#5SmartReads - March 17, 2023

Madison works as a full-time freelance writer across numerous verticals. She's recently added Part-Time College Counselor to her work life, which has pushed the launching of Grief Cards (a line of sympathy cards that don't suck) to the back burner. This spring, you can find her in working from a Kansas City-area Panera or on the kickball field as captain of her team, Babe Ruthless.

Getty Images Is Suing The Creators Of AI Art Tool Stable Diffusion For Scraping Its Content (The Verge)

We’re becoming accustomed to seeing AI this and AI that, but I don’t think quite enough pause has gone into the public’s consideration of where exactly this artificial intelligence originates.

Here’s yet another instance of copyright infringement in the AI world. Getty Images is one of the larger commercial websites; its business model hinges on selling very specific usage rights to a vast collection of images. Here, The Verge deep dives into what the future of generative AI might look like and how this situation might link back to the early days of digital music.

We likely won’t have any definitive answers for the legal structures behind generative AI for a few years, but it’s still worth remembering that AI’s power comes from the data it’s fed, and that that data had an original purpose, too.

How Quebec’s Human Rights Commission Drove Out Its First Black Female President (The Walrus)

I’m the first to admit that I’m woefully under informed about the political state of Canada, much less about specific provincial policies or issues. So while this is definitely not a substitute for a proper education in Quebec’s political history, I have found myself returning to this November 2022 read to help contextualize some current Canadian (and local KC) events.

In particular, two questions from the piece carry far-reaching implications and keep coming to mind:

“What happens to the next person who finds herself in a similar situation? The next Black or racialized woman tokenized into a leadership position at a time of crisis and then scapegoated when she tries to make real changes?”

How I Broke The Last Taboo (Insider)

New York City businesses' responses to the pay transparency legislation somehow feels both wholly unsurprising and shockingly petty. Rather than give genuine pay-disclosures as a part of job listings, many are including the full gamut of salaries in each listing e.g. $36,000 to $144,000 for a role that, realistically, will fall in the $55-$62k range.

I’m highlighting this article because it’s an individual’s take on how transparency benefits the everyday employee, as well as her own decision to tirelessly speak publicly about her salary.

And, in the interest of continued pay transparency, I’ll add that the lowest end of my earning potential as a freelance writer in 2022 was over $120k (had I chosen to work 40 hour weeks). In reality, I earned ~$65k because I chose to prioritize afternoon naps, a comically balanced work/life setup, and rebuilding my mental health after a disastrous COVID lockdown experience. Zero regrets!

 When The World Ends, I Only Hope To Grow A Patch Of Strawberries (Eater)

Massive Last Of Us S1E3 spoilers ahead:

Y’all, I sobbed at the end of this episode. And reading Eater’s take on the role that food and nourishment played in Frank and Bill’s relationship helped me reconcile those intense emotions with the role that simple moments have played in my own grief over the years.

Like the deep breath I always take when I look up at the night sky, or the pause I find in watching my cat nap in the morning sun, this read gives us a moment to consider times where we can spoil and celebrate ourselves, no matter what’s happening around us.

So use the good dishes and the “nice” hand soap -- and definitely have tissues on hand when you sit down for this episode.

Writer Roxane Gay Takes The Trip Of A Lifetime (Afar)

This read is a great blend of queer representation + life changing travel + two remarkably different styles of storytelling.

My weekly content diet includes immense amounts of Roxane Gay and Debbie Millman’s respective work, and this feature is no different. It’s a wise masterclass in relationships, international travel, disappointments, and celebrations.