hash

“We can’t tell you where the datacenters are.” Meanwhile the NSA datacenter near me with the backup generators and cooling towers mapped on OSM:

I’ve come round to the idea that I will not use LLMs regardless of how “ethically” they can be sourced because their outputs are harmful in a way that builds up, like a very small dose of poison.

I’m not holding this as a hard stance, just a current analysis of the technology and how it might affect my life in my circumstances. I think we’re well into a world where we need to be deciding if some technologies don’t suit our lives, because there certainly are even more harmful technologies to come.

It might seem like a romantic or artist’s approach, but with so much spiralling out of our control I’m trying to make the active choice to be more human.

In leav­ing progress to the machines, in letting technology go forward on its own terms and selecting from it, with what seems to us exces­sive caution, modesty, or restraint, the limited though completely ade­quate implements of their cul­tures, is it possible that in thus opting not to move “forward” or not only “forward,” these people did in fact succeed in living in hu­man history, with energy, liberty, and grace?

Always Coming Home - Stone Telling Part 3 by Ursula K. Le Guin

I need a good way to respond when people imply that technology is all techbros. This meme might be it.

So how much more fearmongering by AI companies till they demonize open models as the greatest threat?

Where I live there are public intoxication laws which apply to both walking and public transit. And that isn’t super uncommon outside the US.

Also, it’s absolutely nuts that a DUI in an F-150 on the freeway and a DUI on an ordinary bicycle are considered the same legally.

Part of me doesn’t understand how tweaking a legal limit is likely to have meaningful impacts on crash statistics, but I guess that part is wrong since studies on Utah’s .05 limit change in 2018 have shown reduced crashes, so do it.

On another note: isn’t it wild that the only legal way to get home from the bar is to pay to be driven in a car?

Seriously UK and Germany, you guys trying to upstage us or something?

Context for those who don’t watch: they described using AI images as precursors for photoshop jobs when they can’t find others that work. Implying no “raw” AI gen, but potentially some artists replaced upstream.

(This is a summary from memory, ran into this after watching the vid. Correct me as appropriate.)

Building alternatives can feel like hurling pebbles at goliath, but it is truly a substastial contribution that hacks at the roots of billionaire control.

It feels like sometimes we fail to comnunicate that while climate models are extremely rigorous and meticulously put together, there’s always the possibility of unknown factors.

I appreciate scientists aversion to alarmism, and the difficulty of balancing effective communication on the topic. But if we’re honest our species has been dicking around with the most complex system we know of. Even if we start doing everything right there are certainly any number of surprises lurking that we will need to deal with. And to some degree guessing at the scope of the unknown is impossible.

Can someone tell me I’m wrong and somehow we know where all the environmental landmines are? Cause I want to believe that the “this much inventment and change equals this much less warming” can be relied upon, but I worry it’s tempering the apparent scale of the crisis.

better security reason hehe.

My local government had funds offered by a federal grant they didn’t apply for. A neighboring county had applied for the federal grant, received a ton of money, and was dishing it out to police across the region.

Superman was a really fun movie, but it felt pretty obvious it’s gonna be mostly downhill from here. But I’m totally fine with that, I don’t want another franchise that tries to make me constantly watch just so I can keep up. Maybe they’ll hit on another winner, but I’m not holding my breath. And in this case I’d definitely say the actress was robbed. The story, pacing, and general feel of the movie were where it fell flat for me.

Yeah I’m actually hoping they aren’t prosecuted. Cybercrime sentences are insane and this is clearly a case where someone needs help, not prison.

How you liking the time 2?

Ha. For those that don’t get the joke obviously there’s cryptograpy, but not cryprocurrenty like IPFS uses.

https://veilid.com/

Not a fully functional chat app but an interesting project/framework being developed. They’ve described it as “TOR mixed with IPFS without the crypto.” Uses a DHT similar to torrents with built in secure routing reminiscent of TOR. Importantly, it’s not a VPN, but designed to be built into the applications themselves. All apps powered by Veilid also contribute to the network and can be assigned any role in “the onion.” The most important pitch is that by being built into apps it can bring very strong privacy and security to the layperson, though app developers still need to address things like ensuring users retain access to data without email recovery etc.

Anyway, If you like these kinds of projects I’d look into it. I think it has some really good bones and it feels like we need it to mature sooner rather than later.

Recently lent a family member an old phone and took a chance by leaving GrapheneOS on it. Of course they reinstalled all the google apps but it’s cool to see they can still get some benefit without major issues.