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Marvin Heiferman

@whywelook.bsky.social
240 followers 8 following 1.8K posts

Curator of - and writing about - photography and visual culture

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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 8h
WHY WE LOOK? Because parents are increasingly turning to AI to create their children’s school photos or to remove watermarks from existing images to avoid paying photographers. petapixel.com/2026/10/07/p...
petapixel.com
Parents Are Using AI to Create Their Kids’ School Photos Instead of Paying Photographers
'I don’t believe the public realize the consequences.'
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 8h
WHY WE LOOK? Because Canada wants to leverage A.I. and digital imaging to improve its health care system. At a Toronto hospital, surgeons are training a machine to distinguish a safe incision from a catastrophic one. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/07/w...
nytimes.com
Can Artificial Intelligence Learn the Art of Surgery?
Canada wants to leverage A.I. to improve its health care system. At a Toronto hospital, surgeons are training a machine to distinguish a safe incision from a catastrophic one.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 8h
WHY WE LOOK? Because now there's an AI tool that can guess what you’re looking at just by analyzing your brain scans—and then re-create that image with remarkable precision www.technologyreview.com/2026/10/01/1...
technologyreview.com
An AI “mind-reading” tool can reconstruct what you’re looking at from a brain scan
Scientists hope it could be used to reconstruct a person’s inner thoughts, mental images, or even dreams.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because sex and bondage photos weren’t part of Chris Gallant's campaign plan, the Democrat running to represent Long Island in Congress is making the most of life, post-tabloid reveal. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/07/s...
nytimes.com
Bondage Photos Weren’t Part of the Campaign Plan
But Chris Gallant, a Black Hawk pilot and Democrat who is running to represent Long Island in Congress, is making the most of life post-tabloid reveal.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Scientists Discovered and Photographed 57 New Species In a South Atlantic Submarine Canyon. petapixel.com/2026/10/06/s...
petapixel.com
Scientists Discovered 57 Species In a South Atlantic Submarine Canyon
There are probably well over a million sea critters left to discover.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because A.I. food slop looks so gross. Food photos, it turns out, are particulaly prone to set off unsettling feelings when they are not quite right. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
Why A.I. Food Slop Looks So Gross
Is anything even real anymore?
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because a ‘creepy, weird’ online ad for Steve Hilton, the GOP gubernatorial candidate, is full of sexual innuendo and befuddling Republicans and Democrats watching the race in California. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/04/u...
nytimes.com
Steve Hilton’s ‘Just Try It’ Ad on Mail Voting Denounced by Republicans
An online spot for Mr. Hilton, the G.O.P. candidate, is full of sexual innuendo that has befuddled Republicans and Democrats watching the race for governor in California.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because privacy advocates say that NYC's dozens of 'noise cameras' - intended to pick up muffler noise, loud music and horns and photograph license plates so tickets couls be sent - could be used to listen to just about anything. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/n...
nytimes.com
Are Noise Cameras Too Nosy?
Some privacy advocates say the cameras, intended to pick up muffler noise, loud music and horns, could be used to listen to just about anything.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because a bride and groom strapped a GoPro to the harness of their 9-year-old sheepadoodle. And so, during their wedding's cocktail hour, he captured footage of guests’ joy as they greeted him. petapixel.com/2026/10/06/d...
petapixel.com
Dog With GoPro Strapped to His Back Captures Priceless Wedding Footage
Who's a good boy.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because when prompted, AI chatbots will edit images to remove the hijabs from Muslim women, a violation of one of the world’s most common and visible expressions of faith. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
AI chatbots remove hijabs from images of Muslim women when prompted
Guardian tested chatbots after French far-right politician stripped a Muslim woman of her hijab in a photo
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because the Democratic Party of New Mexico filed an ethics complaint, saying two Republican social media posts used misleading images created with artificial intelligence in violation of a 2024 law cracking down on deepfakes www.krqe.com/news/politic...
krqe.com
Democratic Party of New Mexico files ethics complaint over AI images
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – The Democratic Party of New Mexico has filed an ethics complaint, saying two Republican social media posts used images created with artificial intelligence. Senate Republican le…
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because the Nobel Prize is awarded to three researchers for their work on optogenetics, a technique that uses tiny lights to activate neurons in the brain and provides clues for treating of blindness, depression, addiction and dementia www.nytimes.com/2026/10/05/h...
nytimes.com
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Is Awarded for Discoveries in Neuroscience
Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel were recognized for their work on light-gated ion channels and optogenetics, a technique that uses tiny lights to activate neurons in the brain.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because at a rally, MAGA gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy nearly drops a child in an awkward on-camera moment that's quickly gone viral: ‘He just lost Ohio’ www.hindustantimes.com/trending/us/...
hindustantimes.com
Ramaswamy nearly drops child in awkward on-camera moment: ‘He just lost Ohio’
A video of Vivek Ramaswamy struggling to lift a child on stage at Trump's Ohio rally has gone viral, with many X users reacting to it.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because an Optical Illusion Exposes a Blind Spot in AI Vision neurosciencenews.com/optical-illu...
neurosciencenews.com
Optical Illusion Exposes Blind Spot in AI Vision - Neuroscience News
Primate brains shift spatial coordinates during optical illusions, but AI vision networks fail to adapt.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because a Las Vegas medical facility lost its accreditation in Dec. 2025 after “significant clinical image quality deficiencies” that could pose “a serious risk to human health” were found during a random image check of its mammogram practices www.8newsnow.com/investigator...
8newsnow.com
State: Summerlin Hospital mammograms pose health risk
A state document obtained by the 8 News Now Investigators states that mammogram practices at Summerlin Hospital Medical Center posed “a serious risk to human health.”
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Chi Phi fraternity members shared a photo of the alleged victim in the Cornell University gang rape on Snapchat the night of the alleged assault, according to social media images obtained by CBS News. www.cbsnews.com/news/jane-do...
cbsnews.com
Picture of Jane Doe shared in Snapchat group on night of alleged Cornell rape
The photo was shared in a Snapchat group with dozens of Chi Phi fraternity brothers on the night the alleged victim says she was assaulted at Cornell.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because the Toledo Museum of Art Acquires F. Holland Day’s ‘The Seven Words’ (1898), the19th Century Series Hailed as Among the Most Important Works Ever petapixel.com/2026/10/01/t...
petapixel.com
Toledo Museum of Art Acquires 19th Century Photo Series Hailed as Among the Most Important Images Ever
'The most important photograph that people don’t know about.'
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because the USPS Is Turning Mail Trucks Into Rolling Surveillance Cameras. It's testing forward-facing cameras in 100 delivery vehicles in the D.C., intended to scan roads, signage, and sidewalks as trucks follow their normal delivery routes. www.gadgetreview.com/usps-is-turn...
gadgetreview.com
USPS Is Turning Mail Trucks Into Rolling Surveillance Cameras
USPS is testing forward-facing cameras in 100 D.C. mail trucks to scan roads, but key data retention and privacy details remain undisclosed.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Amazon’s delivery drivers will wear smart glasses that take pictures “almost constantly." A single shift could produce thousand images of whatever the driver sees, including private property. Customers will have no way to opt out. thenextweb.com/news/amazon-...
thenextweb.com
Amazon smart glasses will photograph homes, with no opt-out
‘The intent has never been stuff like surveillance’, says Amazon of the smart glasses its drivers will wear.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because an influencer couple is facing legal action in Oman after posing for photographs while sitting on a sea turtle that was laying eggs during their vacation. petapixel.com/2026/09/30/i...
petapixel.com
Influencer Couple Face Legal Action Over Vacation Photos Showing Them Sitting on Sea Turtle
Oman called the photos a 'violation.'
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Here’s How Different 37 “Sexiest Man Alive” Winners Look Today (or Before They Died) Vs. The Year They Won www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/sexie...
buzzfeed.com
Here's How Different 37 "Sexiest Man Alive" Winners Look Today Vs. The Year They Won
Another excuse to share photos of 1994 Keanu.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because This Photograph Might Not Look Like Much, But It Proved That Faraway "Island Universes" Really Do Exist www.iflscience.com/this-photogr...
iflscience.com
This Photograph Might Not Look Like Much, But It Proved That "Island Universes" Really Do Exist
After months of searching with the Earth's most powerful telescope, a single star showed us the true scale of the universe.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because In-N-Out burgers corporate office forced a high school football team to remove a series of viral images taken by a professional photographer that were shot at a local franchise from social media petapixel.com/2026/09/30/i...
petapixel.com
In-N-Out Demands Photographer Remove Viral Images of High School Football Team
Corporate weren't happy.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because police in Singapore arrested and charged a man after he allegedly posted an AI-generated image of a saltwater crocodile swimming in a public water area. He faces up to 10 years in prison. petapixel.com/2026/09/29/m...
petapixel.com
Man Faces Up to 10 Years In Prison After Sharing AI Image of a Crocodile
Faces up to 10 years in prison and big fines.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because a new Hulu documentary details the horrific behind-the-scenes secrets of “The Swan” — one of the more extreme and shocking reality TV shows (about self-image, plastic surgery and other issues) of the early aughts. pagesix.com/2026/09/29/e...
pagesix.com
‘The Swan’ doc biggest bombshells: behind the scenes of the notorious reality show
A new Hulu documentary is details behind-the-scenes of “The Swan” — one of the most shocking reality TV shows of the early aughts.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because an Italian politician sparks outrage by sharing an AI image that appears to “undress” a female lawmaker — months after Italy’s prime minister shared a deepfake nude image of herself to warn of AI's dangers. petapixel.com/2026/09/28/i...
petapixel.com
Italian Politician Sparks AI Scandal With Doctored Photo That ‘Undressed’ Female Lawmaker
'A huge problem for all of us.'
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because of (a) a picture of artist Janine Antoni licking her ex-husband's eye and (b) the story behind it www.artnews.com/art-in-ameri...
artnews.com
Janine Antoni’s Taste of Vision Graces the Cover of our Icons Issue
The artist talks about her 1999 photograph <em>Mortar and Pestle</em>.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because human contractors hired to improve Microsoft’s Copilot AI chatbot are constantly bombarded with (and sometimes horrified by) lewd or sexually explicit photo editing requests and images users have uploaded www.404media.co/humans-readi...
404media.co
Humans Are Reading Copilot Prompts — And They're Horrified
Human contractors are reviewing Copilot users’ prompts and uploaded images, according to internal documents obtained by 404 Media. The contractors are also bombarded with users’ requests for sexual AI...
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Here's The No. 1 Thing Photographers Wish Families Would Stop Wearing for Photos www.today.com/parents/fami...
today.com
The No. 1 Thing Photographers Wish Families Would Stop Wearing for Photos
Two photographers share the family-photo fashion mistakes they see again and again — and what to wear instead.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because a review of dozens of incidents caught on camera sheds new light on a largely invisible crackdown ICE surge that unfolded ‘everywhere all at once’ this summer www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/u...
nytimes.com
A Quiet ICE Surge That Unfolded ‘Everywhere All at Once’ This Summer
A review of dozens of incidents caught on camera sheds new light on a largely invisible crackdown.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because that CEO of U.S.-based credit union Family First who posted an allegedly artificial intelligence-edited photo of her family with "Lake America" sweatshirts? She's no longer with the company... www.cnbc.com/2026/09/25/c...
cnbc.com
CEO who posted 'Lake America' sweatshirt photos is no longer with the company
Smith on Sept. 11 had posted an allegedly AI-edited photo on Facebook of her family dressed in "Lake America" sweatshirts.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because 5.2 million images made during a years-long camera trap survey of South Africa's wild cheetah population show there are far fewer of the spotted big cats than previously thought. petapixel.com/2026/09/26/c...
petapixel.com
Camera Trap Survey of Cheetahs in South Africa Makes for Sad Reading
There are not as many as hoped.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because after Trump shared what experts agree is a doctored photo of him and President Xi on Truth Social, reporters pointed out some glaring errors in it petapixel.com/2026/09/25/t...
petapixel.com
Trump Shares Doctored Photo That Appears to Replace Official With Natalie Harp
He's also wearing a totally different expression.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because in latest example of rogue activity, OpenAI said its agents had leaked 53 images from ChatGPT users, declining to say if the images were AI-generated, identified real people or when the images were posted on image-hosting sites. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
OpenAI says agents leaked 53 images from ChatGPT users in latest example of rogue activity
Disclosure reveals ⁠new area of privacy risk for the company and illustrates ​how difficult it is to inventory unauthorized activity tied to its agents
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Kalshi, the prediction betting market, is drawing major heat online after creator Elliot Choy accused the company of ripping off one of his videos for an ad — and making his face look like a white man's. www.businessinsider.com/kalshi-in-ho...
businessinsider.com
Kalshi says it's curtailing its use of AI after a creator said one ad turned him 'into a white dude'
Kalshi said it has curtailed its use of AI ads and is reviewing its relationship with an agency that made the controversial video.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because AI-created ads - placing politicians in fictitious situations - are proliferating ahead of the elections, a largely unregulated form of political communication that's being adopted despite the backlash against the technology. www.yahoo.com/news/politic...
yahoo.com
AI political ads warp reality ahead of US midterms
A political ad depicts a US Senate hopeful remarking on God and gender while scrawling in a Bible with a crayon.The lifelike clip shows Talarico writing "let there be six genders" in a Bible with mult...
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Flock claims it operates more than 120,000 cameras nationwide, but a new map by a cybersecurity researcher reveals more than 170,000 cameras, plus over 130,000 accompanying gadgets in their expansive American surveillance network. theintercept.com/2026/09/24/h...
theintercept.com
Flock Wants the Most Detailed Map of Its Surveillance Cameras Taken Offline
A new map shows Flock has more cameras in the U.S. than was previously known. The company wants the map taken down.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because a Las Vegas family desperately searched for their missing Pomeranian, Linus, after surveillance footage from their Summerlin neighborhood showed a stranger picking the dog up and walking away news3lv.com/news/local/s...
news3lv.com
Surveillance footage shows man taking a Las Vegas family's Pomeranian
A Las Vegas family is desperately searching for their missing Pomeranian, Linus, after surveillance footage showed a stranger picking the dog up and walking...
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Flock Safety, which is facing scrutiny over the proliferation and alleged abuse of its cameras, is weighing whether to sell itself, according to people familiar with the matter www.semafor.com/article/09/2...
semafor.com
Exclusive: Flock Safety weighs selling itself
The license-plate reader and surveillance company has come under scrutiny for alleged misuse of its data.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because reporters and camera crews from CNN, MS NOW and Politico, news outlets banned from the White House by Trump were back on the grounds Thursday afternoon, hours after a federal judge ordered the administration to reinstate their access. apnews.com/article/trum...
apnews.com
CNN, MS NOW and Politico back at the White House, hours after judge ordered Trump to lift ban
Reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico returned to the White House hours after a federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s ban of the three news outlets.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because the ICE office R who shot a Venezuelan man last weekend in Austin was a recent hire who was not wearing his body camera, www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/ 09/austin-ice-shooting-body-camera/688738/?gift=PISwSwEyw4CY5Ypv54zJ96tzQjvRAEIXWm-tRT9VNUk
theatlantic.com
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because major photo agencies and newspapers continue to withhold photographs of Trump’s events in solidarity with news organizations barred from the White House. petapixel.com/2026/09/22/p...
petapixel.com
Photo Agencies and Newspapers Withhold Trump Photos in Solidarity with US Television Networks
Photographers from AP, AFP, Reuters, and Getty joined the effort.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Stanford created one of the first AI labs in 1965. Six decades later, the university's facing criticism for using AI to change the photo of a Hispanic male student into a non-existent Black woman for a campus banner. www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
sfchronicle.com
Stanford violated its AI policy by turning a Hispanic student into a fake Black woman in ad
Stanford University is facing criticism for using generative AI to change the photo of a Hispanic male student into a non-existent Black woman for a dining hall advertisement.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because an American CEO Felt Forced to Leave a Canada Vacation After She and Others Posted Her AI Photo of Her Family in ‘Lake America’ Sweatshirts petapixel.com/2026/09/21/a...
petapixel.com
American CEO Forced to Leave Canada After Posting AI Photo of Family in ‘Lake America’ Sweatshirts
'Like our sweatshirts? Not sure Canada will.'
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because a photographer recalls the 2015 photo shoot for Bloomberg Businessweek with convicted Theranos fraudster Elizabeth Holmes that he suspects was all a charade. petapixel.com/2026/09/21/p...
petapixel.com
Photographer Says He Questioned Everything After Shoot With Elizabeth Holmes
'Wait a second, was this all a charade?'
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because chronic traumatic brain injury in football players can’t be detected in the living. But scientists are developing imaging techniques and blood tests that may enable doctors to identify the disease definitively in living patients. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/22/s...
nytimes.com
New Hope for Diagnosing C.T.E. in Brain Injured Patients
Scientists are developing imaging techniques and blood tests that one day may enable doctors to identify the disease definitively in living patients.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because the U.S. spends billions on border surveillance. So, why can't it catch people before they die? timesofsandiego.com/immigration/...
timesofsandiego.com
The U.S. spent billions on border surveillance. Why can’t it catch people before they die?
SPECIAL REPORT | DYING ON CAMERA When José Morales Bernal crossed the border into the United States on April 8, 2024, the day before his 32nd birthday, it
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because of the unsettling rise of grandmAIslop. Boomers love making AI images of their grandkids. The millennial parents hate it. www.businessinsider.com/grandparents...
businessinsider.com
Boomers love making AI images of their grandkids. Their millennial children see a privacy nightmare.
Some grandparents think AI images of their grandkids are adorable. Millennial parents worry about privacy, consent, and where the photos may end up.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because camera operators working for MS NOW were turned away from the White House over the weekend after the U.S. Secret Service confiscated their press badges at a security gate. petapixel.com/2026/09/21/c...
petapixel.com
Camera Operators are Turned Away From White House After Trump Ban
The NPPA have condemned the White House.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Restaurants Are Going Viral by Holding Up Handwritten Signs Pledging Not to Use AI Foodslop Posters futurism.com/future-socie...
futurism.com
Restaurants Are Going Viral by Holding Up Handwritten Signs Pledging Not to Use AI Foodslop Posters
Restaurant owners and chefs are uploading pictures of themselves on social media, pledging not to use AI for self-promotion. It's working.
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