https://www.blueamp.co/p/the-us-can-survive-without-almost #news #politics #trump #donaldtrump #elonmusk #musk #us #usa #eu #europe #america #china #russia #ukraine #canada #video #tech #uk #writing #ai #tv #fascism #france #democracy #germany #substack #cliffsedge #blueamp #cliffschecter #davidhuster #briankarem #cliffsnote
ai
ChatGPT is down for some users and John-Anthony Disotto from @TechRadar is getting a real insight into how it's affecting people. Poor Jack from the UK says he needs the AI chatbot to help him complete some college work due in a few hours 
DeepSeek Open Source FlashMLA – MLA Decoding Kernel for Hopper GPUs — https://github.com/deepseek-ai/FlashMLA
#HackerNews #DeepSeek #Open #Source #FlashMLA #MLA #Decoding #Kernel #for #Hopper #GPUs #GitHub #OpenSource #AI
Even though #Signal *itself* has sound security - taken in isolation - it's always moored in an ecosystem (that of smartphones which run #iOS or #Android) which, by default, have #AI set up to shoulder-surf Signal, sending reports back to the mothership. In #iOS, that AI is called "#Apple Intelligence", and in #Android, it's called #Google Assistant. Repeat, these are on by default. *Only a small percentage of your family, friends, colleagues, and fellow country-persons will pain-stakingly disable these.*
Sure, Signal itself is secure by default, but "a chain is only as strong as its weakest link". And the weakest link is the ecosystem which Signal is moored in - that of smartphones policed and patrolled by AI, which report back to their respective motherships *in a strong majority of cases*.
Alternatives like #Deltachat (for normies willing to open their wallets/purses to rent an auto-crypt-compatible email address) and #XMPP (easily free to use, however realistic and mature only for non-iOS/#MacOS-users at present) have comparable E2E encryption. Deltachat and XMPP *don't* require smart-phone "moorings" - thereby making it much more realistic to dodge the almost-pervasively AI-patrolled ecosystems.
Edited 327d ago
Massive compute power applied to massive data sets can produce outcomes that are worse at the task they’re (ostensibly) intended for than much simpler, easier to understand, less wasteful, and less intrusive data-light methods. It requires an extreme form of bias to believe that big compute + big data is always better.
#AI #GenAI #GenerativeAI #LLMs #tech #dev #DataScience #science #ComputerScience #EcologicalRationality
#AI #GenAI #GenerativeAI #LLMs #tech #dev #DataScience #science #ComputerScience #EcologicalRationality
Edited 44d ago
The present perspective outlines how epistemically baseless and ethically pernicious paradigms are recycled back into the scientific literature via machine learning (ML) and explores connections between these two dimensions of failure. We hold up the renewed emergence of physiognomic methods, facilitated by ML, as a case study in the harmful repercussions of ML-laundered junk science. A summary and analysis of several such studies is delivered, with attention to the means by which unsound research lends itself to social harms. We explore some of the many factors contributing to poor practice in applied ML. In conclusion, we offer resources for research best practices to developers and practitioners.
In other words ML--which includes generative AI--is smuggling long-disgraced pseudoscientific ideas back into "respectable" science, and rejuvenating the harms such ideas cause.
#AI #GenAI #GenerativeAI #LLMs #MachineLearning #ML #AIEthics #science #pseudoscience #JunkScience #eugenics #physiognomy
Edited 44d ago
"Before ChatGPT distorted Eugene Torres’s sense of reality and almost killed him, he said, the artificial intelligence chatbot had been a helpful, timesaving tool."
Fair enough.
Mel Andrews on the connections between a naive belief in scientific objectivity (facts and data are "real" and "correct" and "neutral") and eugenics:
I've lost the reference, but I suspect it was Meredith Whittaker who's written and spoken about the big data turn at Google, where it was understood that having and collecting massive datasets allowed them to eschew model-building.
The core idea being critiqued here is that there's a kind of scientific view from nowhere: a theory-free, value-free, model-free, bias-free way of observing the world that will lead to Truth; and that it's the task of the scientist to approximate this view from nowhere as well as possible.
#AI #GenAI #GenerativeAI #LLMs #science #DataScience #ScientificObjectivity #eugenics #ViewFromNowhere
Francis Galton, pioneering figure of the eugenics movement, believed that good research practice should consist in “gathering as many facts as possible without any theory or general principle that might prejudice a neutral and objective view of these facts” (Jackson et al., 2005). Karl Pearson, statistician and fellow purveyor of eugenicist methods, approached research with a similar ethos: “theorizing about the material basis of heredity or the precise physiological or causal significance of observational results, Pearson argues, will do nothing but damage the progress of the science” (Pence, 2011). In collaborative work with Pearson, Weldon emphasised the superiority of data-driven methods which were capable of delivering truths about nature “without introducing any theory” (Weldon, 1895).
I've lost the reference, but I suspect it was Meredith Whittaker who's written and spoken about the big data turn at Google, where it was understood that having and collecting massive datasets allowed them to eschew model-building.
The core idea being critiqued here is that there's a kind of scientific view from nowhere: a theory-free, value-free, model-free, bias-free way of observing the world that will lead to Truth; and that it's the task of the scientist to approximate this view from nowhere as well as possible.
#AI #GenAI #GenerativeAI #LLMs #science #DataScience #ScientificObjectivity #eugenics #ViewFromNowhere
New Open at Intel Podcast! I spoke with Andrew Brown of Exam Pro about his free generative AI bootcamp for developers, #Deepseek, keeping up with AI development and its rapidly moving pace, and a lot more. Check it out!
Episode: https://openatintel.podbean.com/e/mastering-generative-ai/
Clip: https://youtube.com/shorts/ofsiK5cF1u0?feature=share
"CEO Marc Benioff said Salesforce, San Francisco’s largest private employer, does not plan to hire engineers this year because of the success of AI agents created and used by the company."
https://sfstandard.com/2025/02/27/salesforce-marcbenioff-layoffs-tech-agents/
#news #TechNews #technology #AI #salesforce #labor #WorkersRights
Regarding the last couple boosts: among other downsides, LLMs encourage people to take long-term risks for perceived, but not always actual, short-term gains. They bet the long-term value of their education on a chance at short-term grade inflation, or they bet the long-term security and maintainability of their software codebase on a chance at short-term productivity gains. My read is that more and more data is suggesting that these are bad bets for most people.
In that respect they're very much like gambling. The messianic fantasies some ChatGPT users have been experiencing fits this picture as well.
#AI #GenAI #GenerativeAI #LLM #tech #dev #ChatGPT #GPT #Gemini #GamblingAddiction #nihilism
In that respect they're very much like gambling. The messianic fantasies some ChatGPT users have been experiencing fits this picture as well.
#AI #GenAI #GenerativeAI #LLM #tech #dev #ChatGPT #GPT #Gemini #GamblingAddiction #nihilism
Edited 210d ago
One definition of the word "artifice" is: crafty device; an artful, ingenious, or elaborate trick. One would be fully justified interpreting the phrase "artificial intelligence" as an elaborate trick resembling intelligence.
#AI #GenAI #GenerativeAI #LLM
#AI #GenAI #GenerativeAI #LLM
"Rita Contreras, a hairstylist in Brooklyn, said that in the past six months, the number of clients walking in with AI images has ballooned.
[...]
“I have to just say, ‘This is not a real person. This is not real hair,’”"
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/02/23/ai-hair-inspo-wedding-stylists-businesses/
Archived link: https://archive.is/erYG5
"3 mos ago 325,000 Serbians took Belgrade (some estimates had many more). That’s 5% of the pop taking on Serbian Pres Vučić's autocracy
If we show up similarly to protest our rubber-chicken #fascist, that's 17MM. How about 15MM of us do this? 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍"
READ/TURN OUT! https://www.blueamp.co/p/15-million-vs-one-wannabe-king-america #protest #usa #nokings #la #losangeles #donaldtrump #trump #california #us #nato #america #unitedstates #canada #uk #ai #france #germany #tech #immigration #eu #tv #fascism #democracy #video #writing
NEW #SUBSTACK: 11 MILLION Americans Stand Up! #Trump 's Sad, Flaccid Parade Can't Get It Up
https://www.blueamp.co/p/11-million-americans-stand-up-trumps #news #nato #usa #politics #media #press #protest #la #losangeles #california #stockmarket #nokings #donaldtrump #elonmusk #us #unitedstates #europe #america #russia #ukraine #eu #canada #germany #tech #france #uk #italy #ai #writing #fascism
What the actual...
We all know the tricks with the "serving suggestion" photos on #food packaging, right? Same ingredients, but prepared by a professional chef - and then often coated in something to make 'em shiny, cotton pad dipped in boiling water for steam, the old glue instead of milk trick...
But this, from Mars' Ben's Original brand? Not only is that nothing like the contents of the pack, it doesn't actually exist. It's #AI generated.
This Food Does Not Exist.
How is this legal?
Dear AI,
Please stop existing. Humans used to use the internet freely, without having to prove they’re humans.
Sincerely,
A human (no, really, I am)
People post some properly bonkers stuff on LinkedIn. One for Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000? @emilymbender @alex
Edited 206d ago
I was listening to a podcast where the guest argued: when it comes to art, today's AI is like a tool, but in the future, maybe it could be an artist.
As he explained why, it became clear why I disagree with him. He defines "art" as a product that is valued by art critics and by consumers. I agree that AI generated content may become more common and broadly accepted in the future, but I don't think that's a good thing, and I wouldn't call it art!
I see art as more of an activity than a product. An artist does art. Whatever the output of that process is, valuable or not, is also called "art."
Am I saying only humans can make art? Not at all. But to be "art" it has to be self-expression. The artist must have something to say. As long as we are designing the AI, training it, and prompting it, then it will be a tool. Without us it has no initiative, no opinion, and no creative urge.
Over 2,000 years ago Ovid wrote about a sculptor who fell in love with a statue he carved, imputing the ability to love to an arrangement of rock. Today we impute the ability to think to an arrangement of silicon. Stories of breathing life into non-life have been with us for a very long time, yet somehow we're stuck in the same place.
#AI #GenAI #GenerativeAI #AGI #Pygmalion #Golem #Pinocchio #Talos #Frankenstein
#AI #GenAI #GenerativeAI #AGI #Pygmalion #Golem #Pinocchio #Talos #Frankenstein
Edited 311d ago
The rhetoric that limiting or banning AI/generative AI/LLM/diffusion model use is "ableist" or "gatekeeping" is the latest desperate attempt to find an angle through which to force this technology into our lives against our collective will. We need to reject this narrative. Common as it is it simply doesn't scan. It reads to me as an attempt to co-opt the language of social justice to shame people into accepting an unjust and largely failing technology that they are rightfully rejecting.
Think it through. If you don't accept the use of climate-destroying, electricity-and-fresh-water-sapping, job-destroying, economy-thrashing--and yet mediocre or poorly performing!--technology created by multi-trillion-dollar sociopathic entities, then you are preventing people with less privilege than you have from living their best lives. You are preventing them from learning how to code. You are preventing them from obtaining coveted jobs in the tech sector. You are preventing them from having access to information. You, personally, are responsible for all this. Not the multi-trillion-dollar sociopathic entities who've not only created this technology and forced it on us but contributed to creating the less-privileged conditions of the people you are supposedly responsible for with your individual choices. Not the governments that neglected to enforce existing laws that would have prevented such multi-trillion-dollar sociopathic entities from forming in the first place, let alone creating such a technology--while also creating the conditions that led to people being less privileged. No, they are not responsible. You are. I am.
That doesn't make any sense.
Neoliberalism's greatest trick has been to shift responsibility for any problems away from the powerful and onto individuals who are not empowered to fix anything, all while convincing everyone that this is right and proper. Large corporations do not cause a plastic pollution problem; you and I do, by not separating our recycling. Large corporations, governments and militaries do not cause CO2 pollution and climate damage; you and I do, by using incandescent lightbulbs and non-electric/non-hybrid cars or eating meat. Lack of regulation and large agribusiness practices are not to blame for poor food quality; you and I are, for buying what they sell instead of going organic and joining a CSA. Etc. ad infinitum. Large, powerful entities routinely generate a problem, then tell you and me that we are responsible for the problem as well as for fixing it. Never mind that these entities could nudge their own behavior a bit and move the needle on the problem far more than masses of people could no matter how organized they were. Never mind that these entities could be constrained from causing such problems in the first place.
We are watching a new variation of this pattern come into being right in front of our eyes with AI. We should stop accepting these fictions. You are neither ableist nor a gatekeeper for resisting AI. You are, instead, attempting to forestall the further degradation of conditions for everyone, which starts this same cycle anew.
#AI #GenAI #GenerativeAI #LLM #DiffusionModels #neoliberalism #depoliticization
Think it through. If you don't accept the use of climate-destroying, electricity-and-fresh-water-sapping, job-destroying, economy-thrashing--and yet mediocre or poorly performing!--technology created by multi-trillion-dollar sociopathic entities, then you are preventing people with less privilege than you have from living their best lives. You are preventing them from learning how to code. You are preventing them from obtaining coveted jobs in the tech sector. You are preventing them from having access to information. You, personally, are responsible for all this. Not the multi-trillion-dollar sociopathic entities who've not only created this technology and forced it on us but contributed to creating the less-privileged conditions of the people you are supposedly responsible for with your individual choices. Not the governments that neglected to enforce existing laws that would have prevented such multi-trillion-dollar sociopathic entities from forming in the first place, let alone creating such a technology--while also creating the conditions that led to people being less privileged. No, they are not responsible. You are. I am.
That doesn't make any sense.
Neoliberalism's greatest trick has been to shift responsibility for any problems away from the powerful and onto individuals who are not empowered to fix anything, all while convincing everyone that this is right and proper. Large corporations do not cause a plastic pollution problem; you and I do, by not separating our recycling. Large corporations, governments and militaries do not cause CO2 pollution and climate damage; you and I do, by using incandescent lightbulbs and non-electric/non-hybrid cars or eating meat. Lack of regulation and large agribusiness practices are not to blame for poor food quality; you and I are, for buying what they sell instead of going organic and joining a CSA. Etc. ad infinitum. Large, powerful entities routinely generate a problem, then tell you and me that we are responsible for the problem as well as for fixing it. Never mind that these entities could nudge their own behavior a bit and move the needle on the problem far more than masses of people could no matter how organized they were. Never mind that these entities could be constrained from causing such problems in the first place.
We are watching a new variation of this pattern come into being right in front of our eyes with AI. We should stop accepting these fictions. You are neither ableist nor a gatekeeper for resisting AI. You are, instead, attempting to forestall the further degradation of conditions for everyone, which starts this same cycle anew.
#AI #GenAI #GenerativeAI #LLM #DiffusionModels #neoliberalism #depoliticization
Edited 42d ago
Software development methodologies compared.
Edited 204d ago
