This is my first time writing this, which probably explains why I’ve left it until the final hour. I’m in the passenger seat of Gallery’s delivery van, typing in the dark after two months of procrastination. I briefly considered flying under the radar and borrowing Ben’s format, starting with an obscure pop culture reference and baking in some mild irreverence where possible, hoping it passed unnoticed. But it felt like a strange way to approach an issue themed around “expression”.
And why hide? There’s a lot to be proud of in this issue. It’s a common complaint that not much interesting happens in Jersey, and when I moved back, I was under the same impression. But working in a job like this has a way of disproving that fairly quickly. You end up meeting people doing all sorts of strange and interesting things, taking portraits in the Amazon, running marathon after marathon in a giant shoe, or, in one case, a lingerie model planning to introduce us to her giant African snail, Gazza. We didn’t quite make it to that one. He went into sudden hibernation ahead of the shoot, but we’re holding out hope for a summer appearance.
This issue brings some of that range to the surface. There’s a six-page feature on local photographer Glen Perotte’s recent project capturing microphotography of bees for Jersey Honey, which also happens to be our cover. It makes visible each hexagonal facet of the eye and each grain of pollen (page 18). Alongside that, there’s an entire supplement dedicated to the performing arts in Jersey, along with an ode to the upcoming Jersey Blues Festival in the Royal Square, which, remarkably, is free to attend (page 44). On the topic of using voices for change, we hear from Issa Amro, named in TIME100 Next, on how making a difference can be folded into everyday life (page 24). There are also fresh thoughts and recipes from Korea from our in-house food fanatic Flo (page 114).
On the digital side of “expression”, we’ve got words from our tech writer Toby on developments in audio interpretation by machines. Most of us are familiar with shouting at Alexa as it misunderstands something simple, with conviction, or Siri suggesting you try again later. ‘Killing the Keyboard’ was Toby’s attempt to take that one step further, building an app from scratch using nothing but dictation on a ski lift. You can find that on page 120.
Realising how far AI has come in just the last few months can, at times, feel slightly unsettling. It doesn’t shock me to hear someone mention they have a whole “team” of AI agents working together in a strange internal structure made up entirely of code. Quite what that means for employment going forward is still up in the air.
On that note, and thinking about work more generally, I spoke to Sonia from Rayner’s Launderette to understand what it is that makes us enjoy what we do (page 56). Somewhere between the dry cleaning and the day-to-day running of the place, it became clear that managing a launderette and editing a magazine have more in common than you might expect. When Jules, Ben’s new AI agent, becomes sentient and starts running the place, you’ll know where to find me.
EP
