Almost 500 Etchings by Rembrandt Now Free Online
Open Culture – Courtesy of the Morgan Library & Museum: “Seventeenth-century Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn may have more name recognition than nearly any other European artist, his popularity due in large part to what art historian Alison McQueen identifies in her book of the same name as “the rise of the cult of Rembrandt.”
Popular Rembrandt veneration brought us in the 20th century such corporate appropriations of the painter’s legacy as Rembrandt toothpaste and money market firm Rembrandt Funds (particularly ironic, “given the notoriety of Rembrandt’s bankruptcy in 1656”)…Nowadays, you can see Rembrandt’s paintings for free online, whether from the National Gallery of Art’s collection, that of the National Gallery in London, or of the Dutch Rijksmuseum.
And for another side of his genius, you can now go to the site of New York’s Morgan Library and Museum, who have digitized “almost 500 images from the Morgan’s exceptional collection of Rembrandt etchings,” celebrating his “unsurpassed skill and inventiveness as a master storyteller.”
There are, of course, plenty of self-portraits, like the 1630 “Self Portrait in a Cap, Open-Mouthed” at the top of the post, and there are portraits of others, like that of the artist’s mother, above, from 1633. There are religious scenes like the 1655 “Abraham’s Sacrifice” below, and landscapes like “The Three Trees,” further down, from 1643.”
A.I. Joe: The Dangers of Artificial Intelligence and the Military
Public Citizen: “The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the military-industrial complex are rushing to embrace an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven future. There’s nothing particularly surprising or inherently worrisome about this trend.
AI is already in widespread use and evolving generative AI technologies are likely to suffuse society, remaking jobs, organizational arrangements and machinery. At the same time, AI poses manifold risks to society and military applications present novel problems and concerns, as the Pentagon itself recognizes. This report outlines some of the primary concerns around military applications of AI use. It begins with a brief overview of the Pentagon’s AI policy. Then it reviews:
- The grave dangers of autonomous weapons – “killer robots” programmed to make their own decisions about use of lethal force.
- The imperative of ensuring that decisions to use nuclear weapons can be made only by humans, not automated systems.
- How AI intelligence processing can increase not diminish the use of violence.
- The risks of using deepfakes on the battlefield.
The report then reviews how military AI start-ups are crusading for Pentagon contracts, including by following the tried-and-true tactic of relying on revolving door relationships. The report concludes with a series of recommendations:
- The United States should pledge not to develop or deploy autonomous weapons, and should support a global treaty banning such weapons.
- The United States should codify the commitment that only humans can launch nuclear weapons.
- Deepfakes should be banned from the battlefield.
- Spending for AI technologies should come from the already bloated and wasteful Pentagon budget, not additional appropriations.”
