Hasta La Creative!

His lively drawings of historic Supreme Court arguments, impeachment trials and murder cases gave the public a peek into venues where cameras were banned.

In the long list of cherished holiday traditions, few are as enduring as parents taking their kids to see Santa at the local mall or retail store. Every year, over 18 million children call on Santa, according to the cultural blog Atkins Bookshelf, and 70% of malls and shopping centers employ one, as per NationalSanta.com….

But in her first interview since her podcast reached No. 1, she does share ideas about why the show has become a breakout hit.

In his 2003 paper, Are We Living in a Computer Simulation?, philosopher Nick Bostrom suggested the possibility that, in the future, civilisations might be so technically advanced that they might fancy running “ancestor simulations” of the sentient beings in their distant past. Following that hypothesis, our bodies, our minds and the physical world that we currently inhabit could very well be little more than a computer simulation engineered by those future beings.

Piotr Winiewicz, About a Hero, 2024

Ruben Cabenda, Töngö sondi, 2024. Installation view, Idfa Doclab

This year’s edition of IDFA DocLab, the platform for interactive and immersive documentary art at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, has chosen as its theme This Is Not a Simulation. The title celebrates the twofold power of technology. On the one hand, VR, AR, AI and other technologies can produce virtual life-like creatures, immaterial wealth and absorbing software constructs. On the other hand, those same technologies can bring about physical experiences and authentic feelings. And none of those experiences are simulated.

Aphra Taghizadeh, Speechless Witness of a Wandering Tree / ???? ??? ???? ???????, 2024. Installation view, Idfa Doclab

IDFA DocLab‘s selection of works also plays with the Janus character of technology: to make us escape from reality and ground us firmly into it. One work connects rice with transatlantic slavery. Another explores how, in recent years, rulers of countries such as Iran, Bangladesh and Chile have deliberately blinded their citizens. One installation suggests what a safe space for queer people might feel like. Another imagines how autonomous technological entities will one day merge with plants and fungi.

Since 2007, DocLab’s ambition has been to investigate how artists are using new technologies to tell compelling stories. This year, many of the works selected are using AI to convey these stories. However, no matter how impressive the algorithms are, they never prevail over the human. You can always identify the critical, subjective, playful and deeply human handiwork in the immersive art pieces, AI experiences and live performances shown in the programme. So yes, this is not a simulation, people. At least not yet.

Here’s a (far too small) selection of the works I particularly enjoyed in the IDFA DocLab exhibition:

Tamara Shogaolu, Oryza: Healing Ground, 2024. Installation view, Idfa Doclab

Tamara Shogaolu, Oryza: Healing Ground, 2024. Installation view, Idfa Doclab

Tamara Shogaolu, Oryza: Healing Ground, 2024

Tamara Shogaolu, Oryza: Healing Ground, 2024

Only two rice species have been domesticated throughout human history. The most widely known is Oryza sativa, domesticated in China approximately 10,000 years ago. The other, Oryza glaberrima, is less famous and was not recognised as a unique species until the mid-20th century. Its history is grounded in the inland delta of West Africa’s Niger River, where it was domesticated some 3,500 years ago.

Oryza: Healing Ground, an AR installation by Tamara Shogaolu, explores the entanglements between Oryza glaberrima and transatlantic slavery.

African rice was brought to the Americas with the slave trade. The seed was carried as provisions on slave ships. However, African women, who had always played a major role in rice cultivation, braided rice and other grains into their hair as a kind of counter-plantation stratagem. Cultivating African rice according to their own traditions allowed enslaved people to claim a space of autonomy, enrich their meals and remain connected to their roots. The high price of rice on the market made rice-growing skills profitable and newly imported enslaved Africans were “advertised” for the specialised farming skills and techniques needed to grow the grain and advance its diffusion.

Oryza: Healing Ground tells the forgotten story of the first Black farmers of the USA. The work combines art, archives, AI and interviews with Natalie Baszile, Akua Page and other champions of the Black land movement that resist the US Department of Agriculture’s quiet sabotage of African American farmers.

By using AI to enliven archival material, the artist not only generated new images that are based on her own biases, but she also weaved a counter-history narrative that addresses the exclusion of marginalised perspectives from traditional archives and AI-generated imagery. I would like to see more works like Oryza, more works that show both finesse and combative spirit.

Zhuzmo, All I Know About Teacher Li, 2024

Zhuzmo, All I Know About Teacher Li, 2024

Teacher Li is an anonymous Chinese artist living in Italy. He had the habit of sharing on Weibo (a kind of Chinese version of Twitter) all kinds of videos and news stories that the Chinese government would have preferred to keep quiet. Each time he published an undesirable story, Weibo censored it and swiftly kicked him off the platform. He kept registering under different names until Weibo banned him completely. So he moved to Twitter.

During the COVID pandemic, Teacher Li’s account became the go-to newsroom for all stories related to zero covid policy: from zealous restriction enforcers to people so desperate they threw themselves from rooftops, from acts of resistance to humorous videos explaining how to hoist your dog from the window so that it can have a walk in the street while you are locked inside a flat. Each time, a Chinese citizen found something worth sharing, they sent it to Teacher Li who would then publish it on Twitter. Thanks to him, millions of Chinese citizens realised that the frustration with the drastic containment measures was growing fast. One day, Teacher Li received a video showing a woman standing in front of a university and holding a blank sheet of paper. The white space of the A4 stood for everything Chinese citizens would say if censorship weren’t so rampant. Over the following days, other videos like that one emerged. Only with more and more people and in various cities across the country. At the height of the White Paper protests, more than a million people in China were following Teacher Li.

Zhuzmo’s interactive VR film All I Know About Teacher Li tells the story of Teacher Li, of the absurd Covid restrictions and of the collective (and eventually successful) efforts to convince the government to allow the return to normal life.

Zhumo (again, not a real name, as it is safer for the artist to remain anonymous) did a great job with this 20-minute VR documentary. The interactive element is pretty unspectacular (you have to grab and throw paper planes to launch the next video) but everything else is brilliant: the hand-drawn animation, the citizen footage converted into 3D, the storytelling that shows the power of solidarity, perseverance and social media activism. All I Know About Teacher Li is a very moving piece. Special thanks to the VR headset that hid the tears in my eyes.

Felix Heyes and Ben Wes, Google volume 2, 2024

Felix Heyes and Ben Wes, Google volume 2, 2024. Installation view, Idfa Doclab

10 years ago, Felix Heyes and Ben West published Google, volume 1, a paper dictionary where the 21,110 words and definitions have been replaced by the first image that appeared on Google Images for that word. The physical version of Google image archive was given a revamp this year. The exercise was exactly the same. The images often changed (but not always), sometimes the photo was replaced by a commercial logo, sometimes it was the design that changed, sometimes the meaning assigned to a word differed. What is striking, however, is how aesthetically poor many of the images are: lousy graphics, stock images, generic photos.

mots (Daniela Nedovescu and Octavian Mot), AI & Me, 2024

AI & Me invites you to see yourself through the “eyes” of AI. You sit for a moment on a chair in front of a screen and wait for the machine to judge you. If you are looking for validation, reassurance and flattery, you might be disappointed. The algorithm wasn’t made to please. I was happy to be identified as a “young Asian male who loves vintage fashion.” Others found the conclusions of the machine a bit raw and grating. Most found it hilarious, though. After its assessment, the system displays a series of modified photos of you on nearby screens.

As is often the case with AI, we have no clue about the dataset the machine was trained on. It remains a black box. Through its interpretation and conclusion about people, however, we might be able to guess the biases embedded in the system and the societal structures that shape them.

The irony of the work is that at a time when we read again and again that privacy is crucial and we should be more suspicious of AI systems, we find it hard to resist a machine that judges us. We just love mirrors, even deforming ones. Maybe the work should be called Me & AI.

Alaa Al Minawi, The Liminal, 2024. Installation view, Idfa Doclab

Alaa Al Minawi, The Liminal, 2024. Installation view, Idfa Doclab. Photo: Nina Schollaardt

The Liminal is a wall. In all its beige blandness. As you go closer, you can hear the people living inside the wall. They talk about the roles of a wall (separating, protecting or both), about how they deal with boundaries and oppressive systems.

Alaa Al Minawi‘s work imagines a world where all borders and all no man’s land combine into one single state. Unsatisfied with the injustices and quarrels of the world, its inhabitants have quietly retreated within its boundaries. This invisible community moves inside the wall and you have to glue your ear to the surface and move along the white surface to follow their stories. You’re an outsider. You can’t join them but you can listen and reflect on division, unity and privileges.

Seán Hannan, You Can Sing Me on My Way, 2024

Seán Hannan (i.c.w. B-Lab (Bram van Es)), You Can Sing Me on My Way, 2024. Installation view, Idfa Doclab

You Can Sing Me on My Way -which design is inspired by René Magritte’s painting La voix des airs– plays sean-nós songs. This Irish Gaelic style of singing is dating back to a time when the written word did not exist. One of their roles was to pass on the memory of important events. The tradition is now dying out.

Seán Hannan used a specially trained AI to revitalise sean-nós. New lyrics are created based on the contemporary news stories that the algorithm considers important, songs are generated and added to a database. This produces the new lyrics, compositions and vocals that are heard continuously from this installation.

Visitors can read an English translation of the Irish Gaelic lyrics on their phones.

More works and images from DocLab exhibition:

Emeline Courcier, Burn from Absence, 2024. Installation view, Idfa Doclab

Queer.Space, DOLLHOUSE for Queer Imaginaries, 2024. Installation view, Idfa Doclab

Pegah Tabassinejad, Entropic Fields of Displacement. Installation view, Idfa Doclab

Sister Sylvester, Drinking Brecht: An Automated Laboratory Performance, 2024. Installation view, Idfa Doclab

Marcel van Brakel and Hazal Ertürkan, Future Botanica

Idfa Doclab at de Brakke Grond

The IDFA DocLab exhibition is closed. If you want to hear more about the 18th edition of IDFA DocLab, check out Voices of VR‘s interview with curators Caspar Sonnen, Nina van Doren and Toby Coffey: IDFA DocLab Curators Preview 2024 Slate of AI & XR Immersive Documentaries.

Source

The TV ad market space is continuing to change at a rapid pace. From lower costs driven by shifting supply and demand dynamics, a multi-currency marketplace, and cross-platform viewing, there were a lot of trends that dominated the TV ad market. Free ad-supported tiers continued to grow, while live sports programming soared. ADWEEK asked 13…

Numerous media outlets, looking for new lucrative lines of business, are pursuing newsletters and events aimed specifically at top executives.

[ad_1]
Car Insurance Cost for 2025 Audi e-tron: Cheapest Rates From Best Companies

The 2025 Audi e-tron is an all-electric luxury SUV that has gained popularity for its high performance, advanced technology, and sleek design. When it comes to insuring this vehicle, the cost can vary depending on factors such as the driver’s age, driving record, location, and coverage options. In this article, we will explore the average cost of car insurance for the 2025 Audi e-tron and review the rates offered by four different insurance companies. We will also discuss what is typically covered and not covered in a car insurance policy for this vehicle, as well as answer some common questions about insuring the Audi e-tron.

Average Cost of Car Insurance for 2025 Audi e-tron

The cost of car insurance for the 2025 Audi e-tron can vary depending on a variety of factors, including the driver’s age, location, driving record, and desired coverage options. However, based on national averages, the average cost of car insurance for the Audi e-tron is around $1,500 to $2,000 per year.

Of course, this is just an estimate and actual rates can vary significantly. Factors such as the driver’s age, driving record, location, and coverage options can all impact the cost of insurance. Additionally, insurance companies use different rating factors and pricing models, so it’s important to shop around and compare quotes from multiple insurers to find the best rate for your specific situation.

Cheapest Rates From Best Companies

When it comes to insuring the 2025 Audi e-tron, there are several insurance companies that are known for offering competitive rates. Here are four insurance companies that are worth considering for insuring your Audi e-tron:

1. Geico: Geico is known for offering competitive rates and a variety of discounts that can help lower the cost of insuring your Audi e-tron. They also have a user-friendly website and mobile app that make it easy to manage your policy online.

2. Progressive: Progressive is another popular choice for insuring luxury vehicles like the Audi e-tron. They offer a variety of coverage options, including specialized coverage for electric vehicles, and have a reputation for excellent customer service.

3. Allstate: Allstate is a well-known insurance company that offers a range of coverage options for the Audi e-tron, including comprehensive and collision coverage. They also offer a variety of discounts that can help lower your premium.

4. State Farm: State Farm is one of the largest insurance companies in the United States and offers competitive rates for insuring the Audi e-tron. They have a network of local agents who can help you find the right coverage for your specific needs.

When comparing rates from different insurance companies, be sure to consider not only the premium cost but also the coverage options, deductibles, and customer service ratings. It’s also a good idea to ask about any discounts that may be available, such as multi-policy discounts, safe driver discounts, or discounts for safety features on your vehicle.

Common Things Covered and Not Covered in Car Insurance Policies for the Audi e-tron

When insuring your 2025 Audi e-tron, there are several common things that are typically covered by a standard car insurance policy, as well as some things that are not covered. Here are six common things that are covered and not covered in a car insurance policy for the Audi e-tron:

Covered:

1. Liability coverage: Liability coverage is required in most states and helps cover the costs of bodily injury and property damage if you are at fault in an accident.

2. Collision coverage: Collision coverage helps pay for repairs to your Audi e-tron if it is damaged in a collision with another vehicle or object.

3. Comprehensive coverage: Comprehensive coverage helps pay for repairs to your Audi e-tron if it is damaged by something other than a collision, such as theft, vandalism, or weather damage.

4. Medical payments coverage: Medical payments coverage helps pay for medical expenses for you and your passengers if you are injured in an accident, regardless of who is at fault.

5. Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage: This coverage helps protect you if you are in an accident with a driver who does not have insurance or does not have enough insurance to cover the costs of the accident.

6. Personal injury protection: Personal injury protection (PIP) coverage helps pay for medical expenses and lost wages for you and your passengers if you are injured in an accident, regardless of who is at fault.

Not Covered:

1. Wear and tear: Car insurance does not cover normal wear and tear on your Audi e-tron, such as mechanical breakdowns or maintenance costs.

2. Racing: Car insurance typically does not cover any damage that occurs while using your vehicle for racing or other high-risk activities.

3. Intentional damage: Car insurance does not cover any damage that occurs intentionally, such as vandalism or intentional collisions.

4. Personal belongings: Car insurance does not typically cover personal belongings that are stolen or damaged in your Audi e-tron, such as electronics or clothing.

5. Commercial use: Car insurance does not cover any damage that occurs while using your vehicle for commercial purposes, such as ridesharing or delivery services.

6. Modifications: Car insurance may not cover any aftermarket modifications made to your Audi e-tron, such as custom paint jobs or performance upgrades.

It’s important to carefully review your car insurance policy to understand what is covered and not covered, as well as any limits or exclusions that may apply. If you have any questions about your coverage, be sure to contact your insurance agent or company for clarification.

Common Questions About Insuring the Audi e-tron

If you are considering insuring your 2025 Audi e-tron, you may have some questions about the process. Here are 13 common questions about insuring the Audi e-tron, along with answers to help you navigate the insurance process:

1. What factors impact the cost of insurance for the Audi e-tron?

The cost of insurance for the Audi e-tron can be impacted by factors such as the driver’s age, driving record, location, and coverage options. Additionally, insurance companies use different rating factors and pricing models, so it’s important to shop around and compare quotes to find the best rate.

2. Are there any discounts available for insuring the Audi e-tron?

Many insurance companies offer discounts that can help lower the cost of insuring the Audi e-tron. Some common discounts include multi-policy discounts, safe driver discounts, and discounts for safety features on your vehicle.

3. What coverage options are available for the Audi e-tron?

There are a variety of coverage options available for insuring the Audi e-tron, including liability coverage, collision coverage, comprehensive coverage, medical payments coverage, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, and personal injury protection.

4. Do I need special coverage for an electric vehicle like the Audi e-tron?

Some insurance companies offer specialized coverage for electric vehicles like the Audi e-tron, such as coverage for battery replacement or charging equipment. Be sure to ask your insurance agent about any specialized coverage options that may be available.

5. How can I find the best rate for insuring my Audi e-tron?

To find the best rate for insuring your Audi e-tron, it’s important to shop around and compare quotes from multiple insurance companies. Be sure to consider not only the premium cost but also the coverage options, deductibles, and customer service ratings.

6. Can I add additional coverage to my car insurance policy for the Audi e-tron?

Yes, you can typically add additional coverage options to your car insurance policy for the Audi e-tron, such as roadside assistance, rental car reimbursement, or gap insurance. Be sure to ask your insurance agent about any additional coverage options that may be available.

7. What should I do if I need to file a claim for my Audi e-tron?

If you need to file a claim for your Audi e-tron, contact your insurance company as soon as possible to report the incident. Be prepared to provide details about the accident, including the date, time, and location, as well as any other relevant information.

8. Will my insurance rates go up if I file a claim for my Audi e-tron?

Filing a claim for your Audi e-tron can impact your insurance rates, depending on factors such as the extent of the damage, who was at fault, and your claims history. Be sure to discuss any potential rate increases with your insurance agent.

9. What should I do if my Audi e-tron is stolen?

If your Audi e-tron is stolen, contact your insurance company as soon as possible to report the theft. Be prepared to provide details about the theft, including the date, time, and location, as well as any other relevant information.

10. Will my insurance cover a rental car if my Audi e-tron is in the shop?

Some insurance policies offer rental car reimbursement coverage, which can help cover the cost of a rental car while your Audi e-tron is in the shop for repairs. Be sure to check your policy or contact your insurance agent to see if this coverage is included.

11. Can I transfer my insurance policy if I sell my Audi e-tron?

If you sell your Audi e-tron, you can typically transfer your insurance policy to the new owner or cancel the policy and receive a refund for any unused premium. Be sure to contact your insurance company to discuss the best option for your situation.

12. What should I do if I move to a new state with my Audi e-tron?

If you move to a new state with your Audi e-tron, you will need to update your insurance policy to meet the requirements of your new state. Be sure to contact your insurance agent to discuss any necessary changes to your policy.

13. Can I lower my insurance rates by taking a defensive driving course?

Some insurance companies offer discounts for completing a defensive driving course, which can help lower your insurance rates for the Audi e-tron. Be sure to check with your insurance agent to see if this discount is available and how to qualify.

In conclusion, insuring the 2025 Audi e-tron can be a straightforward process when you understand the factors that impact the cost of insurance, shop around for the best rates, and carefully review your coverage options. By comparing quotes from multiple insurance companies, considering discounts, and understanding what is covered and not covered in your policy, you can find the best rate for insuring your Audi e-tron. If you have any questions about insuring your Audi e-tron, be sure to contact your insurance agent or company for guidance and support.
[ad_2]

The real couples featured in Hinge’s new campaign share a funny coincidence: All of them unknowingly crossed paths with their future partner in person before connecting on the dating app. Hinge tells these surprising, true love stories in its latest ads, which continue its long-running “Designed to Be Deleted” platform. The campaign-launching amid reports of…

For better or worse, people had a lot of feelings about advertising this year. Thanks to social media, advertisers can no longer launch their campaigns into a void, hoping their marketing investment later pays off in increased sales. Advertising is now a two-way street, and brands must be prepared at all times for consumer feedback….