What’s Happening: Though it arrives at an awkward time for an industry grappling with the threat of AI on their livelihoods, the new sci-fi epic by Gareth Edwards subverts AI-flavored doom and gloom in breathtaking visuals evocative of Blade Runner.

The Download: Sci-fi thrillers about the perils of artificial intelligence are a common trope: Ex Machina, where a humanoid robot abandons her savior; HAL-9000, the operating system that slowly kills meddling humans aboard the Discovery One in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey; and the pint-sized doll that descends into murderous madness in this year’s M3gan. Ultimately, these films function as cautionary tales, portending not-so-distant futures where villainous AI prevails after stupefied humans are forced to confront fundamental questions about what, exactly, makes us human. Can we be manipulated into believing AI has the ability to feel and treat us with empathy?

The Creator, a newly released sci-fi epic directed by Gareth Edwards, might say yes. In 2055, after AI created by the U.S. government detonates a nuclear warhead over Los Angeles and kills millions, Western allies pledge to eradicate the technology and destroy Nirmata, the architect behind AI advancements in Southeast Asia. That scenario lurches into a long-winded journey in which an American sergeant (played by John David Washington) is bullish on protecting increasingly life-like AIs from human forces because he’s married to Nirmata’s alleged daughter. Spoiler alert: A human coding error caused the detonation, and the U.S. government unfairly blamed AI, which allegedly seeks to peacefully coexist with humanity.

There are mesmerizing visuals—think Apocalypse Now meets Akira meets Blade Runner, with the sci-fi flair of Southeast Asia rendered in brutalist towers looming over cyberpunk cityscapes and CGI reverse-engineered during post-production. There’s also potent political commentary vis-à-vis the American flavor of violence wrought against “othered” beings and real-world wartime parallels beyond the scope of this article. But if the film set out to stoke sympathy toward AI, it arrived at an awkward time. Actors and screenwriters are fighting to prevent studios from reproducing their likenesses with AI, a key point of contention of the recent Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild strikes. The Creator arrives as an original—and not unwelcome—addition to the canon of films grappling with AI’s tighter grasp on everyday life, but its jarringly sympathetic message may fall on unsympathetic ears.

In their Own Words: Experts generally agree that humans tend to anthropomorphize—naming one’s car, for example—and language models like ChatGPT are simply programmed to be believable. “ChatGPT and similar technologies are sophisticated sentence-completion applications, nothing more,” says Nir Eisikovits, a professor of philosophy and director of the Applied Ethics Center at UMass Boston. “Their uncanny responses are a function of how predictable humans are if one has enough data about the ways we communicate.”

Surface Says: Her has entered the chat.

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Since its 2012 debut in Lärkstaden on Östermalm, Stockholm, Ett Hem has stood as a symbol of taste and intimate luxury. Last summer, the boutique hotel unveiled 10 new hotel rooms, a large welcoming kitchen, a garden, a living room, a private dining room, a residence salon, and a dreamy garden. Now comes another chapter with three pristine residential apartments. A harmonious collaboration between proprietor Jeanette Mix and Ilse Crawford, the British design force behind the aesthetic scheme from day one, the expansion is a testament to Ett Hem’s commitment to sustainability, innovation, and meticulous design.

Spread over two floors, each apartment is a masterclass in elegance, seamlessly recreating the hotel’s signature look and feel. Beyond their private sanctuaries, guests can indulge in a new full-scale gym, complete with cutting-edge equipment and a sculptured limestone water station. The pièce de résistance? An organic connection to the hotel’s myriad amenities, from the inviting kitchen and garden to the serene yoga shala.

Children have long delighted in exploring the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s hallowed halls, from the Egyptian art department’s majestic Temple of Dendur to the multitude of period rooms. For the most part, though, touching the art has been strictly off-limits. Those rules don’t apply at the 81st Street Studio, the Manhattan institution’s recently opened creative hub aimed at engaging younger audiences. The 3,500-square-foot studio, a dynamic garden-like space envisioned by KOKO Architecture + Design, features an array of hands-on activities meant to teach children about the museum’s collection at their own pace, through a thermo-chromatic wall, an eight-foot-long Yamaha guitar, and pillows scented with sandalwood.

Heidi Holder, the museum’s chair of education, envisions the studio as a gateway to lifelong museum engagement through moments of “subtle magic.” It incorporates cutting-edge digital technology designed by local firm Bluecadet, including interactive tables where kids can simulate woodblock printing or drum-making. These digital stations offer a tactile link to the museum’s collection, showing images of related artworks. “We’re not trying to make a kids’ museum here,” Adam Weintraub, who co-founded KOKO with his wife, Mishi Hosono, told the New York Times. “We’re really trying to always tie it back to what’s upstairs.” With its ever-changing focus—starting with wood and potentially moving to metal or robotics—the studio encourages repeat visits and ongoing exploration.

While workplace culture has undeniably evolved over the past several years, so too has its look. By now, the laptop class has moved on from improvised work-from-home setups to something more purpose-built, while co-working hubs and proper offices have embraced updated interiors to reassert their identity and help entice in-person attendance. This convergence of form, function, and productivity has primed Vitra’s newly launched ACX chair, designed by Italian architect Antonio Citterio, to succeed.

There may be differing perspectives on where to work, but anyone who knows Vitra by name can likely agree that comfort, versatility, and sleekness of form all matter. ACX is, very deliberately, not modeled after executive club chairs of yesteryear. “It is a warm, cozy chair that does not have the overwhelming presence that you think of when you imagine a large office chair,” Citterio says.

On September 15, Singapore’s art crowd turned out to the city’s outpost of Opera Gallery in support of Shepard Fairey’s artistic debut in the Lion City. For the opening night of his solo exhibition, “The Future is Unwritten,” the L.A.-based multihyphenate was joined at the celebratory cocktail reception by Opera Gallery founder Gilles Dyan. That evening, Fairey’s newly completed mural, located in Singapore’s Chinatown, was also toasted. From the gallery, guests headed to the nearby members’ club Mandala to close out the night.

Since it was founded in 1915, Caran d’Ache’s history has been intertwined with creativity and emotion. Originally known as Fabrique Genevoise de Crayons, the brand was rechristened Caran d’Ache in 1924 at the suggestion of Arnold Schweitzer, the company’s head at the time. Caran d’Ache means “pencil” in Russian and has roots in the Turkish word kara-tash, which means “black stone” in reference to graphite.

Surface Says: Behind every great artist is a trove of best-in-class materials. Caran D’Ache has supplied leading artists since 1915 by offering lightfast pastels, colored pencils, and acrylic paints, helping artists preserve the integrity of their visions.

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