2,174 karma · joined August 27, 2012
Interest and opinions on technology ethics, privacy, UX, big tech good and evil, methods, madness.
Pretty sure the people responsible are the ones hijacking aid trucks and causing security problems in distribution areas. Hamas has a long history of misdirecting aid from the Gazan population; stealing, oppressing, punishing, exploiting, and that's from before the war as commonly reported by UN sources and humanitarian groups over the years.
Sounds like "traveling gaza" is your preferred source over "traveling israel". No difference. Well, there's some differences... There aren't any foreign journalists in Gaza and the "truth" is certainly not a strong point in reporting lines from Islamist controlled war zones.
"Flickr will now require all new users to be 18 years of age or older to create an account"
Not just for UK but global.
This morning it was all about "think of the children" in the context of banning AI tools that could potentially be used to make AI generated CSAM. Even adult nudity is in the firing line. Ban the lot was the advice from the expert. Not just banning access, but making it a crime to even possess the tools.
What next? Ban paint brushes because someone might use them to paint offensive images?
You've misquoted the chatbot, which is a new one.
The video wasn't "taken down" and Grok never said that. It was blocked for some users in the UK due to the new authoritarian age verification laws which everyone should be concerned about if access to newsworthy content requires "papers please".
That's not the solution. The prevailing theme taught to kids these days is "question everything". Not taking things at face-value, or believing memes and one-line theories, forms part of the young person's toolbox these days. It really does. Their teachers are drilling into them the dangers of online misinformation.
You and I wouldn't have known the difference between misinformation and disinformation in our school days (I'm assuming you're grown up), but kids these days know all about it. That should give you some comfort.
If certain Japanese political parties are making wild claims, let the dust settle and the ridiculous stuff eventually is exposed. Don't ignore subtle variation and nuance when for example we examine the claims made about the covid vaccine and protection from transmission. Or effectiveness of masks, etc. In Australia, police were literally tackling people to the ground outside for not wearing masks. So let's not trust government issued health advice so blindly either. Let's find a middle-ground of analysis & discussion.
Often these opposition parties might use theatrics, exaggeration and outlandish claims to attract attention. In some ways, this might reflect the official channels who spray a lot of fear-based propaganda initially. So there might be an overcompensatory reaction to an overcompensatory action. Not trying to excuse blanket anti-vax theories.
Vaccines are of course great inventions, but sometimes the waters get murky with pharmaceutical companies and their ethically poor track records, suddenly making huge profits and frantic politicians calling the shots on public health. Throw free-speech crackdowns in the mix, and now we have a problem worth talking about without emotion.
AI is great, but so is reading a dedicated article written by someone as a published piece of work. Like the "papers please" article about Australia's Orwellian digital ID regime. I liked that piece. AI could write something on the topic, but it wouldn't have the same punch or original expression. AI is not great with subtle nods or cheeky references to other topics. It tries but lands with an awkward thud mostly. So I use AI for "boring information" gathering, which it excels at. The web will be fine.
There was frustration around the globe about pandemic policies. Specifically lockdowns, mask mandates, check-ins, and "no jab no job" ultimatums, which have since been identified in many places as excessive abuse of power that went beyond public health all the way into the social coercion manipulation zone.
On immigration, is it not worth listening to the concerns of locals on rising immigration numbers? On associated social unrest? Or do we label them "100% liars" and censor their words with mandated face-scanning and digital check-ins.
Exactly this.
The other possibility is that Google & Microsoft won't want to hassle people for ID or "papers please" just for liking a post, reviewing a business or sending email.
If I were Google, I'd be worried about losing a LOT of customers who simply won't provide invasive personal details which routinely get stolen in Australia from poorly secured "trusted" organisations like Qantas and Optus.
People won't want to send their ID to "trusted ID contractors" for simple web services because e-Karen has a final solution. I'll close my Google accounts if they ever deny me access on that basis, and I'll take action against the measures in any way I can to make things as uncomfortable as possible for whatever authoritarian government ushers this garbage in.
Depends how much you share with Google when signed in. If I log out of Google services and browse around the web, my browsing activity is not recorded against my Google account.
Like the death chant marches through Australian city streets, burning synagogues, attacking Israeli restaurants, vandalising, threatening, and shoving socialist-activated Palestinian propaganda marches in our faces every second? That criticism?
The idea is authenticity of images could be challenged. If in doubt, the original photographer or source can provide verification - automated or otherwise, that only superficial X, Y, or Z edits have been made such as lighting or contrast changes.
Copies of the images would contain this ledger or a link. In the future maybe photos without this technology are never to be trusted as a source, or perhaps disallowed on certain platforms.
So it's inverted from "we must detect fake" to "we must detect authenticity." The latter being easier to control.
I mean, nice things are under threat. There's no escaping it. If technology got us into this mess, technology can dig us out.
Ideological differences are gigantic valleys between nations in conflict, that's the point.
When one side shouts God's name as they butcher & jihad whoever's in their way who isn't a fanatic like them, the ideological differences can't be mended with "c'mon now". When one side thrives on martyrdom and human rights violations for breakfast, it's not a time to say "maybe we should look at what they're trying to say, are we just not listening?"
Tell that to the victims of gleeful brutality under the guidance of fundamentalist ideology, like that engrained in Islamist governance and extremist militant groups.
Your post reads like the come-down from intellectual pill-popping. Your attempt to dilute a serious problem in the world to "patinas" and reduce the problem to imperial vs colonized peoples, sounds like a manifesto from the lawns of a university activist encampment.
Consider the framing, you ask. I considered it and reject it, The subjugation of "infidels" under expansionist oppressive religious groups with the intent to bring "peace" is an imperialism all of its own, but much worse. Peace... at the cost of freedom, autonomy, expression, equality.
Given the mountain of evidence of criminal damage, we can assume the declaration came after evaluating the scale of criminal behavior. Reading that as "cops fired first" sounds like cognitive bias.
You're posting misinformation. Tear gas is deployed when mobs surge in direct violation of orders not to, or to control violence and criminality by large crowds. Your attempt to frame it as "cops attacking peaceful onlookers" is in conflict with the evidence available.
Freedom of expression isn't immune from ridicule or condemnation. In one NYC anti-ICE protest they're chanting "From Mexico to Gaza, globalize the intifada". You can argue that's freedom of expression, as is burning the US flag and other dopey unhelpful actions.
There's a lot of videos of the contrary - LAPD pelted with rocks by aggressive mobs who are there to fight against "nazi scum" or fight for "stolen land" as they wave every other flag than American.
Your effort to overstate might have derailed your own reality.
Don't know about you, but I could never throw a brick at anyone. I couldn't and wouldn't put a mask on and head out with the intent to burn cars, throw rocks, loot, and cause criminal damage. That is the opposite of "largely peaceful."
The LAPD chief stated it's "out of control." Your attempt to imply tear gas was used on peaceful protesters doesn't fit the evidence. Many of the rioters are highly organised with supply runs of masks, fireworks and projectiles. I'm not sure what your agenda is but "accuracy" doesn't seem to be it.
PHP is still great and could benefit this CMS, which reminds me a lot of Kirby CMS. Kirby has the same ambition "get our of your way" and everything is static files, no database if you don't want one. Except Kirby has the added benefit of PHP and optional databases, and easier setup for people who aren't fans of the letters "npm".
Having been around backyard chickens a bit, including those with funny names, they do have individual "personality". When they die of old age, or because a hawk gets into the chicken coop, it's a sad day.
And the disdain for marketing sites continues. I'd argue the thing that's in front of your customer's face isn't "disposable"! When the customer wants to tinker with their account, they might get there from the familiar "marketing site". Or when potential customers and users of your product are weighing up your payment plans, these are not trivial matters! Will you really trust Sloppy Jo's AI in the moment customers are reaching for their credit cards? The 'money shot' of UX. "Disposable"? "Doesn't matter"? Pffff!
"The practice of covering Michelangelo's "David" with a fig leaf, particularly a detachable one, was common during the Victorian era, specifically in the mid-19th century, due to Queen Victoria's discomfort with the statue's nudity."
Meanwhile the linked article fails to clarify the outcome, which apparently was a "rogue prompt change" by a new employee, Musk wasn't involved. The prompt was reversed and "the system was functioning as intended." It's completely understandable there might be a volume of anti-[personX] material on the internet, put there as propaganda, that might serve as weighted reasoning for an LLM. This is nothing new, unless you're aiming for cheap shots.
What's more interesting is the censorship on the input side. I wanted Grok to analyse a wood engraving from 1861, Gustave Doré's "Harpies in the Forest of Suicides". Wouldn't do it. Grok's content policy filter refused to accept the upload because..."boobies". So I pixelated the wood-engraved breasts and re-uploaded. This time it worked. [1]
What about Michelangelo's statue of David? Denied. Instead of pixelating, I cut out David's genitals and placed them on his leg, leaving a genital-shaped hole in the groin area. [1] Bingo. Image accepted. Genital location matters. Now wasn't this more interesting than "Musk-Bad-Man-Says-Grok"?