Addison Fulton - The Daily Lobo

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Anti-algorithmic discrimination bill introduced to New Mexico Legislature

Addison Fulton | January 20

Ahead of the 2025 New Mexico legislative session, Rep. Christine Chandler (D) sponsored House Bill 60, the Artificial Intelligence Act, which seeks to mitigate algorithmic discrimination. Algorithmic discrimination is any condition in which the use of an artificial intelligence system results in unlawful differential treatment of a person based on their ethnicity, gender, disability and other groups legally protected from discrimination, according to the bill. The legislative session begins Tuesday, Jan. 21 and ends March 22. Examples of algorithmic discrimination have been found in algorithms like COMPAS, or Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions, which is meant to calculate the odds that a defendant will reoffend. COMPAS flagged almost twice as many false positives for Black people than white people, according to a 2016 ProPublica investigation.

News

New Mexico legislative session begins

Addison Fulton | January 20

The 2025 New Mexico legislative session begins Tuesday, Jan. 21 and ends March 22. This session marks New Mexico’s 57th legislative session. Legislative sessions occur in New Mexico annually. Sessions last 60 days in odd-numbered years and 30 days in even-numbered years. During legislative sessions, New Mexico lawmakers meet to discuss and rule on various proposed bills. In order for a bill to make it to the docket, it must be sponsored by a member of Congress, then referred to and discussed by a committee. Each piece of legislation is typically referred to two or three committees, according to the State Legislature handbook.

Culture

Guild Cinema screens documentary on the science of reading

Addison Fulton and Elijah Ritch | January 20

On Saturday, Jan. 18, Albuquerque’s Guild Cinema hosted a screening of the documentary “The Right to Read.” The event was presented by the May Center for Learning and the International Dyslexia Association-Southwest Branch. The proceeds went to benefit May Center students. The May Center, which is located in Santa Fe and led by Executive Director and co-founder Amy Miller, is an organization that is focused on empowering “students with learning differences to be successful, confident learners,” according to the mission statement on its website. The organization has multiple programs, including the May School, which serves students through 8th grade with learning differences like dyslexia, ADHD and language processing disorder.

News

REVIEW: Not the coup of the century — ‘Mufasa’ better, not great

Addison Fulton | January 13

In December 2024, Disney released “Mufasa: The Lion King,” a live-action/photo-realistic CGI prequel to “The Lion King” that follows the origin story of Mufasa, Simba’s father and the first Lion King. The story is framed as a tale that Rafiki, the eclectic mandrill, tells to Kiara, Simba’s daughter. Mufasa — voiced by Aaron Pierre — is a young lion who loses his parents in a flash flood. He nearly drowns but is saved by Taka — voiced by Kelvin Harrison Jr. — a young lion prince who will eventually become Scar. Taka takes in Mufasa as a brother, despite his father’s hatred for strays. Mufasa is raised by the lionesses, learning to track, hunt and fight. Then, the pride is massacred by a pride of white lions led by Kiros, voiced by Mads Mikkelsen.

Culture

1920s-themed musical ensemble performs at Wheels Museum

Addison Fulton | January 13

On Saturday, Jan. 11, the Wheels Museum in the Albuquerque Rail Yards hosted a show by 3 On A Match Kabarett, a 1920s-themed musical duo comprised of lead singer Tina Panaro and pianist Brad Clement. The duo provided an immersive historical performance, embodying two performers in a German cabaret club around the 1920s. Both were dressed in era-appropriate costuming and the set was decorated with 1920s paraphernalia and red curtaining. The songs included only live vocals and piano accompaniments and were all roughly period-accurate lounge jazz songs in English, German and French.

News

REVIEW: ‘Wicked’ — A festivating film adaptation

Addison Fulton | January 13

I expected to hate it. In November 2024, Universal Pictures released a new film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical “Wicked,” starring drama actress Cynthia Erivo and pop star Ariana Grande. I thought this was another case of cash-grabbing, stunt-casting and dragging the name of something that I’ve loved since elementary school through the mud. Blessedly, I was completely wrong. The film looks stellar, to begin with. Everything from the costumes to the sets to the CGI animals is full of life. The color pallet is dreamy and vibrant.

Culture

Keynote commencement speakers to note

Addison Fulton | December 9

Starting Thursday, Dec. 12, the University of New Mexico will host its commencements for students graduating during the fall semester. The two ceremonies will each feature a keynote speaker: entrepreneur Doug Campbell and St. Vincent Regional Medical Center CEO and President Lillian Montoya. Campbell is the keynote speaker for the undergraduate ceremony. Campbell, a UNM alum, has a background in engineering and now works as an entrepreneur. Campbell is a self-described “start-up veteran,” having founded and worked with several tech start-ups such as Solid Power, which makes solid-state rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, according to his website.

Culture

Exodus Ensemble breaks the fourth wall

Addison Fulton and Nate Bernard | November 25

From Nov. 6 to Nov. 24, Santa Fe-based theatrical group Exodus Ensemble went on tour in Albuquerque with its interactive, immersive sci-fi theatrical production, “ZERO.” The Exodus Ensemble, which typically specializes in immersive theater with a focus on audience interaction, held its shows at the Downtown venue Chatter. ZERO follows four characters — or players — who have been placed into a game by a sentient, murderous, humanoid artificial intelligence named Daisy. Only one will make it out. At the beginning of the show, audience members pick a player to support, then compete in simple mini-games to win points to help their character be the one to survive.

Culture

Artist collects bad photos of the moon

Addison Fulton | November 25

In August 2022, astrophotographers Andrew McCarthy and Connor Matherne posted to Instagram what is widely considered to be the best photo of the moon ever taken. On Nov. 1, 2024, artist Ariel C. Wilson displayed a collection of some of the worst. In her exhibit at the Sanitary Tortilla Factory in Albuquerque, Wilson showcases crowdsourced “bad photos of the moon” — low-quality images of the moon taken on cell phones by ordinary citizens. The gallery’s website explains that the exhibit is meant to explore the blur between professional and amateur artists, as well as investigate human relationships with photography, permanence and the moon.

Culture

Wheels Museum hosts reading on ‘The Horse of the Sidewalk’

Addison Fulton | November 25

On Saturday, Nov. 23 the Wheels Museum hosted a talk with author Baker H. Morrow about his most recent anthology, “The Horse on the Sidewalk.” The anthology discusses Albuquerque’s place as a post-World War II “boomtown.” “You get the facts and figures, so many miles of roads, so many new houses, so many subdivisions,” Morrow said. “But one thing that struck me, having spent a fair amount of time when I was a kid out there, was what life was like for the kids themselves.”