Hugo NewmanThe Revival of the Author: AI, Barthes and the Hollowness of Authorless ArtLast year, shortly after the launch of ChatGPT 4, my brother sent me the above screenshot: GPT 4's best impression of Leonard Cohen’s…Jun 9Jun 9
Hugo NewmanA Critique of Wokeness: Definable, and IndefensibleI tend to recoil at casual mention of the word “woke”. In part, that’s a function of the fact that it has been so liberally misused by…Mar 4, 2023Mar 4, 2023
Hugo NewmanA 2 Year Retrospective on the Greatest Peacetime Political Misstep in the Modern History of the…I want you to run a quick thought experiment. Imagine yourself as you were 4 years ago. It’s 2018, and we’re coming into the winter months…Oct 9, 2022Oct 9, 2022
Hugo NewmanThe Abortion Debate is a MessOf all the conversation topics that’s liable to provoke rage within the first few sentences, abortion has to be at least in the top three…Jul 2, 2022Jul 2, 2022
Hugo NewmanWhy everyone’s wrong about Twitter and Elon Musk1. Twitter is not a “digital public square”. Please stop saying that, whether you’re on the left or on the right. It’s a private online…Apr 26, 2022Apr 26, 2022
Hugo NewmanTowards a New, Radical Political Centre: Part 1Much has been made recently of the need to fortify something like a “new centre” as a corrective to the unsavory excesses of both right…Aug 25, 2020Aug 25, 2020
Hugo NewmanBLM’s Kafkatrap ProblemI think enough time has passed now to be able to speak frankly and reflect soberly on some of the recent events surrounding the BLM…Jul 25, 20205Jul 25, 20205
Hugo NewmanAn Exit Strategy for COVID-19In recent weeks the governments of many major European nations have been converging towards short-term social and economic lockdowns as a…Apr 2, 2020Apr 2, 2020
Hugo NewmanI couldn’t find any “climate crisis” in the IPCC’s most recent Assessment ReportThe public rhetoric surrounding climate change has reached fever pitch in recent months. The rise to prominence of the impressive young…Jun 5, 201910Jun 5, 201910