Why Won’t Governments Regulate AI?

Enthusiasts Say the Technology Will Herald a 'Fourth Industrial Revolution.' Unchecked, It’s More Likely to Intensify Inequality and Corporate Power

This piece publishes as part of the Zócalo, Arts for LA, ASU Narrative and Emerging Media Program, and LACMA program “Is AI the End of Creativity—Or a New Beginning?” Register to join in person in downtown L.A. or to watch the livestream on Tuesday, November 28 at 7 p.m. PST.

What happens when a globe-spanning corporation becomes so powerful that even nations have to answer to it? In the 18th century, the British East India Company (EIC) came close. Founded by royal charter to act …

by Brian Judge | November 27, 2023

Boxers Know the Power of an Entrance

The Way a Fighter Steps Into the Ring Communicates Everything From Pride to Protest

by Rudy Mondragón | May 22, 2023

The first time I really paid attention to boxing ring entrances—the long, celebratory walks fighters take from their dressing rooms to the ring before a bout—was in 1992, when I …

From Cleopatra to Clinton, Politics Is Never Out of Style

Fashion Is a Powerful Tool of Communication—And One Ripe for Leverage

by Jackie Mansky | March 19, 2021

Back in 2008, Michelle Obama was scheduled to be a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno right after campaign finance reports revealed that Sarah Palin’s new wardrobe, priced …

Can Women ‘Turn Protest Into Power’?

L.A.’s Women Are Rising, but Too Many Communities Are Being Left Behind

by Sarah Rothbard | December 4, 2020

Last month, Kamala Harris made U.S. history, becoming the first woman to be elected vice president. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, the November elections resulted in the first all-women Board of …

America’s Decline Is Relative but Real—and Potentially Dangerous

The Rest of the World Is Catching Up, and the Nation's Cluelessness About Its Weaknesses Will Accelerate the Trend

By Manlio Graziano | March 9, 2018

Is the United States in decline? The debate on the subject lacks both content and context. To take the conversation about American decline away from arbitrary and subjective claims, we …

Is California Too Exceptional to Be Part of the U.S.?

We're a Progressive Check on Red-State Power—but We Unbalance the Constitutional System

By Joe Mathews | September 25, 2017

America is terribly polarized.

And it’s all on account of California.

The trouble is not merely that California itself is such a politically polarized place. Or that California contributes to the many …

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