ROADRUNNER, AI & OLIVIA RODRIGO AT THE WHITE HOUSE

ROADRUNNER, a new documentary film chronicling the life of Anthony Bourdain comes out this week. I will definitely be heading to the theaters to watch. But there’s one troubling wrinkle in the whole thing:, In order to provide the audience with exactly the right audio for the story he wanted to tell, filmmaker Morgan Neville used artificial intelligence to manufacture a version of Bourdain’s voice. The computer-made audio is used to narrate an emotional email that Bourdain sent to a friend toward the end of his life, discussing the idea of happiness. While I fully understand the filmmaker’s choice to find a way to bring this heavy email to life, it’s sort of eerie. It reminds me of the trend of creating holograms of famous musicians in order to put on shows for fans. I get the idea behind it, but it’s weird. The filmmaker himself told The New Yorker, “If you watch the film, other than that line you mentioned, you probably don’t know what the other lines are that were spoken by the A.I., and you’re not going to know...We can have a documentary-ethics panel about it later.”
Also worthy of a panel discussion: Gen Z fav Olivia Rodrigo hit the White House this week in order to convince young people to get vaccinated. Press Secretary Jen Psaki described it as an effort to “meet people where they are”. While this moment has of course brought us jokes, rom com pitches, and a plethora of internet opinions, it feels important and potentially impactful. Because according to the CDC, only about 42 percent of people 18 to 24 have been fully vaccinated. That's compared with nearly 60% of all adults in the United States. And, with L.A. County now requiring masks indoors again due to a recent spike in cases, we can only hope that efforts like Olivia’s are successful.
And finally, if you’re looking for an uplifting story to cap a long week, check out this article documenting “the pool’s oldest lifeguard,” Joshua Vick. The 36-year-old found himself unemployed after the pandemic, and took a job working for his local pool, which he fondly calls “a dream come true.”
If that doesn’t lift your spirits, go ahead and watch this TikTok showing off the most ideal form of protection from bugs, or this one that’s hard to explain but an extremely accurate reaction to a burglar.
—Darlene Kenney, Digital Strategist