Fans value ethics over innovation at AI hologram concerts, new study finds; Phys.org, March 3, 2026

University of South Florida , Phys.org; Fans value ethics over innovation at AI hologram concerts, new study finds

"The recent success of the ABBA Voyage virtual reunion tour and the Tupac hologram at Coachella show how audiences embrace these performances as opportunities to relive shared cultural milestones.

However, little is known about how consumers perceive the uniqueness, nostalgia and ethicality of holographic AI concerts, and how these perceptions translate into emotional and social values.

"Ethics is not optional—it's definitely strategic," said researcher Seden Dogan, assistant professor of instruction in the USF School of Hospitality and Sport Management. "When using technologies like holograms or AI to recreate past artists, ethical responsibility matters more than novelty alone."

Dogan is the lead author of the paper, "Reviving legends through holographic AI event experiences: Consumer acceptance and value insights," recently published in the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.

"Audiences care more about whether the holographic performance felt respectful and morally appropriate than about how innovative or memory-evoking it was," Dogan said."

TV for the fake news generation: why Westworld is the defining show of 2016; Guardian, 12/7/16

Paul MacInnes, Guardian; TV for the fake news generation: why Westworld is the defining show of 2016:

"Westworld is a hit. Viewing figures released this week confirmed that the first season of HBO’s sci-fi western drama received a bigger audience than any other debut in the channel’s history...

The producers deliberately reached out to an audience that enjoys obsessing. They knew some fans would watch the show again and again on their laptops. They knew they would freeze-frame the screen and zoom in on details that would pass the casual viewer by. From there the fans would try to make connections, to unravel the mysteries, to find deeper meaning. Things were left uncertain enough that people could believe what they wanted. Whether a theory was “true” was less important than the fact that someone believed in it. Sound familiar?

I’m not calling HBO a purveyor of fake news, and neither am I suggesting that Westworld has been captured by the alt-right like Pepe the Frog. But the drama has certainly tapped into an audience of young people who love video games and cracking codes, and understands both technology and identity politics."

Cassandra Clare Created a Fantasy Realm and Aims to Maintain Her Rule; New York Times, 4/23/16

Penelope Green, New York Times; Cassandra Clare Created a Fantasy Realm and Aims to Maintain Her Rule:

"The place Ms. Clare occupies in publishing — and the work she does to keep herself there — is emblematic of the burdens and boons fan culture bestows on so many fantasy authors. Deeply possessive of the characters Ms. Clare has created, the fans can turn on her for plot directions they don’t approve of, or for the ways in which the television show diverges from the books. (Ms. Clare has no role in the TV series.)

Fantitlement, as this phenomenon is known, has raised her fortunes while at times it has bedeviled her, as it has so many of her peers. Laura Miller, a books and culture columnist at Slate who has written about fan culture, likened Ms. Clare’s experiences to that of George R. R. Martin, the “Game of Thrones” author whose fans grew so angry at his publishing pace that some created a blog, “Finish the Book, George.”"