Round-up: China, Beethoven, The French Connection

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stories which we think will outlast this week’s news cycle

China Crisis Up to now the consensus seems to be that the phenomenal economic success of China will lead it to attack. But what if China has already entered its decline? Hal Brands and Michael Beckley consider this startling possibility for Foreign Policy. Either way, the options look grim

https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/09/24/china-great-power-united-states/

AI writes the music Fans of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) will regret that he died before he had barely sketched his 10th symphony. Now a team of AI specialists and musicologists claim to have constructed the symphony, which will be premiered tonight. Can we build a robot that can paint like Velasquez?

https://www.dw.com/en/beethovens-last-symphony-finished-by-ai/a-59412362

French Connection at Fifty Older readers will recall that the 1970s had their own version of modernity, rather different from that we know now. No one captured that gritty, smoke-filled IT-less reality better than William Friedkin in The French Connection, a veritable time machine as well as a great thriller movie to this day as Scott Tobias explains for The Guardian. Did we really, really dress like that?

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/oct/09/the-french-connection-at-50-one-of-the-greatest-new-york-movies-ever

#french connection #films #china #bethoven #AI