Shadow side

The Long Shadow Of Smart Streetlights

Zhile Xie | Failed Architecture | 6th September 2022

Street lighting has been associated with surveillance and control for millennia. Now, the advent of "smart" lighting turns a mere illumination device into a signal hub that monitors and records vast quantities of video and audio in real time without the need for human input. The data can then be sold for profit through partnerships between local government and tech companies (2,438 words)

Time Is On My Side

Eric Kohn | IndieWire | 2nd September 2022

Interview with Werner Herzog as he turns 80. He is phlegmatic about ageing: "It sounds like statistics. I do not really relate it... I’ll do what I do until they carry me out feet first." He doesn't fear death. "We shouldn’t make a big fuss about it. I think that fear basically has to do with our relationship to our own demise. If you have settled that, most fear will probably disappear" (2,727 words)