Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Artificial intelligence is being used to generate paintings, images and even sculptures, with some selling for thousands of dollars. Do we need to reframe our definition of art? In the drawing room of a stately home in rural Oxfordshire, I watch on as a dungaree-clad artist slowly and deliberately puts pen to paper. Her arm moves across the canvas, the marks gradually coalescing into an abstract portrait of herself.
It seems like a moment of creative expression. But this is no ordinary artist – she is the world's first humanoid robot artist, Ai-Da. By design, her very existence brings into question how we define art, and who, or in this case, what, can create it. Will AI algorithms and robots like Ai-Da spell the end of human creativity and artistry, or can they be harnessed to augment our own creative potential? Art in flux When Marcel Duchamp proposed that a porcelain urinal be considered art and submitted it for exhibition in early 20th-Century New York, he flipped the art world on its head. He argued that anything could be considered as art, if chosen by the artist and labelled as such. It was a profoundly revolutionary thought which challenged previous notions of art as beautiful, technically skilful and emotive.
AI v the Mind This article is part of AI v the Mind, a series that aims to explore the limits of cutting-edge AI, and learn a little about how our own brains work along the way. Each article will pit a human expert against an AI tool to probe a different aspect of cognitive ability. Can a machine write a better joke than a professional comedian, or unpick a moral conundrum more elegantly than a philosopher? We hope to find out. In much the same way, AI-created artworks are disrupting the accepted norms of the art world. As philosopher Alice Helliwell from Northeastern University London argues, if we can consider radical and divergent pieces like Duchamp's urinal and Tracey Emin's bed as art proper, how can something created by a generative algorithm be dismissed? After all, both were controversial at the time and contain objects that haven't technically been created by an "artist's" hand.
"Historically, the way we understand the definition of art has shifted," says Heliwell. "It is hard to see why a urinal can be art, but art made by a generative algorithm could not be." Throughout history, every radical artistic movement has been intimately connected to the cultural zeitgeist of the time, a reflection of society's preoccupations and concerns, like Turner and his industrial landscapes and Da Vinci's obsession with science and mathematics. AI is no different. Ai-Da's creators, gallerist Aidan Meller and researcher Lucy Seal cite this as a pivotal reason for the existence of a humanoid artist like Ai-Da. She is the personification of one of contemporary society's current fears, the rise of job-snatching AI algorithms and potential robot domination. But technological revolutions like artificial intelligence need not signify the "end of art" as many fear. Instead, they can help to kickstart an artistic metamorphosis and move us towards totally different ways of seeing and creating, something Marcus du Sautoy, a mathematician at the University of Oxford and author of The Creativity Code: Art and Innovation in the Age of AI, would contend.
Humans are just as prone to behaving like machines, repeating old behaviours and getting bogged down with rules, like a painter or musician locked into a particular style. "AI might help us to stop behaving like machines…and kick us into being creative again as humans," says du Sautoy. He sees it as a powerful collaborator in the pursuit of human creativity. 5:16 WATCH: Meet the world's first artist robot (Image Credit: Estudio Santa Rita) There is historical precedence for new technology liberating us from our creative shackles. Take the invention of photography in the 1800s for example. Some artists saw the camera as the antithesis of an artist, and photographs as the mortal enemy of the art establishment. But instead of replacing painting, photography became a catalyst in the development of the experimental modern art movement of the 20th Century, as artists moved away from realism towards abstraction, a shift that paved the way for the contemporary art of today.
Who's the artist? Walking around Ai-Da's country pile in Oxfordshire I got to appreciate the sheer breadth of her artworks to-date. Unsettling busts of herself with her eyes stapled shut, scarab beetles fused to her face; partial and ethereal depictions of computer scientist Alan Turing; and colourful pop-art inspired portraits of Glastonbury headliners. Unlike the numerous text-to-image generators like Dall-E and Midjourney that have the ability to create alarmingly plausible magazine front covers and win coveted art competitions, Ai-Da's artistic process doesn't rely solely upon the data on which she has been trained. (Find out more about AI training in this simple guide to machine learning.)
Ai-Da also makes use of the cameras in her eyes, which feed novel images into her algorithm, thereby creating new and unique works far removed from human-generated datasets. This is how she's able to create self-portraiture. Does this make her creative in her own right? And can we credit her with authorship, or does this reside with the artists upon whose work she's been trained and with the creators of her algorithm, who ultimately wrote her code? There are also artists who see AI as a new outlet for their own creativity – a fresh medium they can wield much like a brush or palette knife
Margaret Boden, a researcher in cognitive science at the University of Sussex in the UK, has developed one of the most widely accepted definitions of creativity to date. She sees it as the ability to generate ideas that are new, valuable and surprising. Using this definition, the works produced by machines like Ai-Da could be considered creative, argue her creators. Whether or not an algorithm or a robot itself can be described as a creative entity, an 'artist' in its own right, like a human, remains up for debate, and this in part comes down to authorship. Questions of authorship and data ownership plague the artificial intelligence narrative. Artists Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst, who recently held an exhibition exploring collaborative artwork in the age of AI at London's Serpentine Gallery, want to confront the issue of data misuse and authorship in AI. The pair co-founded Spawning AI, a suite of tools aimed at empowering human creators to both prohibit AI from using their works and to find whether works of theirs have already been referenced in AI generated work.
Plagiarism is a legitimate concern for many artists as their work is used to train algorithms but also can then be copied in the works that generative AI tools produce. But there are also artists who see AI as a new outlet for their own creativity – a fresh medium they can wield much like a brush or palette knife. Some artists, such as Sougwen Chung, are now exclusively training algorithms on their works alone in an attempt to push their own creative boundaries. There is another argument at the heart of this issue too. The machine-learning processes used to train generative AI algorithms may be a creative process in themselves. "Code exposed to data – existing artworks, for example – is able to learn, mutate and evolve," says du Sautoy. "It means that the code by the end of this learning process is very different from the original code written by the human. This means that there is a chance for the code to produce something that... deserves to be called the creativity of the code rather than the human who started the process. "It's a bit like Picasso is made from the DNA of his parents but it is his learning and exposure to the world that resulted in his creativity. You would never credit that to the parents even though everything started with their code or DNA." (Learn more about machine learning and some of the other terms you need to understand AI better.)
Estudio Santa Rita While an AI may be capable of a self-portrait, it currently lacks the self-awareness and real-world experience to imbue it with a depth of meaning (Credit: Estudio Santa Rita)Estudio Santa Rita While an AI may be capable of a self-portrait, it currently lacks the self-awareness and real-world experience to imbue it with a depth of meaning (Credit: Estudio Santa Rita) Powerful algorithms called Creative Adversarial Networks (Cans) also now exist, designed to deliberately create something that goes against the patterns in the training data, breaking with the style of the art upon which it's been trained. This is leading to AIs that generate very surprising results. "Many machine learning algorithms are 'black boxes'," says Helliwell. "We do not fully know what is happening inside the system, even if we have designed it ourselves." This is a common and unsettling problem throughout the AI world. How can we trust the decisions or outputs from an AI if we don't understand how it got there in the first place? (Read more about why humans may never understand AI.)
Is art uniquely human? The prospect of truly artistic machines is also challenging another long-held belief about what makes us human. Art has long been seen as a uniquely human endeavour. Made by humans, for aesthetic appreciation by other humans, artworks themselves are imbued with the emotions of their creators. It is a visual representation of their desires and fears, frustrations and reverence, or at the very least their need to create for practical, economical and emotional reasons. So, can we consider the creations of non-human entities to be art by the same definition? There are some who believe that animals already produce forms of art. And research has shown that pigeons seem to be able to discriminate between different types of artwork. It all comes down to intent, this is "what truly distinguishes the creativity of the human and the machine", says du Sautoy. "No machine is driven to express itself creatively. It is prompted by the intention of the human." Does this mean AI is not yet fully capable of creating true art? After all, computer algorithms lack any real-world experience and robots like Ai-Da, although capable of self-portraiture, don't actually possess self-awareness. This question remains hotly contested. For Helliwell a lack of intent shouldn't necessarily preclude AI works from being considered art.
More like this: A simple guide to understanding AI 'It looks like cat food': the grey goop dreamed up by AI The weird and wonderful art when AI and humans unite And perhaps that is what it comes down to. Art, goes the idiom, is in the eye of the beholder. As humans, for example, we identify patterns and admire the artistry evident in the natural world – the intricate web of a spider, the decorative plumage of a peacock. We often refer to bird calls as music and the mating displays of some animals as dance. There are numerous examples of animals exhibiting creative behaviours that we might label artistic. The Bower bird and pufferfish play with perspective, symmetry and colour in much the same way a human artist might, for example. And while these animals may not necessarily be intentionally creating these to be enjoyed as works of art, their actions are no less intentional in their pursuit of attracting a mate or warding off competitors. Creativity cannot come from nothing – all artists whether human, robot or algorithm, build upon the works of others What's the future?
However we look to define art or the artist, it's clear that AI algorithms and machines like Ai-Da are having an impact on the art world. Their works are exhibited alongside more traditional forms of art in established art institutions worldwide. Next year we'll see the world's first AI art gallery open its doors in LA, a permanent exhibition space for "ethical AI". Eva Jäger, the creative AI lead and arts technologies curator at the Serpentine Gallery in London, is also helping to bring AI art to the masses, with a programme of exhibitions provoking critical discussion about the impact of technology on art. For her, the future of AI art is not adversarial. Traditional forms of art will continue to exist, just as AI artwork will continue to develop. She sees the collaboration between human and machine as a space for real creative potential. She believes that the artist's intent and the human practice behind a piece or installation which utilises technology like AI are more important than just the final aesthetics. "For me there are some really interesting generative images that get produced, but without the practice behind it I'm not sold on them, just because they're an amazing image," she says. "And I would say the same about painting. I’m much more interested in the systems, including the humans behind the work. I want to know what they are using the system for, what are they exploring? It's a mistake just to look at the final artefact." And when it comes to evaluating the authenticity and credibility of AI art, one of the most contentious aspects of the AI art discipline, du Sautoy makes a compelling point. All art is a product of that which came before it, and creativity cannot come from nothing – all artists whether human, robot or algorithm, build upon the works of others. "Too many people discuss creativity as if it is some uniquely human magical process, that it conjures something from nothing like a magician," says du Sautoy. "But that is just because we don't understand our own creativity."

AI art: The end of creativity or the start of a new movement?

Posted on by naim with No comments
Artificial intelligence is being used to generate paintings, images and even sculptures, with some selling for thousands of dollars. Do we need to reframe our definition of art? In the drawing room of a stately home in rural Oxfordshire, I watch on as a dungaree-clad artist slowly and deliberately puts pen to paper. Her arm moves across the canvas, the marks gradually coalescing into an abstract portrait of herself.
It seems like a moment of creative expression. But this is no ordinary artist – she is the world's first humanoid robot artist, Ai-Da. By design, her very existence brings into question how we define art, and who, or in this case, what, can create it. Will AI algorithms and robots like Ai-Da spell the end of human creativity and artistry, or can they be harnessed to augment our own creative potential? Art in flux When Marcel Duchamp proposed that a porcelain urinal be considered art and submitted it for exhibition in early 20th-Century New York, he flipped the art world on its head. He argued that anything could be considered as art, if chosen by the artist and labelled as such. It was a profoundly revolutionary thought which challenged previous notions of art as beautiful, technically skilful and emotive.
AI v the Mind This article is part of AI v the Mind, a series that aims to explore the limits of cutting-edge AI, and learn a little about how our own brains work along the way. Each article will pit a human expert against an AI tool to probe a different aspect of cognitive ability. Can a machine write a better joke than a professional comedian, or unpick a moral conundrum more elegantly than a philosopher? We hope to find out. In much the same way, AI-created artworks are disrupting the accepted norms of the art world. As philosopher Alice Helliwell from Northeastern University London argues, if we can consider radical and divergent pieces like Duchamp's urinal and Tracey Emin's bed as art proper, how can something created by a generative algorithm be dismissed? After all, both were controversial at the time and contain objects that haven't technically been created by an "artist's" hand.
"Historically, the way we understand the definition of art has shifted," says Heliwell. "It is hard to see why a urinal can be art, but art made by a generative algorithm could not be." Throughout history, every radical artistic movement has been intimately connected to the cultural zeitgeist of the time, a reflection of society's preoccupations and concerns, like Turner and his industrial landscapes and Da Vinci's obsession with science and mathematics. AI is no different. Ai-Da's creators, gallerist Aidan Meller and researcher Lucy Seal cite this as a pivotal reason for the existence of a humanoid artist like Ai-Da. She is the personification of one of contemporary society's current fears, the rise of job-snatching AI algorithms and potential robot domination. But technological revolutions like artificial intelligence need not signify the "end of art" as many fear. Instead, they can help to kickstart an artistic metamorphosis and move us towards totally different ways of seeing and creating, something Marcus du Sautoy, a mathematician at the University of Oxford and author of The Creativity Code: Art and Innovation in the Age of AI, would contend.
Humans are just as prone to behaving like machines, repeating old behaviours and getting bogged down with rules, like a painter or musician locked into a particular style. "AI might help us to stop behaving like machines…and kick us into being creative again as humans," says du Sautoy. He sees it as a powerful collaborator in the pursuit of human creativity. 5:16 WATCH: Meet the world's first artist robot (Image Credit: Estudio Santa Rita) There is historical precedence for new technology liberating us from our creative shackles. Take the invention of photography in the 1800s for example. Some artists saw the camera as the antithesis of an artist, and photographs as the mortal enemy of the art establishment. But instead of replacing painting, photography became a catalyst in the development of the experimental modern art movement of the 20th Century, as artists moved away from realism towards abstraction, a shift that paved the way for the contemporary art of today.
Who's the artist? Walking around Ai-Da's country pile in Oxfordshire I got to appreciate the sheer breadth of her artworks to-date. Unsettling busts of herself with her eyes stapled shut, scarab beetles fused to her face; partial and ethereal depictions of computer scientist Alan Turing; and colourful pop-art inspired portraits of Glastonbury headliners. Unlike the numerous text-to-image generators like Dall-E and Midjourney that have the ability to create alarmingly plausible magazine front covers and win coveted art competitions, Ai-Da's artistic process doesn't rely solely upon the data on which she has been trained. (Find out more about AI training in this simple guide to machine learning.)
Ai-Da also makes use of the cameras in her eyes, which feed novel images into her algorithm, thereby creating new and unique works far removed from human-generated datasets. This is how she's able to create self-portraiture. Does this make her creative in her own right? And can we credit her with authorship, or does this reside with the artists upon whose work she's been trained and with the creators of her algorithm, who ultimately wrote her code? There are also artists who see AI as a new outlet for their own creativity – a fresh medium they can wield much like a brush or palette knife
Margaret Boden, a researcher in cognitive science at the University of Sussex in the UK, has developed one of the most widely accepted definitions of creativity to date. She sees it as the ability to generate ideas that are new, valuable and surprising. Using this definition, the works produced by machines like Ai-Da could be considered creative, argue her creators. Whether or not an algorithm or a robot itself can be described as a creative entity, an 'artist' in its own right, like a human, remains up for debate, and this in part comes down to authorship. Questions of authorship and data ownership plague the artificial intelligence narrative. Artists Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst, who recently held an exhibition exploring collaborative artwork in the age of AI at London's Serpentine Gallery, want to confront the issue of data misuse and authorship in AI. The pair co-founded Spawning AI, a suite of tools aimed at empowering human creators to both prohibit AI from using their works and to find whether works of theirs have already been referenced in AI generated work.
Plagiarism is a legitimate concern for many artists as their work is used to train algorithms but also can then be copied in the works that generative AI tools produce. But there are also artists who see AI as a new outlet for their own creativity – a fresh medium they can wield much like a brush or palette knife. Some artists, such as Sougwen Chung, are now exclusively training algorithms on their works alone in an attempt to push their own creative boundaries. There is another argument at the heart of this issue too. The machine-learning processes used to train generative AI algorithms may be a creative process in themselves. "Code exposed to data – existing artworks, for example – is able to learn, mutate and evolve," says du Sautoy. "It means that the code by the end of this learning process is very different from the original code written by the human. This means that there is a chance for the code to produce something that... deserves to be called the creativity of the code rather than the human who started the process. "It's a bit like Picasso is made from the DNA of his parents but it is his learning and exposure to the world that resulted in his creativity. You would never credit that to the parents even though everything started with their code or DNA." (Learn more about machine learning and some of the other terms you need to understand AI better.)
Estudio Santa Rita While an AI may be capable of a self-portrait, it currently lacks the self-awareness and real-world experience to imbue it with a depth of meaning (Credit: Estudio Santa Rita)Estudio Santa Rita While an AI may be capable of a self-portrait, it currently lacks the self-awareness and real-world experience to imbue it with a depth of meaning (Credit: Estudio Santa Rita) Powerful algorithms called Creative Adversarial Networks (Cans) also now exist, designed to deliberately create something that goes against the patterns in the training data, breaking with the style of the art upon which it's been trained. This is leading to AIs that generate very surprising results. "Many machine learning algorithms are 'black boxes'," says Helliwell. "We do not fully know what is happening inside the system, even if we have designed it ourselves." This is a common and unsettling problem throughout the AI world. How can we trust the decisions or outputs from an AI if we don't understand how it got there in the first place? (Read more about why humans may never understand AI.)
Is art uniquely human? The prospect of truly artistic machines is also challenging another long-held belief about what makes us human. Art has long been seen as a uniquely human endeavour. Made by humans, for aesthetic appreciation by other humans, artworks themselves are imbued with the emotions of their creators. It is a visual representation of their desires and fears, frustrations and reverence, or at the very least their need to create for practical, economical and emotional reasons. So, can we consider the creations of non-human entities to be art by the same definition? There are some who believe that animals already produce forms of art. And research has shown that pigeons seem to be able to discriminate between different types of artwork. It all comes down to intent, this is "what truly distinguishes the creativity of the human and the machine", says du Sautoy. "No machine is driven to express itself creatively. It is prompted by the intention of the human." Does this mean AI is not yet fully capable of creating true art? After all, computer algorithms lack any real-world experience and robots like Ai-Da, although capable of self-portraiture, don't actually possess self-awareness. This question remains hotly contested. For Helliwell a lack of intent shouldn't necessarily preclude AI works from being considered art.
More like this: A simple guide to understanding AI 'It looks like cat food': the grey goop dreamed up by AI The weird and wonderful art when AI and humans unite And perhaps that is what it comes down to. Art, goes the idiom, is in the eye of the beholder. As humans, for example, we identify patterns and admire the artistry evident in the natural world – the intricate web of a spider, the decorative plumage of a peacock. We often refer to bird calls as music and the mating displays of some animals as dance. There are numerous examples of animals exhibiting creative behaviours that we might label artistic. The Bower bird and pufferfish play with perspective, symmetry and colour in much the same way a human artist might, for example. And while these animals may not necessarily be intentionally creating these to be enjoyed as works of art, their actions are no less intentional in their pursuit of attracting a mate or warding off competitors. Creativity cannot come from nothing – all artists whether human, robot or algorithm, build upon the works of others What's the future?
However we look to define art or the artist, it's clear that AI algorithms and machines like Ai-Da are having an impact on the art world. Their works are exhibited alongside more traditional forms of art in established art institutions worldwide. Next year we'll see the world's first AI art gallery open its doors in LA, a permanent exhibition space for "ethical AI". Eva Jäger, the creative AI lead and arts technologies curator at the Serpentine Gallery in London, is also helping to bring AI art to the masses, with a programme of exhibitions provoking critical discussion about the impact of technology on art. For her, the future of AI art is not adversarial. Traditional forms of art will continue to exist, just as AI artwork will continue to develop. She sees the collaboration between human and machine as a space for real creative potential. She believes that the artist's intent and the human practice behind a piece or installation which utilises technology like AI are more important than just the final aesthetics. "For me there are some really interesting generative images that get produced, but without the practice behind it I'm not sold on them, just because they're an amazing image," she says. "And I would say the same about painting. I’m much more interested in the systems, including the humans behind the work. I want to know what they are using the system for, what are they exploring? It's a mistake just to look at the final artefact." And when it comes to evaluating the authenticity and credibility of AI art, one of the most contentious aspects of the AI art discipline, du Sautoy makes a compelling point. All art is a product of that which came before it, and creativity cannot come from nothing – all artists whether human, robot or algorithm, build upon the works of others. "Too many people discuss creativity as if it is some uniquely human magical process, that it conjures something from nothing like a magician," says du Sautoy. "But that is just because we don't understand our own creativity."
The former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) and his partner have been arrested and charged with running a prostitution and international sex trafficking business. Authorities arrested former fashion executive Mike Jeffries, his partner Matthew Smith and the couple’s alleged middleman - James Jacobson - on Tuesday morning. Federal prosecutors said the men used force, fraud and coercion to engage in "violent and exploitive" sexual acts. Mr Jeffries and his partner have previously denied any wrongdoing via their lawyers, and Mr Jeffries' lawyer told the BBC on Tuesday that they would "respond in detail to the allegations after the Indictment is unsealed".
A lawyer for Mr Smith has been approached for new comment. A&F declined to comment on the latest developments. Warning: This story contains descriptions of sexual acts The FBI opened an investigation last year after the BBC revealed claims that Mike Jeffries and his partner sexually exploited and abused men at events they hosted in their New York residences and hotels around the world. The BBC investigation found that there was a sophisticated operation involving a middleman and a network of recruiters tasked with finding men for these events. On Tuesday, US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Breon Peace, alleged that Mr Jeffries used his wealth, power and status as CEO of A&F "to traffic men for his own sexual pleasure" and for the pleasure of his partner, Mr Smith.
Outlining prosecutors' accusations, Mr Peace alleged the couple employed Mr Jacobson as their recruiter who would conduct "tryouts" with men from across the globe by engaging them in sex acts in exchange for money. Once Mr Jeffries approved of the men, they would be flown to his New York home where they were "pressured to consume alcohol, Viagra, and muscle relaxants", Mr Peace claimed. Prosecutors further alleged that Mr Jeffries and Mr Smith directed others or personally "injected men with an erection inducing substance" when they were incapable or unwilling to participate. The ex-CEO "spent millions of dollars on a massive infrastucture to support this operation and maintain its secrecy", prosecutors said, which included international travel, hotel stays, paid staff and security for the events. Prosecutors said there were 15 victims mentioned in the indictment but alleged that the operation "encompassed dozens and dozens of men".
0:41 Mike Jeffries leaves court after sex trafficking hearing in Florida After a court appearance on Tuesday, Mr Jeffries was released on a $10m (£7.7m) bond, while Mr Jacobson was released on a $500,000 bond. They are next due in court on Friday. Mr Smith was ordered detained. Mr Peace, the federal prosecutor, confirmed at a press conference on Tuesday that authorities were initially tipped off by media reports. Following the BBC’s reporting, a civil lawsuit was also filed in New York accusing Mr Jeffries and Mr Smith of sex-trafficking, rape and sexual assault. The lawsuit also accused Abercrombie & Fitch of having funded a sex-trafficking operation led by its former CEO over the two decades he was in charge. Earlier on Tuesday, Brad Edwards of Edwards Henderson, a civil lawyer representing some of the alleged victims, said: "These arrests are a huge first step towards obtaining justice for the many victims who were exploited and abused through this sex-trafficking scheme that operated for many years under the legitimate cover Abercrombie provided.
"The unprecedented reporting of the BBC, coupled with the lawsuit our firm filed detailing the operation, are to credit for these monumental arrests. This was the result of impressive investigative journalism.” In its initial investigation, the BBC spoke to 12 men who described attending or organising events involving sex acts run for Mr Jeffries, 80, and his British partner Mr Smith, 61, between 2009 and 2015. The eight men who attended the events said they were recruited by a middleman who the BBC identified as James Jacobson. Then, more men came forward last month. Some alleged Mr Jeffries' assistants had injected them in the penis with what they were told was liquid Viagra. Mr Jacobson, 71, previously told the BBC in a statement through his lawyer that he took offence at the suggestion of "any coercive, deceptive or forceful behaviour on my part" and had "no knowledge of any such conduct by others". The BBC also interviewed dozens of other sources, including former household staff.
Some of the men the BBC spoke to said they were misled about the nature of the events or not told sex was involved. Others said they understood the events would be sexual, but not exactly what was expected of them. All were paid. Several told the BBC the middleman or other recruiters raised the possibility of modelling opportunities with A&F. David Bradberry, then 23 and an aspiring model, said that it was "made clear" to him that without performing oral sex on Mr Jacobson, he would not be meeting A&F CEO Mr Jeffries. "It was like he was selling fame. And the price was compliance," Mr Bradberry told the BBC. Mr Bradberry said he later attended a party at Mr Jeffries's mansion in the Hamptons in Long Island where he met Mr Jeffries and had sex with him. He said the "secluded" location and presence of Mr Jeffries' personal staff, dressed in A&F uniforms, supervising events meant he "didn't feel safe to say 'no' or 'I don't feel comfortable with this'".
After the BBC’s initial investigation was published last year, A&F announced it was opening an independent investigation into the allegations raised. When we recently asked when this report will be completed - and if the findings would be made public - the company declined to answer. Like Mr Jeffries and Mr Smith, the brand has been trying to get the civil lawsuit against it dismissed, arguing it had no knowledge of "the supposed sex-trafficking venture" led by its former CEO - which it has been accused of having funded.
Earlier this year, a US court ruled that A&F must cover the cost of Mike Jeffries' legal defence as he continues to fight the civil allegations of sex-trafficking and rape. The judge ruled the allegations were tied to his corporate role after he sued the brand for refusing to pay his legal fees. The brand said it did not comment on legal matters. However, in its defence submitted to court, A&F said its current leadership team was "previously unaware of" the allegations until the BBC contacted it, adding the company "abhors sexual abuse and condemns the alleged conduct" by Mr Jeffries and others. In 2014, Mr Jeffries stepped down as CEO following declining sales and left with a retirement package valued at around $25m (£20.5m), according to company filings at the time. Once one of America's highest-paid CEOs, he was a controversial figure who faced claims of discrimination against staff, concerns about his lavish expenses and complaints about the unofficial influence of his life partner, Matthew Smith, inside A&F.

Ex-Abercrombie CEO used power, wealth and influence to traffic vulnerable men, prosecutors say

Posted on by naim with No comments
The former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) and his partner have been arrested and charged with running a prostitution and international sex trafficking business. Authorities arrested former fashion executive Mike Jeffries, his partner Matthew Smith and the couple’s alleged middleman - James Jacobson - on Tuesday morning. Federal prosecutors said the men used force, fraud and coercion to engage in "violent and exploitive" sexual acts. Mr Jeffries and his partner have previously denied any wrongdoing via their lawyers, and Mr Jeffries' lawyer told the BBC on Tuesday that they would "respond in detail to the allegations after the Indictment is unsealed".
A lawyer for Mr Smith has been approached for new comment. A&F declined to comment on the latest developments. Warning: This story contains descriptions of sexual acts The FBI opened an investigation last year after the BBC revealed claims that Mike Jeffries and his partner sexually exploited and abused men at events they hosted in their New York residences and hotels around the world. The BBC investigation found that there was a sophisticated operation involving a middleman and a network of recruiters tasked with finding men for these events. On Tuesday, US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Breon Peace, alleged that Mr Jeffries used his wealth, power and status as CEO of A&F "to traffic men for his own sexual pleasure" and for the pleasure of his partner, Mr Smith.
Outlining prosecutors' accusations, Mr Peace alleged the couple employed Mr Jacobson as their recruiter who would conduct "tryouts" with men from across the globe by engaging them in sex acts in exchange for money. Once Mr Jeffries approved of the men, they would be flown to his New York home where they were "pressured to consume alcohol, Viagra, and muscle relaxants", Mr Peace claimed. Prosecutors further alleged that Mr Jeffries and Mr Smith directed others or personally "injected men with an erection inducing substance" when they were incapable or unwilling to participate. The ex-CEO "spent millions of dollars on a massive infrastucture to support this operation and maintain its secrecy", prosecutors said, which included international travel, hotel stays, paid staff and security for the events. Prosecutors said there were 15 victims mentioned in the indictment but alleged that the operation "encompassed dozens and dozens of men".
0:41 Mike Jeffries leaves court after sex trafficking hearing in Florida After a court appearance on Tuesday, Mr Jeffries was released on a $10m (£7.7m) bond, while Mr Jacobson was released on a $500,000 bond. They are next due in court on Friday. Mr Smith was ordered detained. Mr Peace, the federal prosecutor, confirmed at a press conference on Tuesday that authorities were initially tipped off by media reports. Following the BBC’s reporting, a civil lawsuit was also filed in New York accusing Mr Jeffries and Mr Smith of sex-trafficking, rape and sexual assault. The lawsuit also accused Abercrombie & Fitch of having funded a sex-trafficking operation led by its former CEO over the two decades he was in charge. Earlier on Tuesday, Brad Edwards of Edwards Henderson, a civil lawyer representing some of the alleged victims, said: "These arrests are a huge first step towards obtaining justice for the many victims who were exploited and abused through this sex-trafficking scheme that operated for many years under the legitimate cover Abercrombie provided.
"The unprecedented reporting of the BBC, coupled with the lawsuit our firm filed detailing the operation, are to credit for these monumental arrests. This was the result of impressive investigative journalism.” In its initial investigation, the BBC spoke to 12 men who described attending or organising events involving sex acts run for Mr Jeffries, 80, and his British partner Mr Smith, 61, between 2009 and 2015. The eight men who attended the events said they were recruited by a middleman who the BBC identified as James Jacobson. Then, more men came forward last month. Some alleged Mr Jeffries' assistants had injected them in the penis with what they were told was liquid Viagra. Mr Jacobson, 71, previously told the BBC in a statement through his lawyer that he took offence at the suggestion of "any coercive, deceptive or forceful behaviour on my part" and had "no knowledge of any such conduct by others". The BBC also interviewed dozens of other sources, including former household staff.
Some of the men the BBC spoke to said they were misled about the nature of the events or not told sex was involved. Others said they understood the events would be sexual, but not exactly what was expected of them. All were paid. Several told the BBC the middleman or other recruiters raised the possibility of modelling opportunities with A&F. David Bradberry, then 23 and an aspiring model, said that it was "made clear" to him that without performing oral sex on Mr Jacobson, he would not be meeting A&F CEO Mr Jeffries. "It was like he was selling fame. And the price was compliance," Mr Bradberry told the BBC. Mr Bradberry said he later attended a party at Mr Jeffries's mansion in the Hamptons in Long Island where he met Mr Jeffries and had sex with him. He said the "secluded" location and presence of Mr Jeffries' personal staff, dressed in A&F uniforms, supervising events meant he "didn't feel safe to say 'no' or 'I don't feel comfortable with this'".
After the BBC’s initial investigation was published last year, A&F announced it was opening an independent investigation into the allegations raised. When we recently asked when this report will be completed - and if the findings would be made public - the company declined to answer. Like Mr Jeffries and Mr Smith, the brand has been trying to get the civil lawsuit against it dismissed, arguing it had no knowledge of "the supposed sex-trafficking venture" led by its former CEO - which it has been accused of having funded.
Earlier this year, a US court ruled that A&F must cover the cost of Mike Jeffries' legal defence as he continues to fight the civil allegations of sex-trafficking and rape. The judge ruled the allegations were tied to his corporate role after he sued the brand for refusing to pay his legal fees. The brand said it did not comment on legal matters. However, in its defence submitted to court, A&F said its current leadership team was "previously unaware of" the allegations until the BBC contacted it, adding the company "abhors sexual abuse and condemns the alleged conduct" by Mr Jeffries and others. In 2014, Mr Jeffries stepped down as CEO following declining sales and left with a retirement package valued at around $25m (£20.5m), according to company filings at the time. Once one of America's highest-paid CEOs, he was a controversial figure who faced claims of discrimination against staff, concerns about his lavish expenses and complaints about the unofficial influence of his life partner, Matthew Smith, inside A&F.
When ChatGPT burst onto the scene in late 2022, PR agency founder Anurag Garg was eager for his team of 11 to quickly incorporate the technology in their workflow, so the business could keep up with its competitors. Mr Garg encouraged his employees to use the AI language tool for the agency’s long list of daily tasks, from coming up with story ideas for clients, pitches to offer the media, and transcribing meeting and interview notes. But rather than increase the team’s productivity, it created stress and tension.
Staff reported that tasks were in fact taking longer as they had to create a brief and prompts for ChatGPT, while also having to double check its output for inaccuracies, of which there were many. And every time the platform was updated, they had to learn its new features, which also took extra time. “There were too many distractions. The team complained that their tasks were taking twice the amount of time because we were now expecting them to use AI tools," says Mr Garg, who runs Everest PR and divides his time between the US and India. The entire aim of introducing AI to the company was to simplify people’s workflows, but it was actually giving everyone more work to do, and making them feel stressed and burnt out."
As a business leader, Mr Garg also began to feel overwhelmed by the growing number of AI tools being launched, and feeling he had to keep pace with every new addition. Not only was he using ChatGPT like his team, but Zapier to track team tasks, and Perplexity to supplement client research. “There's an overflow of AI tools in the market, and no single tool solves multiple problems. As a result, I constantly needed to keep tabs on multiple AI tools to execute tasks, which became more of a mess. It was hard to track which tool was supposed to do what, and I started getting utterly frustrated,” says Mr Garg. “The market is flooded with AI tools, so if I invest in a specific app today, there's a better one available next week. There's a constant learning curve to stay relevant, which I was finding hard to manage, leading to burnout.”
Mr Garg backtracked on the mandate that the team should use AI in all their work, and now they use it primarily for research purposes - and everyone is much happier. “It was a learning phase for us. The work is more manageable now as we are not using too many AI tools. We’ve gone back to everything being done directly by the team, and they feel more connected and more involved in their work. It's much better,” says Mr Garg. Getty Images Office worker sitting at her computer looking stressed.Getty Images Some office workers say that AI is adding to work and decreasing productivity The stress Mr Garg and his team experienced using AI tools at work is reflected in recent research.
In freelancer platform Upwork’s survey of 2,500 knowledge workers in the US, UK, Australia and Canada, 96% of top executives say they expect the use of AI tools to increase their company’s overall productivity levels - with 81% acknowledging they’ve increased demands on workers over the past year. Yet 77% of employees in the survey say AI tools have actually decreased their productivity and added to their workload. And 47% of employees using AI in the survey say they have no idea how to achieve the productivity gains their employers expect. As a result, 61% of people believe that using AI at work will increase their chances of experiencing burnout - rising to 87% of people under 25, as revealed in a separate survey of 1,150 Americans, by CV writing company Resume Now. Resume Now’s survey also highlights how 43% of people feel AI will negatively impact work-life balance. Whether the tech is based on AI or not, surveys suggest many workers are already feeling overwhelmed. A further study by work management platform Asana highlights the effect of introducing more work-based apps.
In its survey of 9,615 knowledge workers across Australia, France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the US, it found that, of those that use six to 15 different apps in the workplace, 15% say they miss messages and notifications because of the number of tools. For those that use 16 or more, 23% say they are less efficient, and their attention span is reduced because of constantly having to switch apps. As Cassie Holmes, management professor at the University of California in Los Angeles, commented in the study: “Using multiple apps requires additional time to learn them and switch between them, and this lost time is painful because we are so sensitive to wasted time.” Gemma Shoots People Leah Steele smiles, sitting in cafe wearing a t shirtGemma Shoots People Leah Steele says workers are expected to do more with less Lawyer turned coach Leah Steele now specialises in helping legal professionals overcome burnout, with many coming to her feeling burdened by their companies’ increased workload demands after introducing AI-based productivity tools. It’s an experience she’s familiar with, after the introduction of a new technology platform in a previous role saw her client caseload rise from 50 to 250.
“The biggest thing I'm seeing is this continuous competing demand to do more with less - but companies are not really considering whether the systems and the tech that they’re introducing are giving an outcome that isn't helpful,” says Bristol- based Ms Steele. “Everything's moving so quickly. It's a constant battle to keep on top of things to develop expertise in such a cutting edge area.” The burnout lawyers are now experiencing, Ms Steele adds, is not only about the growing volume of work tech and AI tools are facilitating, but the knock on effects. “When we're looking at burnout, it's not just about the volume of the work we're doing, but how we feel about the work and what we're getting from it,” says Ms Steele.
“You could feel stressed about having ended up in an environment of high volume and low control, when what you originally wanted to do was interact personally with clients and make a difference to them.” Ms Steele adds: “You could also feel stressed about the risk of losing your job, and the fear of being replaced because you’re no longer enjoying the work as it’s become so tech driven.” The Law Society of England and Wales acknowledges that lawyers need better support from law firm leaders to make the most of new technology like AI. “While AI and new technologies can make legal work more efficient by automating routine tasks, they can also create more work for lawyers, not less,” says president Richard Atkinson. “Learning to use these tools takes time and lawyers often need to undertake training and adapt their work processes. Many technologies were not originally designed for the legal sector, which can make the transition more challenging.”
Flown Alicia Navarro is the founder and CEO of FlownFlown AI can be a big help for smaller firms says Alicia Navarro Alicia Navarro is the founder and chief executive of Flown, an online platform and community which helps people focus on “deep work” - tasks that require sustained concentration. She agrees that there is an “avalanche” of AI tools, but says they need to be used correctly. “There's such a huge amount of filtering and learning that has to take place before these tools can even start to become productive elements in our lives”. But she argues that for small firms, with limited resources, AI can be a big help. “It’s an incredibly empowering thing for start-ups to be able to do a lot more, or companies to be able to pay more dividends or pay their team more.”

Will AI make work burnout worse?

Posted on by naim with No comments
When ChatGPT burst onto the scene in late 2022, PR agency founder Anurag Garg was eager for his team of 11 to quickly incorporate the technology in their workflow, so the business could keep up with its competitors. Mr Garg encouraged his employees to use the AI language tool for the agency’s long list of daily tasks, from coming up with story ideas for clients, pitches to offer the media, and transcribing meeting and interview notes. But rather than increase the team’s productivity, it created stress and tension.
Staff reported that tasks were in fact taking longer as they had to create a brief and prompts for ChatGPT, while also having to double check its output for inaccuracies, of which there were many. And every time the platform was updated, they had to learn its new features, which also took extra time. “There were too many distractions. The team complained that their tasks were taking twice the amount of time because we were now expecting them to use AI tools," says Mr Garg, who runs Everest PR and divides his time between the US and India. The entire aim of introducing AI to the company was to simplify people’s workflows, but it was actually giving everyone more work to do, and making them feel stressed and burnt out."
As a business leader, Mr Garg also began to feel overwhelmed by the growing number of AI tools being launched, and feeling he had to keep pace with every new addition. Not only was he using ChatGPT like his team, but Zapier to track team tasks, and Perplexity to supplement client research. “There's an overflow of AI tools in the market, and no single tool solves multiple problems. As a result, I constantly needed to keep tabs on multiple AI tools to execute tasks, which became more of a mess. It was hard to track which tool was supposed to do what, and I started getting utterly frustrated,” says Mr Garg. “The market is flooded with AI tools, so if I invest in a specific app today, there's a better one available next week. There's a constant learning curve to stay relevant, which I was finding hard to manage, leading to burnout.”
Mr Garg backtracked on the mandate that the team should use AI in all their work, and now they use it primarily for research purposes - and everyone is much happier. “It was a learning phase for us. The work is more manageable now as we are not using too many AI tools. We’ve gone back to everything being done directly by the team, and they feel more connected and more involved in their work. It's much better,” says Mr Garg. Getty Images Office worker sitting at her computer looking stressed.Getty Images Some office workers say that AI is adding to work and decreasing productivity The stress Mr Garg and his team experienced using AI tools at work is reflected in recent research.
In freelancer platform Upwork’s survey of 2,500 knowledge workers in the US, UK, Australia and Canada, 96% of top executives say they expect the use of AI tools to increase their company’s overall productivity levels - with 81% acknowledging they’ve increased demands on workers over the past year. Yet 77% of employees in the survey say AI tools have actually decreased their productivity and added to their workload. And 47% of employees using AI in the survey say they have no idea how to achieve the productivity gains their employers expect. As a result, 61% of people believe that using AI at work will increase their chances of experiencing burnout - rising to 87% of people under 25, as revealed in a separate survey of 1,150 Americans, by CV writing company Resume Now. Resume Now’s survey also highlights how 43% of people feel AI will negatively impact work-life balance. Whether the tech is based on AI or not, surveys suggest many workers are already feeling overwhelmed. A further study by work management platform Asana highlights the effect of introducing more work-based apps.
In its survey of 9,615 knowledge workers across Australia, France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the US, it found that, of those that use six to 15 different apps in the workplace, 15% say they miss messages and notifications because of the number of tools. For those that use 16 or more, 23% say they are less efficient, and their attention span is reduced because of constantly having to switch apps. As Cassie Holmes, management professor at the University of California in Los Angeles, commented in the study: “Using multiple apps requires additional time to learn them and switch between them, and this lost time is painful because we are so sensitive to wasted time.” Gemma Shoots People Leah Steele smiles, sitting in cafe wearing a t shirtGemma Shoots People Leah Steele says workers are expected to do more with less Lawyer turned coach Leah Steele now specialises in helping legal professionals overcome burnout, with many coming to her feeling burdened by their companies’ increased workload demands after introducing AI-based productivity tools. It’s an experience she’s familiar with, after the introduction of a new technology platform in a previous role saw her client caseload rise from 50 to 250.
“The biggest thing I'm seeing is this continuous competing demand to do more with less - but companies are not really considering whether the systems and the tech that they’re introducing are giving an outcome that isn't helpful,” says Bristol- based Ms Steele. “Everything's moving so quickly. It's a constant battle to keep on top of things to develop expertise in such a cutting edge area.” The burnout lawyers are now experiencing, Ms Steele adds, is not only about the growing volume of work tech and AI tools are facilitating, but the knock on effects. “When we're looking at burnout, it's not just about the volume of the work we're doing, but how we feel about the work and what we're getting from it,” says Ms Steele.
“You could feel stressed about having ended up in an environment of high volume and low control, when what you originally wanted to do was interact personally with clients and make a difference to them.” Ms Steele adds: “You could also feel stressed about the risk of losing your job, and the fear of being replaced because you’re no longer enjoying the work as it’s become so tech driven.” The Law Society of England and Wales acknowledges that lawyers need better support from law firm leaders to make the most of new technology like AI. “While AI and new technologies can make legal work more efficient by automating routine tasks, they can also create more work for lawyers, not less,” says president Richard Atkinson. “Learning to use these tools takes time and lawyers often need to undertake training and adapt their work processes. Many technologies were not originally designed for the legal sector, which can make the transition more challenging.”
Flown Alicia Navarro is the founder and CEO of FlownFlown AI can be a big help for smaller firms says Alicia Navarro Alicia Navarro is the founder and chief executive of Flown, an online platform and community which helps people focus on “deep work” - tasks that require sustained concentration. She agrees that there is an “avalanche” of AI tools, but says they need to be used correctly. “There's such a huge amount of filtering and learning that has to take place before these tools can even start to become productive elements in our lives”. But she argues that for small firms, with limited resources, AI can be a big help. “It’s an incredibly empowering thing for start-ups to be able to do a lot more, or companies to be able to pay more dividends or pay their team more.”
Half a century after the end of a devastating conflict that left much of the nation in ruins, Vietnam has emerged as one of Asia's most popular destinations. April 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of when the government of Saigon surrendered to North Vietnamese forces, ending the decades-long Vietnam War. In many ways, the nation is still grappling with this dark time and the lingering effects on both its landscape and people. However, new generations of Vietnamese citizens are now working to shed the nation's war-torn past and instead reveal the country's beauty and unique cultural heritage to the world.
Since 1997, when the country first opened to tourists, Vietnam has become one of South East Asia's most popular destinations. Renowned for its delicious street food markets, vibrant cities, unique mix of French colonial architecture and stunning natural landscapes from lush jungles to jagged peaks, the nation is currently experiencing a surge of foreign visitors and is on pace for a record-breaking year. In the most recent episode of BBC's The Travel Show, Vietnamese American host William Lee Adams travels across the country on an emotional journey to reconnect with his mother's country of origin and to lay his brother's ashes in the bustling metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) where his family has a crypt. 3:55 William Lee Adams returns to Vietnam, where his father met his mother. In many ways, Saigon was the epicentre of the Vietnam War in 1960s and '70s, as it served as the headquarters for US military operations in the region. However, the city's history stretches back at least 300 years before this conflict, and its past is reflected in the ornate temples and pagodas, vibrant night markets and mix of Asian and European influences found in this nine-million person metropolis.
As in much of Vietnam, food is a major draw for travellers to Ho Chi Minh City. Street food dishes like bot chien (pan-fried rice flour cakes served with papaya, shallots and green onions) found at places like the historic Bến Thành Market are popular, as are more upscale restaurants such as the Michelin-starred Akuna. "The market, and food in general is kind of like the heart of Vietnamese culture," tour guide and content creator Lylla told the Travel Show. "Food is that important." More like this: • Saving Vietnam's endangered langur monkeys • The controversial art festival deep in the jungle • The mystical instrument that speaks with the spirits Beyond the markets, Ho Chi Minh City is a blend of Vietnamese, French and international influences. The ornate French-built Saigon Opera House, which opened in 1898, stands as a reminder of the city's colonial past, while the more contemporary Lotus Gallery (one of the city's first private art galleries) showcases the work of modern Vietnamese and other South East Asian artists. One thing you won't find too much mention of in Ho Chi Minh City is the armed conflict. In fact, many locals are reluctant to talk about what is known locally here as the "American War".
"The official viewpoint is, 'we won the war, so there is no trauma'," said Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, a Vietnamese author. "That's why I felt the need to document the hidden trauma… which has been brushed aside, unacknowledged." Getty Images The Bến Thành Market is hugely popular in Ho Chi Minh City (Credit: Getty Images)Getty Images The Bến Thành Market is hugely popular in Ho Chi Minh City (Credit: Getty Images) Even so, there are several places where visitors can go to learn about the impact the war had on the city and surrounding countryside. The War Remnants Museum preserves important artefacts and educates visitors about the consequences of war, while the Chu Chi tunnels showcase the hardships that Vietnamese soldiers endured during the conflict. Ho Chi Minh City is connected to the northern part of the country by the North-South Railway, often called the "Reunification Express". First built in 1899, the train, which travels more than 1,700km from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi on a single track, was bombed several times during the Vietnam War to cut off the important connections between the communist north and US-controlled south of the country. Today, the ride is a great way to get a view of some of the country's most beautiful landscapes, as it passes by the breathtakingly blue waters of Nha Trang's beaches, and through the jungles of the Annamite Mountain range. The train also makes stops at several popular tourist towns, such as Da Nang and Hoi An, before reaching its final destination, the historic capital city of Hanoi. Once the capital city of the communist north, Hanoi was founded in 1009 AD as the imperial city for the Ly Dynasty. Beginning in 1873, the city served as the capital of the French-controlled colony and remains Vietnam's capital today. The city's diverse background is reflected in its architecture, particularly the city's Old Quarter, with its mix of Vietnamese and French colonial architecture.
For a deep dive into Hanoi's international past, visit the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, a Unesco World Heritage site that dates back to the 7th Century. The site offers guided tours spanning nearly 1,300 years of Vietnam's past. In addition to being the legislative capital of Vietnam, Hanoi is also considered the nation's cultural capital and it's home to a thriving arts and education scene. For example, what is now known as the Temple of Literature once served as Vietnam's first university, and students still go to the site to pray for good grades. The city also boasts contemporary art galleries and museums, such as the Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum and the Hanoi Studio Gallery. Getty Images Hanoi's Imperial Citadel is a Unesco World Heritage Site (Credit: Getty Images)Getty Images Hanoi's Imperial Citadel is a Unesco World Heritage Site (Credit: Getty Images) No visit to Hanoi is complete without stopping by Dong Xuan Market, one of the largest and oldest in the country. It's a two-storey community hotspot where locals and travellers from around the globe come to buy local stir-fried dishes, souvenirs, spices and even pets. "Every time I've been to Vietnam there's been this sense of 'something is now complete'," Adams said at the end of his journey. "But I actually view this trip as a new chapter opening."

A return to Vietnam, 50 years after the war

Posted on by naim with No comments
Half a century after the end of a devastating conflict that left much of the nation in ruins, Vietnam has emerged as one of Asia's most popular destinations. April 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of when the government of Saigon surrendered to North Vietnamese forces, ending the decades-long Vietnam War. In many ways, the nation is still grappling with this dark time and the lingering effects on both its landscape and people. However, new generations of Vietnamese citizens are now working to shed the nation's war-torn past and instead reveal the country's beauty and unique cultural heritage to the world.
Since 1997, when the country first opened to tourists, Vietnam has become one of South East Asia's most popular destinations. Renowned for its delicious street food markets, vibrant cities, unique mix of French colonial architecture and stunning natural landscapes from lush jungles to jagged peaks, the nation is currently experiencing a surge of foreign visitors and is on pace for a record-breaking year. In the most recent episode of BBC's The Travel Show, Vietnamese American host William Lee Adams travels across the country on an emotional journey to reconnect with his mother's country of origin and to lay his brother's ashes in the bustling metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) where his family has a crypt. 3:55 William Lee Adams returns to Vietnam, where his father met his mother. In many ways, Saigon was the epicentre of the Vietnam War in 1960s and '70s, as it served as the headquarters for US military operations in the region. However, the city's history stretches back at least 300 years before this conflict, and its past is reflected in the ornate temples and pagodas, vibrant night markets and mix of Asian and European influences found in this nine-million person metropolis.
As in much of Vietnam, food is a major draw for travellers to Ho Chi Minh City. Street food dishes like bot chien (pan-fried rice flour cakes served with papaya, shallots and green onions) found at places like the historic Bến Thành Market are popular, as are more upscale restaurants such as the Michelin-starred Akuna. "The market, and food in general is kind of like the heart of Vietnamese culture," tour guide and content creator Lylla told the Travel Show. "Food is that important." More like this: • Saving Vietnam's endangered langur monkeys • The controversial art festival deep in the jungle • The mystical instrument that speaks with the spirits Beyond the markets, Ho Chi Minh City is a blend of Vietnamese, French and international influences. The ornate French-built Saigon Opera House, which opened in 1898, stands as a reminder of the city's colonial past, while the more contemporary Lotus Gallery (one of the city's first private art galleries) showcases the work of modern Vietnamese and other South East Asian artists. One thing you won't find too much mention of in Ho Chi Minh City is the armed conflict. In fact, many locals are reluctant to talk about what is known locally here as the "American War".
"The official viewpoint is, 'we won the war, so there is no trauma'," said Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, a Vietnamese author. "That's why I felt the need to document the hidden trauma… which has been brushed aside, unacknowledged." Getty Images The Bến Thành Market is hugely popular in Ho Chi Minh City (Credit: Getty Images)Getty Images The Bến Thành Market is hugely popular in Ho Chi Minh City (Credit: Getty Images) Even so, there are several places where visitors can go to learn about the impact the war had on the city and surrounding countryside. The War Remnants Museum preserves important artefacts and educates visitors about the consequences of war, while the Chu Chi tunnels showcase the hardships that Vietnamese soldiers endured during the conflict. Ho Chi Minh City is connected to the northern part of the country by the North-South Railway, often called the "Reunification Express". First built in 1899, the train, which travels more than 1,700km from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi on a single track, was bombed several times during the Vietnam War to cut off the important connections between the communist north and US-controlled south of the country. Today, the ride is a great way to get a view of some of the country's most beautiful landscapes, as it passes by the breathtakingly blue waters of Nha Trang's beaches, and through the jungles of the Annamite Mountain range. The train also makes stops at several popular tourist towns, such as Da Nang and Hoi An, before reaching its final destination, the historic capital city of Hanoi. Once the capital city of the communist north, Hanoi was founded in 1009 AD as the imperial city for the Ly Dynasty. Beginning in 1873, the city served as the capital of the French-controlled colony and remains Vietnam's capital today. The city's diverse background is reflected in its architecture, particularly the city's Old Quarter, with its mix of Vietnamese and French colonial architecture.
For a deep dive into Hanoi's international past, visit the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, a Unesco World Heritage site that dates back to the 7th Century. The site offers guided tours spanning nearly 1,300 years of Vietnam's past. In addition to being the legislative capital of Vietnam, Hanoi is also considered the nation's cultural capital and it's home to a thriving arts and education scene. For example, what is now known as the Temple of Literature once served as Vietnam's first university, and students still go to the site to pray for good grades. The city also boasts contemporary art galleries and museums, such as the Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum and the Hanoi Studio Gallery. Getty Images Hanoi's Imperial Citadel is a Unesco World Heritage Site (Credit: Getty Images)Getty Images Hanoi's Imperial Citadel is a Unesco World Heritage Site (Credit: Getty Images) No visit to Hanoi is complete without stopping by Dong Xuan Market, one of the largest and oldest in the country. It's a two-storey community hotspot where locals and travellers from around the globe come to buy local stir-fried dishes, souvenirs, spices and even pets. "Every time I've been to Vietnam there's been this sense of 'something is now complete'," Adams said at the end of his journey. "But I actually view this trip as a new chapter opening."
These ingeniously designed, 500-year-old "banks" offer a glimpse into Morocco's Indigenous heritage amidst some of the country's most ruggedly beautiful, untamed and lesser-explored landscapes. "The Amazigh tribes built these ancient structures from the mountains around us," says key keeper Hassan Louz, as he pushes open a palm-wood door to reveal the labyrinthine vaults of one of Morocco's oldest igoudar – storehouses built by the region's Indigenous tribes centuries ago to protect their most valuable possessions.
Ingeniously built from the jagged stone, adobe clay and palm trees of the Anti-Atlas Mountains, some 600 igoudar (the plural form of agadir – Amazigh for "wall" or "compound") dot the windswept landscapes of the Souss-Massa region in southern Morocco. They tell the story of how these sun-scorched uplands were first settled around the 15th Century when the Amazigh, or "free people" – North Africa's Indigenous tribes – began to abandon nomadism, adopt farming and establish permanent desert outposts. Widely regarded by historians as among the world's oldest banking systems, igoudar eventually became the centre of Amazigh influence in the region, acting as spaces of governance, trade and debate as well as communal storehouses. Today, they offer a glimpse into Morocco's Indigenous heritage amidst some of the country's most ruggedly beautiful, untamed and least explored landscapes.
Harry Taylor (Credit: Harry Taylor)Harry Taylor Sacred storehouses The Amazigh tribes first built igoudar to store their community's treasures; not only the grains, nuts, oils and dates harvested from southern Morocco's fertile valleys; but also the woven carpets, silver jewellery and legal documents belonging to local families. Their position – situated strategically amid the rocky outcrops of the Anti-Atlas Mountains – was carefully chosen to provide protection against the dangers of the surrounding desert: looting bandits, drought and warring tribes. Harry Taylor (Credit: Harry Taylor)Harry Taylor The centre of tribal life Igoudar quickly became the focal point of Amazigh life, also acting as mosques, debate halls and shelter during times of conflict. Over the years, underground water tanks, apiaries and blacksmiths’ forges were incorporated into the fortified structures as the once-nomadic Amazigh tribes increasingly invested in local igoudar as impregnable citadels for their survival. "Those who passed through the region would stop off at igoudar," explains Yasmine Lakmali, an Amazigh woman from the regional hub of Tafraoute. "Camel caravans arriving into the valleys after weeks crossing the Sahara would stay for respite and trade before arriving to the Atlantic Coast, taking with them the produce, jewellery and textiles of the tribes."
Harry Taylor (Credit: Harry Taylor)Harry Taylor Cooperation in the face of adversity "Because of constant threats, the tribes organised and ran igoudar as a community, similar to modern cooperatives," says Mohamed El Houssmi, a local student of Amazigh architecture. "For example, each tribe would contribute its surplus goods – whether food, clothing or other essentials – which would then be redistributed according to the needs of each family." Any deposit made in igoudar vaults would also be accompanied by mandatory donations of grain, the sum of which would be redistributed at the end of the harvest so no one in the tribe went hungry. "These buildings represent an incredible amount of cooperation and resourcefulness in the face of extreme hardship," Mohamed adds. Harry Taylor (Credit: Harry Taylor)Harry Taylor Guardians appointed as protectors "The elders – or Inflas – of the tribes would appoint special guards called 'Amins' to watch over their agadir day and night," says Hassan Louz,the current custodian of the Ikounka village’s 400-year-old agadir. The role of an Amin (Arabic for faithful, honest or trustworthy) carried considerable responsibility. They were assigned to maintain locks, settle disputes and enforce the law of the tribe (which demanded strict punishment for theft or fraud), and as such, enjoyed their own private quarters and adjoining mosque to ensure the agadir’s round-the-clock protection.
Harry Taylor (Credit: Harry Taylor)Harry Taylor Ancient engineering for agriculture Agriculture has always thrived in southern Morocco, sheltered from the harsh Saharan climate by the surrounding mountains and sustained by ancient irrigation systems called seguias that channel water through valleys of wheat, date trees and berry bushes. "Produce, especially grain, was used as bartering currency by the early tribes: they wanted to protect it," Louz explains. More like this:
• The best travel photographs from around the globe • The masters of a 5,000-year-old craft • The pilgrimage sites of Iraq's timeless and holy cities To preserve crops in the unforgiving desert climate, igoudar use air ducts to channel heat upwards, regulating temperature with the outside, while passages between vaults allow for cats to roam free, keeping mice and rats away from the stores of grain. Harry Taylor (Credit: Harry Taylor)Harry Taylor A tradition preserved Many of Morocco’s igoudar have fallen out of use, now preserved as historical sites and reminders of a fading tradition, but in some areas these buildings are still hugely important. In Aït Kine, an oasis village at the edge of one of the Anti-Atlas’s southernmost valleys, the local agadir remains the cornerstone of the community: a place to store crops, jewellery and family texts under the watchful eye of Lahcen Boutirane, the agadir’s key-wielding Amin. Weddings, religious events and social gatherings are still held within the agadir’s rammed-earth walls and the compound’s vaults still house the belongings of many residents.
Harry Taylor (Credit: Harry Taylor)Harry Taylor Records of the past Leading us up a palm trunk ladder to the second floor of vaults, Boutirane prises open the door to reveal piles of legal texts, religious documents and ancient medicinal recipes inscribed on palm wood and parchment. He explains how each village appointed a notary who took invoices for everything deposited in the agadir’s vaults. These charters, written in Arabic and dating back hundreds of years, detail the possessions of every villager over the generations, and are considered sacred by the community, diligently preserved and kept as records of the past. Harry Taylor (Credit: Harry Taylor)Harry Taylor Indigenous architecture "These buildings reflect our elders' deep connection with the landscape," says local Amazigh educator Yassmina El Houssmi. The trunks of palm trees, felled from nearby oases, form the staircases and ceilings, whilst adobe clay dredged from dry riverbanks makes up the walls. In the rockier Anti-Atlas, igoudar are built with stone slabs from surrounding cliffs, stacked in a dry stone composition. "Each building is a remarkable architectural and environmental achievement," Yassmina says. "Their carbon footprint is zero, all materials are biodegradable and locally sourced, and the agadir regulates temperature naturally, allowing it to last for hundreds of years." Harry Taylor (Credit: Harry Taylor)Harry Taylor Looking to the future Despite a number of recent earthquakes and rural depopulation, the communal spirit that first gave rise to these buildings perseveres, as painstaking restoration by villagers returns many of them to their original glory. "The Moroccan government has begun working with artists and engineers to restore these precious buildings," says Mohamed. "Training programmes ensure the age-old techniques of using natural materials and traditional construction methods are not forgotten and we can ensure these igoudar, which contain the Indigenous heritage of the region, continue to look out over these spectacular landscapes for years to come."

The ingenious design of Morocco's 500-year-old 'banks'

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These ingeniously designed, 500-year-old "banks" offer a glimpse into Morocco's Indigenous heritage amidst some of the country's most ruggedly beautiful, untamed and lesser-explored landscapes. "The Amazigh tribes built these ancient structures from the mountains around us," says key keeper Hassan Louz, as he pushes open a palm-wood door to reveal the labyrinthine vaults of one of Morocco's oldest igoudar – storehouses built by the region's Indigenous tribes centuries ago to protect their most valuable possessions.
Ingeniously built from the jagged stone, adobe clay and palm trees of the Anti-Atlas Mountains, some 600 igoudar (the plural form of agadir – Amazigh for "wall" or "compound") dot the windswept landscapes of the Souss-Massa region in southern Morocco. They tell the story of how these sun-scorched uplands were first settled around the 15th Century when the Amazigh, or "free people" – North Africa's Indigenous tribes – began to abandon nomadism, adopt farming and establish permanent desert outposts. Widely regarded by historians as among the world's oldest banking systems, igoudar eventually became the centre of Amazigh influence in the region, acting as spaces of governance, trade and debate as well as communal storehouses. Today, they offer a glimpse into Morocco's Indigenous heritage amidst some of the country's most ruggedly beautiful, untamed and least explored landscapes.
Harry Taylor (Credit: Harry Taylor)Harry Taylor Sacred storehouses The Amazigh tribes first built igoudar to store their community's treasures; not only the grains, nuts, oils and dates harvested from southern Morocco's fertile valleys; but also the woven carpets, silver jewellery and legal documents belonging to local families. Their position – situated strategically amid the rocky outcrops of the Anti-Atlas Mountains – was carefully chosen to provide protection against the dangers of the surrounding desert: looting bandits, drought and warring tribes. Harry Taylor (Credit: Harry Taylor)Harry Taylor The centre of tribal life Igoudar quickly became the focal point of Amazigh life, also acting as mosques, debate halls and shelter during times of conflict. Over the years, underground water tanks, apiaries and blacksmiths’ forges were incorporated into the fortified structures as the once-nomadic Amazigh tribes increasingly invested in local igoudar as impregnable citadels for their survival. "Those who passed through the region would stop off at igoudar," explains Yasmine Lakmali, an Amazigh woman from the regional hub of Tafraoute. "Camel caravans arriving into the valleys after weeks crossing the Sahara would stay for respite and trade before arriving to the Atlantic Coast, taking with them the produce, jewellery and textiles of the tribes."
Harry Taylor (Credit: Harry Taylor)Harry Taylor Cooperation in the face of adversity "Because of constant threats, the tribes organised and ran igoudar as a community, similar to modern cooperatives," says Mohamed El Houssmi, a local student of Amazigh architecture. "For example, each tribe would contribute its surplus goods – whether food, clothing or other essentials – which would then be redistributed according to the needs of each family." Any deposit made in igoudar vaults would also be accompanied by mandatory donations of grain, the sum of which would be redistributed at the end of the harvest so no one in the tribe went hungry. "These buildings represent an incredible amount of cooperation and resourcefulness in the face of extreme hardship," Mohamed adds. Harry Taylor (Credit: Harry Taylor)Harry Taylor Guardians appointed as protectors "The elders – or Inflas – of the tribes would appoint special guards called 'Amins' to watch over their agadir day and night," says Hassan Louz,the current custodian of the Ikounka village’s 400-year-old agadir. The role of an Amin (Arabic for faithful, honest or trustworthy) carried considerable responsibility. They were assigned to maintain locks, settle disputes and enforce the law of the tribe (which demanded strict punishment for theft or fraud), and as such, enjoyed their own private quarters and adjoining mosque to ensure the agadir’s round-the-clock protection.
Harry Taylor (Credit: Harry Taylor)Harry Taylor Ancient engineering for agriculture Agriculture has always thrived in southern Morocco, sheltered from the harsh Saharan climate by the surrounding mountains and sustained by ancient irrigation systems called seguias that channel water through valleys of wheat, date trees and berry bushes. "Produce, especially grain, was used as bartering currency by the early tribes: they wanted to protect it," Louz explains. More like this:
• The best travel photographs from around the globe • The masters of a 5,000-year-old craft • The pilgrimage sites of Iraq's timeless and holy cities To preserve crops in the unforgiving desert climate, igoudar use air ducts to channel heat upwards, regulating temperature with the outside, while passages between vaults allow for cats to roam free, keeping mice and rats away from the stores of grain. Harry Taylor (Credit: Harry Taylor)Harry Taylor A tradition preserved Many of Morocco’s igoudar have fallen out of use, now preserved as historical sites and reminders of a fading tradition, but in some areas these buildings are still hugely important. In Aït Kine, an oasis village at the edge of one of the Anti-Atlas’s southernmost valleys, the local agadir remains the cornerstone of the community: a place to store crops, jewellery and family texts under the watchful eye of Lahcen Boutirane, the agadir’s key-wielding Amin. Weddings, religious events and social gatherings are still held within the agadir’s rammed-earth walls and the compound’s vaults still house the belongings of many residents.
Harry Taylor (Credit: Harry Taylor)Harry Taylor Records of the past Leading us up a palm trunk ladder to the second floor of vaults, Boutirane prises open the door to reveal piles of legal texts, religious documents and ancient medicinal recipes inscribed on palm wood and parchment. He explains how each village appointed a notary who took invoices for everything deposited in the agadir’s vaults. These charters, written in Arabic and dating back hundreds of years, detail the possessions of every villager over the generations, and are considered sacred by the community, diligently preserved and kept as records of the past. Harry Taylor (Credit: Harry Taylor)Harry Taylor Indigenous architecture "These buildings reflect our elders' deep connection with the landscape," says local Amazigh educator Yassmina El Houssmi. The trunks of palm trees, felled from nearby oases, form the staircases and ceilings, whilst adobe clay dredged from dry riverbanks makes up the walls. In the rockier Anti-Atlas, igoudar are built with stone slabs from surrounding cliffs, stacked in a dry stone composition. "Each building is a remarkable architectural and environmental achievement," Yassmina says. "Their carbon footprint is zero, all materials are biodegradable and locally sourced, and the agadir regulates temperature naturally, allowing it to last for hundreds of years." Harry Taylor (Credit: Harry Taylor)Harry Taylor Looking to the future Despite a number of recent earthquakes and rural depopulation, the communal spirit that first gave rise to these buildings perseveres, as painstaking restoration by villagers returns many of them to their original glory. "The Moroccan government has begun working with artists and engineers to restore these precious buildings," says Mohamed. "Training programmes ensure the age-old techniques of using natural materials and traditional construction methods are not forgotten and we can ensure these igoudar, which contain the Indigenous heritage of the region, continue to look out over these spectacular landscapes for years to come."
The golden age of the package holiday is over, and tourism's final frontier has fled from the frozen poles to the vacuum of outer space. But among the shifting trends of the 21st Century, there's one key factor that's increasingly driving people's desire to travel: the spirit of scientific enquiry.
Expeditions used to be the preserve of professionals: scientists, academics and explorers setting off for parts unknown with the goal of furthering the field of human knowledge. An emerging industry of expedition tourism, however, is laying open the thrill of discovery to the general public, with companies offering expert-led tours with a focus on subjects such as science, conservation and anthropology. "People don't just want to sit on a beach anymore – there's more of an appetite for self-fulfilment," said Kevin Currie, director of New Scientist Discovery Tours. "We launched in June 2019, at a time when experiential tours were growing at twice the rate of normal tourism. That's resumed since the pandemic; we're seeing exponential growth."
New Scientist Discovery Tours are accompanied by experts in their fields, who lead visits to conservation areas, historical sites or scientific institutions, explaining to guests in depth what it is that they're seeing and experiencing. Current tours include a trip to CERN in Switzerland with a particle physicist, and a cruise to Svalbard featuring on-board lectures from world-famous evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. Getty Images Companies now offer expert-led tours that focus on science, conservation and anthropology (Credit: Getty Images)Getty Images Companies now offer expert-led tours that focus on science, conservation and anthropology (Credit: Getty Images)
Currie believes that travel becomes a deeper experience when the place you're visiting is illuminated by expert knowledge. "Anyone can visit Prague, and it's lovely. But an expert-led astronomy tour of Prague, through the eyes of [historic astronomers] Johannes Kepler and Tycho Brahe, really brings it to life." Many of the new breed of expedition tours include a citizen science element, extending the scope of the trip beyond mere tourism and giving guests the opportunity to participate in surveying, laying camera traps and other accessible science activities that can be carried out by the general public. Thoughtful Travel Want to travel better? Thoughtful Travel is a series on the ways people behave while away, from ethics to etiquette and more. Exodus Adventure Travels offers guests the opportunity to collect DNA samples in the field, which contribute to global biodiversity survey eBio Atlas; while Hurtigruten Expeditions sells trips to Norway that offer guests the chance to contribute to Aurorasaurus, a crowd-sourced database of information tracking the Northern Lights. Hurtigruten also encourages travellers on their trips worldwide to submit their birdwatching photographs to eBird, an online database of bird sightings. All of which raises the question: how useful to scientific endeavour can a tourist really be?
Currie is sceptical about the usefulness of citizen science activities being offered as part of an expedition tour. "I'm a little bit cynical about citizen science being used as a marketing tool – about how much of the data is actually going towards the development of science," he said. "We want people to understand how science works; that's why we run science workshops on our tours. But scientific research itself is a serious endeavour. We don't want to belittle it." Getty Images According to Elise Hutton, a researcher in climate tourism, stricter guidelines are needed for Arctic cruises (Credit: Getty Images)Getty Images According to Elise Hutton, a researcher in climate tourism, stricter guidelines are needed for Arctic cruises (Credit: Getty Images) Other experts are concerned that some expedition tours are causing more damage to the environment than they can possibly help to resolve. Elina Hutton, a researcher in climate tourism at the University of Lapland, told me that Arctic cruises are particularly at fault in this regard. "They cause more problems than they solve," she said. "Trips that incorporate hands-on science, and lectures on science, are better than those that don't have the scientists there at all. But when we're increasing tourism with the pretext of studying nature, it tips the overall balance towards the negative." Hutton believes that stricter guidelines, and the enforcement of them, are needed for Arctic cruises going forward. "There need to be more restrictions on how many people can go, and how close they can get to wildlife," she said. "The Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators have guidelines, but there's no way to monitor if they're being followed. When you look at the marketing photos the tour companies use, they show very close encounters with wildlife, which creates expectation on the part of the customer – they expect to get close to a polar bear mother and her young, for example."
There need to be more restrictions on how many people can go, and how close they can get to wildlife - Elina Hutton Some experts, however, are optimistic about the potential benefits of citizen science tourism. A 2023 review by a group of academics from Australia concluded that citizen science is proving to be a reliable and useful source of data for scientific research, which is "just as unbiased and accurate as that produced by scientists" – even accounting for the problems that tourists can face when gathering data, such as accurately judging the size and age of animals. The study also suggests that tourists who have a background of knowledge in a certain field (without being professional experts) are particularly useful, using the examples of holidaying birdwatchers, anglers and scuba divers: "Research reveals that recreational divers can be effective citizen scientists due to their reported ability to identify and estimate the abundance of marine species with considerable accuracy, even if they have limited scientific experience." The study concludes that, when done right, citizen science tourism can not only gather useful data, but can empower participants to take further action, which positively impacts conservation going forward.
Alamy Many expedition tours also include a citizen science element where guests can get involved (Credit: Alamy)Alamy Many expedition tours also include a citizen science element where guests can get involved (Credit: Alamy) This is a significant factor in the future of sustainable travel: tourism, when carried out responsibly, has a crucial role to play in capturing the hearts and minds of the general public in relation to environmental and sustainability issues. In places like the Caribbean, they're tired of seeing people who don't care about their ecosystems – they want to just sit on the beach - Megan Epler Wood According to Megan Epler Wood, an expert in sustainable tourism at Cornell University, trips with a citizen science element can help to engage members of the public with conservation issues in ways that traditional holidays can't. "In places like the Caribbean, they're tired of seeing people who don't care about their ecosystems – they want to just sit on the beach. There are a huge number of places there that could involve citizen science," she said, adding that 80–90% of tourists "don't care about sustainability, period. So if we can inch the number of those that do care forward just another 1%, that would be hundreds of millions of dollars going towards places that need it." More like this:
• 10 sustainable travel destinations to visit in 2024 • Kamikochi: Japan's car-free town that autumn hikers love • How the youngest Canary Island escaped mass tourism Epler Wood notes that conservation-minded tours can also bring huge benefits to fragile natural environments by bringing new opportunities to the Indigenous people that call them home. "Specialist tour operators leading expeditions to natural areas frequently have a very important role in the conservation of natural resources," she said. "I worked in the Amazon, where we would find protected areas being taken over by [local] people who needed farmland. As a result, you saw the Amazon burning. So Ecuador, Colombia and Peru all implemented tourism projects where they would employ or set up joint ventures with Indigenous people and create a conservation ethic. It gives the local people a new way of looking at where they live – there are many examples of people who were poachers who became tour guides, for example." Getty Images Rwanda is one of the best examples of 'high value, low volume' tourism (Credit: Getty Images)Getty Images Rwanda is one of the best examples of 'high value, low volume' tourism (Credit: Getty Images) The main issue, she added, is not tourism per se, but the sheer volume of tourists. "The places that are being overwhelmed have to reconsider how many people they're letting in," she said, pointing to Rwanda as one of the best examples of 'high value, low volume' tourism. "They limit the numbers who can see the mountain gorillas. There's rigorous science going on at Dian Fossey's Karisoke Research Center, monitoring and protecting these species, which sits hand in glove with tourists going to these designated areas at designated times."
Clearly, there are a number of challenges that must be addressed to make sure that the growing field of expedition tourism does not further damage the very things it claims it wants to protect. But for proponents of this kind of tourism, travelling in the spirit of scientific discovery can change the way you look at the world, instilling a sense of awe that can empower you to take environmental action – and which you don't need to travel to distant climes to experience. "We want to be as inclusive as possible. Not everyone can afford a polar cruise," said Currie. "Lots of people associate awe with scale – seeing a huge glacier that takes a day to walk past – but it can also be found in the small, detailed, things, like spotting tiny mosses or fungi. We did a 'science of rewilding' weekend recently; a lot of people want to learn what they can do in their own patch of the world. You don't need to fly to go on an expedition."

Are you really helping when you join an 'expedition tour'?

Posted on by naim with No comments
The golden age of the package holiday is over, and tourism's final frontier has fled from the frozen poles to the vacuum of outer space. But among the shifting trends of the 21st Century, there's one key factor that's increasingly driving people's desire to travel: the spirit of scientific enquiry.
Expeditions used to be the preserve of professionals: scientists, academics and explorers setting off for parts unknown with the goal of furthering the field of human knowledge. An emerging industry of expedition tourism, however, is laying open the thrill of discovery to the general public, with companies offering expert-led tours with a focus on subjects such as science, conservation and anthropology. "People don't just want to sit on a beach anymore – there's more of an appetite for self-fulfilment," said Kevin Currie, director of New Scientist Discovery Tours. "We launched in June 2019, at a time when experiential tours were growing at twice the rate of normal tourism. That's resumed since the pandemic; we're seeing exponential growth."
New Scientist Discovery Tours are accompanied by experts in their fields, who lead visits to conservation areas, historical sites or scientific institutions, explaining to guests in depth what it is that they're seeing and experiencing. Current tours include a trip to CERN in Switzerland with a particle physicist, and a cruise to Svalbard featuring on-board lectures from world-famous evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. Getty Images Companies now offer expert-led tours that focus on science, conservation and anthropology (Credit: Getty Images)Getty Images Companies now offer expert-led tours that focus on science, conservation and anthropology (Credit: Getty Images)
Currie believes that travel becomes a deeper experience when the place you're visiting is illuminated by expert knowledge. "Anyone can visit Prague, and it's lovely. But an expert-led astronomy tour of Prague, through the eyes of [historic astronomers] Johannes Kepler and Tycho Brahe, really brings it to life." Many of the new breed of expedition tours include a citizen science element, extending the scope of the trip beyond mere tourism and giving guests the opportunity to participate in surveying, laying camera traps and other accessible science activities that can be carried out by the general public. Thoughtful Travel Want to travel better? Thoughtful Travel is a series on the ways people behave while away, from ethics to etiquette and more. Exodus Adventure Travels offers guests the opportunity to collect DNA samples in the field, which contribute to global biodiversity survey eBio Atlas; while Hurtigruten Expeditions sells trips to Norway that offer guests the chance to contribute to Aurorasaurus, a crowd-sourced database of information tracking the Northern Lights. Hurtigruten also encourages travellers on their trips worldwide to submit their birdwatching photographs to eBird, an online database of bird sightings. All of which raises the question: how useful to scientific endeavour can a tourist really be?
Currie is sceptical about the usefulness of citizen science activities being offered as part of an expedition tour. "I'm a little bit cynical about citizen science being used as a marketing tool – about how much of the data is actually going towards the development of science," he said. "We want people to understand how science works; that's why we run science workshops on our tours. But scientific research itself is a serious endeavour. We don't want to belittle it." Getty Images According to Elise Hutton, a researcher in climate tourism, stricter guidelines are needed for Arctic cruises (Credit: Getty Images)Getty Images According to Elise Hutton, a researcher in climate tourism, stricter guidelines are needed for Arctic cruises (Credit: Getty Images) Other experts are concerned that some expedition tours are causing more damage to the environment than they can possibly help to resolve. Elina Hutton, a researcher in climate tourism at the University of Lapland, told me that Arctic cruises are particularly at fault in this regard. "They cause more problems than they solve," she said. "Trips that incorporate hands-on science, and lectures on science, are better than those that don't have the scientists there at all. But when we're increasing tourism with the pretext of studying nature, it tips the overall balance towards the negative." Hutton believes that stricter guidelines, and the enforcement of them, are needed for Arctic cruises going forward. "There need to be more restrictions on how many people can go, and how close they can get to wildlife," she said. "The Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators have guidelines, but there's no way to monitor if they're being followed. When you look at the marketing photos the tour companies use, they show very close encounters with wildlife, which creates expectation on the part of the customer – they expect to get close to a polar bear mother and her young, for example."
There need to be more restrictions on how many people can go, and how close they can get to wildlife - Elina Hutton Some experts, however, are optimistic about the potential benefits of citizen science tourism. A 2023 review by a group of academics from Australia concluded that citizen science is proving to be a reliable and useful source of data for scientific research, which is "just as unbiased and accurate as that produced by scientists" – even accounting for the problems that tourists can face when gathering data, such as accurately judging the size and age of animals. The study also suggests that tourists who have a background of knowledge in a certain field (without being professional experts) are particularly useful, using the examples of holidaying birdwatchers, anglers and scuba divers: "Research reveals that recreational divers can be effective citizen scientists due to their reported ability to identify and estimate the abundance of marine species with considerable accuracy, even if they have limited scientific experience." The study concludes that, when done right, citizen science tourism can not only gather useful data, but can empower participants to take further action, which positively impacts conservation going forward.
Alamy Many expedition tours also include a citizen science element where guests can get involved (Credit: Alamy)Alamy Many expedition tours also include a citizen science element where guests can get involved (Credit: Alamy) This is a significant factor in the future of sustainable travel: tourism, when carried out responsibly, has a crucial role to play in capturing the hearts and minds of the general public in relation to environmental and sustainability issues. In places like the Caribbean, they're tired of seeing people who don't care about their ecosystems – they want to just sit on the beach - Megan Epler Wood According to Megan Epler Wood, an expert in sustainable tourism at Cornell University, trips with a citizen science element can help to engage members of the public with conservation issues in ways that traditional holidays can't. "In places like the Caribbean, they're tired of seeing people who don't care about their ecosystems – they want to just sit on the beach. There are a huge number of places there that could involve citizen science," she said, adding that 80–90% of tourists "don't care about sustainability, period. So if we can inch the number of those that do care forward just another 1%, that would be hundreds of millions of dollars going towards places that need it." More like this:
• 10 sustainable travel destinations to visit in 2024 • Kamikochi: Japan's car-free town that autumn hikers love • How the youngest Canary Island escaped mass tourism Epler Wood notes that conservation-minded tours can also bring huge benefits to fragile natural environments by bringing new opportunities to the Indigenous people that call them home. "Specialist tour operators leading expeditions to natural areas frequently have a very important role in the conservation of natural resources," she said. "I worked in the Amazon, where we would find protected areas being taken over by [local] people who needed farmland. As a result, you saw the Amazon burning. So Ecuador, Colombia and Peru all implemented tourism projects where they would employ or set up joint ventures with Indigenous people and create a conservation ethic. It gives the local people a new way of looking at where they live – there are many examples of people who were poachers who became tour guides, for example." Getty Images Rwanda is one of the best examples of 'high value, low volume' tourism (Credit: Getty Images)Getty Images Rwanda is one of the best examples of 'high value, low volume' tourism (Credit: Getty Images) The main issue, she added, is not tourism per se, but the sheer volume of tourists. "The places that are being overwhelmed have to reconsider how many people they're letting in," she said, pointing to Rwanda as one of the best examples of 'high value, low volume' tourism. "They limit the numbers who can see the mountain gorillas. There's rigorous science going on at Dian Fossey's Karisoke Research Center, monitoring and protecting these species, which sits hand in glove with tourists going to these designated areas at designated times."
Clearly, there are a number of challenges that must be addressed to make sure that the growing field of expedition tourism does not further damage the very things it claims it wants to protect. But for proponents of this kind of tourism, travelling in the spirit of scientific discovery can change the way you look at the world, instilling a sense of awe that can empower you to take environmental action – and which you don't need to travel to distant climes to experience. "We want to be as inclusive as possible. Not everyone can afford a polar cruise," said Currie. "Lots of people associate awe with scale – seeing a huge glacier that takes a day to walk past – but it can also be found in the small, detailed, things, like spotting tiny mosses or fungi. We did a 'science of rewilding' weekend recently; a lot of people want to learn what they can do in their own patch of the world. You don't need to fly to go on an expedition."

Saturday, October 12, 2024



When I saw the cruel words scrawled across my recovering grandpa’s dusty car, a wave of fury overtook me. But discovering who was responsible was only the beginning. What I did next would teach that entitled neighbor a lesson she’d never forget.

Two months ago, I was sitting at work when my phone buzzed. It was Mom.

“Meg, it’s Grandpa,” she managed to say through trembling breaths. “He’s in the hospital. He—”

“What? Hospital?” I cut her off, completely blindsided. “What happened?”

“He had a heart attack,” Mom continued, her voice shaky. “We need to go see him right away.”

“Oh my God, Mom, is he okay?”

“I… I don’t know, Meg…”

“I’ll be there as fast as I can,” I said, immediately logging out of my work email and grabbing my things.

The thing about Grandpa Alvin is, he’s more than just family. He’s my rock, my confidant, my favorite person in the world. To be honest, I love him more than Mom. But shh—don’t tell her that.

That call from Mom felt like my world had turned upside down. A knot tightened in my stomach as I rushed out of the office, informing my boss in a blur that Grandpa was in serious condition.

The drive home from work is still a blur. Somehow, I made it to Mom’s place, scooped her up, and we sped to the hospital.

The 45-minute drive to the hospital felt like a lifetime. Mom was in tears the entire time, and I could feel my heart hammering in my chest. Each mile felt like a punch to the gut, every red light an eternity.

When we arrived, a nurse told us that Grandpa was still in surgery. The minutes stretched into hours, each second heavier than the last.

Finally, a doctor came out.

“The surgery was successful,” he said. “But he needs plenty of rest, a heart-healthy diet, and most importantly, no stress.”

“Is he really okay?” Mom asked, barely able to contain her worry.

“He’s stable and resting now. The nurses will let you know when you can visit him.”

Grandpa was discharged a few days later, but there was a problem. He lived in another town, too far for us to check in on him every day. We hired a full-time nurse to look after him, someone who could not only monitor his health but cook for him as well. She was a godsend.

For the next two months, Grandpa stayed at home, focusing solely on his recovery. I knew he was in good hands, but last week, I realized how much I missed him.

“Mom,” I said over breakfast, “I’m going to visit Grandpa this weekend. Wanna come?”

Her face lit up immediately. “That’s a wonderful idea, honey. He’ll be thrilled to see us!”

On Saturday, I woke up early, grabbed a bouquet of bright yellow sunflowers—Grandpa’s favorite—and picked up Mom for the drive to his place. I was excited to see him, imagining his face lighting up when we walked through the door.

As we pulled into the parking lot of his apartment complex, I spotted his old, beat-up car covered in dust. It was clear he hadn’t driven it since his illness. But as we got closer, something caught my eye that made my blood boil.

There, scrawled across the rear window in large letters, were the words: “YOU ARE A DIRTY PIG! CLEAN UP YOUR CAR OR GET OUT OF THE COMMUNITY. SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!”

I froze, staring in disbelief.

“Oh my God,” Mom gasped. “Who would do this?”

Anger surged through me. My fists clenched, and I could feel my cheeks burn with rage.

“Some entitled jerk with nothing better to do than harass a sick old man, that’s who,” I hissed.

Mom put her hand on my arm, her touch gentle but firm. “Honey, calm down. Let’s not upset your grandfather.”

She was right. I took a deep breath, trying to let the anger dissipate, but I couldn’t shake the image of those cruel words.

When we got to Grandpa’s door and he opened it, his smile was everything I had hoped for. “My girls!” he beamed. “What a wonderful surprise!”

“Grandpa!” I hugged him tight, forcing a smile despite the anger still churning inside me. “You look so good!”

“Well, of course I do!” he chuckled. “Even in a hospital gown, I was turning heads!”

We spent the afternoon talking and laughing, but my mind kept wandering back to that nasty message on his car. I couldn’t just let it slide. Something had to be done.

“Mom, can you stay with Grandpa for a bit? I need to take care of something,” I said abruptly, unable to ignore the urge any longer.

I headed straight for the security office in the building, where a guard was slumped behind the desk, clearly bored out of his mind.

“Excuse me,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “I need to see the footage from the parking lot cameras.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Sorry, ma’am, we can’t just show that to anyone who asks.”

I leaned in, my voice low and serious. “Someone vandalized my grandpa’s car. He’s been very ill, and I need to know who did it.”

The guard hesitated for a moment, then sighed. “Alright, just this once.”

Together, we reviewed the footage from the past few days. And there she was—a woman, older, with a sour expression, walking up to Grandpa’s car and scrawling that horrible message across the back window. She even looked smug about it.

“That’s Briana from 4C,” the guard said. “She’s always causing trouble.”

“Is she now?” I said through gritted teeth.

On my way out, the guard called after me. “Hey, there’s more. I overheard some of the neighbors talking. She’s been giving your grandpa a hard time for months. Complaining about every little thing.”

“Oh, really?” I asked, the anger building again.

“Yeah, like his newspaper being left out too long or his welcome mat not being perfectly straight. She even tried to get him fined for having a potted plant that was an ‘unapproved color.’”

I was beyond livid. Enough was enough.

Marching straight to Briana’s door, I knocked hard. She opened it with a scowl.

“Can I help you?”

“I’m Alvin’s granddaughter,” I said, struggling to keep my voice steady. “I saw what you wrote on his car. You have no right to humiliate him like that.”

She shrugged, unimpressed. “If he can’t keep up with community standards, maybe he shouldn’t be living here.”

Before I could say anything more, she slammed the door in my face.

Fine, I thought. If she wanted to play dirty, I could too.

The next day, I printed out a screenshot of the security footage, Briana’s smug face in full view, and added a message in bold letters: “SHAME! SHAME! SHAME! Lady from Apt 4C abuses elderly neighbors.”

I taped it right in the elevator, where everyone would see it.

By the next day, the entire building was buzzing with whispers about Briana. She couldn’t step outside without people glaring at her. Her reign of terror was over.

A few days later, I visited Grandpa again. He greeted me with a hug. “Megan, my dear! Have you heard about the drama with Briana?”

I feigned ignorance. “What happened?”

Grandpa chuckled. “Someone exposed her nasty behavior. The whole building’s turned against her. Serves her right!”

I smiled to myself. Justice had been served, and Grandpa still didn’t know it was me.

Entitled Neighbor Vandalized My Sick Grandpa’s Car – I Taught Her to Mind Her Own Business

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When I saw the cruel words scrawled across my recovering grandpa’s dusty car, a wave of fury overtook me. But discovering who was responsible was only the beginning. What I did next would teach that entitled neighbor a lesson she’d never forget.

Two months ago, I was sitting at work when my phone buzzed. It was Mom.

“Meg, it’s Grandpa,” she managed to say through trembling breaths. “He’s in the hospital. He—”

“What? Hospital?” I cut her off, completely blindsided. “What happened?”

“He had a heart attack,” Mom continued, her voice shaky. “We need to go see him right away.”

“Oh my God, Mom, is he okay?”

“I… I don’t know, Meg…”

“I’ll be there as fast as I can,” I said, immediately logging out of my work email and grabbing my things.

The thing about Grandpa Alvin is, he’s more than just family. He’s my rock, my confidant, my favorite person in the world. To be honest, I love him more than Mom. But shh—don’t tell her that.

That call from Mom felt like my world had turned upside down. A knot tightened in my stomach as I rushed out of the office, informing my boss in a blur that Grandpa was in serious condition.

The drive home from work is still a blur. Somehow, I made it to Mom’s place, scooped her up, and we sped to the hospital.

The 45-minute drive to the hospital felt like a lifetime. Mom was in tears the entire time, and I could feel my heart hammering in my chest. Each mile felt like a punch to the gut, every red light an eternity.

When we arrived, a nurse told us that Grandpa was still in surgery. The minutes stretched into hours, each second heavier than the last.

Finally, a doctor came out.

“The surgery was successful,” he said. “But he needs plenty of rest, a heart-healthy diet, and most importantly, no stress.”

“Is he really okay?” Mom asked, barely able to contain her worry.

“He’s stable and resting now. The nurses will let you know when you can visit him.”

Grandpa was discharged a few days later, but there was a problem. He lived in another town, too far for us to check in on him every day. We hired a full-time nurse to look after him, someone who could not only monitor his health but cook for him as well. She was a godsend.

For the next two months, Grandpa stayed at home, focusing solely on his recovery. I knew he was in good hands, but last week, I realized how much I missed him.

“Mom,” I said over breakfast, “I’m going to visit Grandpa this weekend. Wanna come?”

Her face lit up immediately. “That’s a wonderful idea, honey. He’ll be thrilled to see us!”

On Saturday, I woke up early, grabbed a bouquet of bright yellow sunflowers—Grandpa’s favorite—and picked up Mom for the drive to his place. I was excited to see him, imagining his face lighting up when we walked through the door.

As we pulled into the parking lot of his apartment complex, I spotted his old, beat-up car covered in dust. It was clear he hadn’t driven it since his illness. But as we got closer, something caught my eye that made my blood boil.

There, scrawled across the rear window in large letters, were the words: “YOU ARE A DIRTY PIG! CLEAN UP YOUR CAR OR GET OUT OF THE COMMUNITY. SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!”

I froze, staring in disbelief.

“Oh my God,” Mom gasped. “Who would do this?”

Anger surged through me. My fists clenched, and I could feel my cheeks burn with rage.

“Some entitled jerk with nothing better to do than harass a sick old man, that’s who,” I hissed.

Mom put her hand on my arm, her touch gentle but firm. “Honey, calm down. Let’s not upset your grandfather.”

She was right. I took a deep breath, trying to let the anger dissipate, but I couldn’t shake the image of those cruel words.

When we got to Grandpa’s door and he opened it, his smile was everything I had hoped for. “My girls!” he beamed. “What a wonderful surprise!”

“Grandpa!” I hugged him tight, forcing a smile despite the anger still churning inside me. “You look so good!”

“Well, of course I do!” he chuckled. “Even in a hospital gown, I was turning heads!”

We spent the afternoon talking and laughing, but my mind kept wandering back to that nasty message on his car. I couldn’t just let it slide. Something had to be done.

“Mom, can you stay with Grandpa for a bit? I need to take care of something,” I said abruptly, unable to ignore the urge any longer.

I headed straight for the security office in the building, where a guard was slumped behind the desk, clearly bored out of his mind.

“Excuse me,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “I need to see the footage from the parking lot cameras.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Sorry, ma’am, we can’t just show that to anyone who asks.”

I leaned in, my voice low and serious. “Someone vandalized my grandpa’s car. He’s been very ill, and I need to know who did it.”

The guard hesitated for a moment, then sighed. “Alright, just this once.”

Together, we reviewed the footage from the past few days. And there she was—a woman, older, with a sour expression, walking up to Grandpa’s car and scrawling that horrible message across the back window. She even looked smug about it.

“That’s Briana from 4C,” the guard said. “She’s always causing trouble.”

“Is she now?” I said through gritted teeth.

On my way out, the guard called after me. “Hey, there’s more. I overheard some of the neighbors talking. She’s been giving your grandpa a hard time for months. Complaining about every little thing.”

“Oh, really?” I asked, the anger building again.

“Yeah, like his newspaper being left out too long or his welcome mat not being perfectly straight. She even tried to get him fined for having a potted plant that was an ‘unapproved color.’”

I was beyond livid. Enough was enough.

Marching straight to Briana’s door, I knocked hard. She opened it with a scowl.

“Can I help you?”

“I’m Alvin’s granddaughter,” I said, struggling to keep my voice steady. “I saw what you wrote on his car. You have no right to humiliate him like that.”

She shrugged, unimpressed. “If he can’t keep up with community standards, maybe he shouldn’t be living here.”

Before I could say anything more, she slammed the door in my face.

Fine, I thought. If she wanted to play dirty, I could too.

The next day, I printed out a screenshot of the security footage, Briana’s smug face in full view, and added a message in bold letters: “SHAME! SHAME! SHAME! Lady from Apt 4C abuses elderly neighbors.”

I taped it right in the elevator, where everyone would see it.

By the next day, the entire building was buzzing with whispers about Briana. She couldn’t step outside without people glaring at her. Her reign of terror was over.

A few days later, I visited Grandpa again. He greeted me with a hug. “Megan, my dear! Have you heard about the drama with Briana?”

I feigned ignorance. “What happened?”

Grandpa chuckled. “Someone exposed her nasty behavior. The whole building’s turned against her. Serves her right!”

I smiled to myself. Justice had been served, and Grandpa still didn’t know it was me.

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