Hello from Naarm Melbourne where I have been attending the first day of the Future of Arts, Culture and Technology (FACT) Symposium at ACMI. This week the museums and libraries grantmaking body in the US has released 2026 funding guidelines that echo Donald Trump’s version of American history while The Washington Post lays off one third of its workforce.
Also, two Berkman Klein affiliates dig into the AI slop deluge innundating institutions everywhere. And speaking of AI slop, have you created your own ChatGPT caricature? If so, maybe ask the AI tool some probing follow up questions?
Also: Bunnings use of facial recognition for crime and violence prevention was cleared by the Administrative Review Tribunal, important questions are being asked about whether Australia should build a super data centre in Western Sydney and Meta is working on another ephemera messaging app. Two late additions: OpenAI is rolling out ads in ChatGPT in the US and Anthropic has been hit with another copyright claim by a group of record labels.
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What’s been going on?
Here's WTF happened this week:
Museums and library grants attuned to Trump’s version of American history
After narrowly escapting closure, the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ (IMLS) 2026 grant guidelines have been heavily aligned with Donald Trump’s political vision.
After the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) in the US was nearly dismantled by Trump last year, an injunction awarded to the Attorneys-General of 21 US states paused the scuttling of the agency, which has released its 2026 discretionary grant cycle saying their funding opportunities “play a crucial role in furthering the Trump administration’s commitment to heritage preservation, workforce development, and civic education.”
