

USA Today

2 days ago

• USA Today

Human remains found near Taylor Swift's Rhode Island home have been identified

Human remains found near Taylor Swift's Rhode Island home have been identified Show Caption Hide Caption Taylor Swift's heartwarming visit to a children's hospital Singer Taylor Swift visited the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital and met with young patients battling illness. Authorities have identified the human remains found near Taylor Swift's Rhode Island home. After several outlets reported on the remains last month, the South Kingstown Police Department revealed in a June 13 statement that the remains belonged to 31-year-old Eric Wein of Massachusetts. "After working closely with the Mansfield Police Department and the Rhode Island Office of the State Medical Examiners, the South Kingstown Police Department has formally concluded its investigation," the statement read. "No foul play is suspected." "We extend our deepest condolences to Mr. Wein's family and loved ones during this difficult time," the statement concluded. Wein's remains washed ashore on May 14 in Westerly, Rhode Island, which includes the wealthy enclave of Watch Hill, where Swift owns her sprawling residence. Real estate pushback to 'Taylor Swift tax' begins. Will the charge hit everyday cottages? The home, called "Holiday House," inspired the fan favorite hit song, including "The Last Great American Dynasty" from her 2020 album "Folklore." The home even inspired beloved New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry's newest book, "Great Big Beautiful Life." Henry's book, released April 22, follows Alice and Hayden, two journalists vying for the chance to write a blockbuster celebrity memoir. The "Beach Read" author revealed in an interview earlier this year that she drew the story from several real-life tales, including Swift's 2020 song, which is about her Westerly mansion's previous owner, Rebekah Harkness. "I love that song, and love the story behind it," she told E! News in April. "Every once in a while, I find myself back on the Wikipedia page, just reading through. I just find those kinds of larger-than-life families really, really intriguing." "Holiday House" also inspired possible Rhode Island legislation that would enact a "Taylor Swift tax," officially called the "non-owner-occupied tax," which applies to all residential properties assessed at more than $1 million that do not serve as a primary dwelling. To qualify as a primary residence, an owner has to live there more than half the year, or 183 days. By this criteria, Swift would owe Rhode Island around $136,000 in new taxes on her Watch Hill mansion if a new charge to high-end vacation homes proposed in the House version of the state budget passes. Contributing: Patrick Anderson, Providence Journal; Melina Khan, USA TODAY NETWORK - New England