Think about the ways that information tech has revolutionized our ability to do things. It’s allowed us to do math, produce and distribute news and entertainment, communicate with each other, make our voices heard, organize movements, and create and access pornography at rates and in ways that humanity could only have dreamed of only a few decades ago.
Now consider that AI is first and foremost a technology predicated on reappropriating and stealing credit for another person’s legitimate creative work.
Now imagine how much of humanity’s history has had that kind of exploitation at the forefront of its worst moments, and consider what might lie ahead with those kind of impulses being given the rocket fuel of advanced information technology.
In all honesty, it seems like they’ve been trying to make 3D happen every ten to fifteen years since the 1950s. And they tried making VR a thing in the 80s and 90s, too until it went to sleep for a little while.
I’d describe myself as fairly liberal. I’m from Vermont and I am pretty bummed that neither Howard Dean nor Bernie Sanders got to be president. I’ve voted D in every presidential and congressional election for the last twenty years.
A couple elections ago I was doing non-partisan voter registration, just standing out in front of a big box store asking people to register to vote. It felt great because I got the feeling that I was directly helping, and even if I was registering some people who would go on to vote R, I actually believe that the more voters there are, the healthier the democracy.
I asked one young guy to register and he asked me “Do you believe in the right to keep and bear arms?”
And I thought about how the marjority of gun deaths in any given year are suicides and how we have an absolutely unacceptable number of mass shootings in this country, and how by all that is reasonable that we ought to be able to do something about it.
And then I thought about my uncles who hunt white tail deer to help control the population, and my friend who is a self-employed gem cutter and who has been robbed and who now owns a pistol for self defense.
And in all honestly, I said “Yes,” though on the inside I thought “…but probably not in the exact same way that you do,” and that young guy registered to vote.
The states’ rights case for determining abortion access — let the people decide — falters on the fact that in many states, the people cannot shape their legislature to their liking. Packed and split into districts designed to preserve Republican control, voters cannot actually dislodge anti-abortion Republican lawmakers. A...
I’d like to take this opportunity to point out that the seal of the Comstock’s New York Society for the Suppression of Vice gleefully features a person being thrown into a dungeon, and a book burning.
Young Teddy was very much not athletic, in fact he was sickly and asthmatic. Over time he literally remade himself and overcame his early health issues. Getting into heavy duty physical activity and using that to overcome early challenges probably was a hell of a lot of fun, and it was continuing the process of self-improvement that made his life so much better to begin with.
I can’t figure out how it could possibly be drawing enough nutrients to live, and yet there it is. I’d have chopped it up and dragged it away but now I’m impressed and want to see how long it goes on.
There are people who, disturbed by “big government” today and its tendency to curb the advantages they might gain if their competitiveness were allowed free flow, demand “less govern- ment.” Alas, there is no such thing as less government, merely changes in government. If the libertarians had their way, the distant bureaucracy would vanish and the local bully would be in charge. Personally, I prefer the distant bureaucracy, which may not find me, over the local bully, who certainly will. And all historical precedent shows a change to localism to be for the worse.
—Isaac Asimov, Nice Guys Finish First, collected in The Sun Shines Bright, 1981
Think of crooked local sheriffs and police departments vs. state police, which are generally held to a higher training standard and are therefore less onerous.
I don’t know if this is something people say in other countries, but in my country, there’s this common cliché or “wisdom” where adults will assure you that the people who picked on you in environments like school will universally develop lives of hardship later on, one way or another getting into mayhem....
I was curious about a guy who bullied me in elementary school so I looked up his name on Facebook. His profile picture had a pro-life message in it. I was not at all surprised.
My crackpot theory is that aliens showed up, told the Egyptians at lasergun-point to build them pyramids, but then didn’t give them any help at all. The Egyptians had to work out all the trigonometry and engineering entirely for themselves, while those lazy fucking aliens hung back and contributed absolutely nothing. Fuck those goddamn lazy space aliens.
I’ve been using a Jelly Star as an mp3 player and I love it for that purpose. It also has the added utility of an IR blaster so I can use it as a universal remote when I want to. I’m tempted to use it as my everyday phone, since I think I’m on my phone a tad more than I’d like, and I think having a hilariously tiny phone might help with that, but I take a lot of pictures and the camera is just so-so.
Special shout out to the X-Statix omnibus. I bought it knowing literally nothing about the characters. It’s got the dimensions of a Manhattan phonebook and I read the whole damn thing and loved it. One of the wildest and weirdest things I’ve ever read set in the Marvel universe. 10 out 10, no notes.
Notable can mean many things. Maybe it was high quality, insightful, and provided context for a more artistic scene. Maybe they teased a cut scene that would have radically shifted the tone of the movie. Maybe it was funny. Maybe the director absolutely hated what they produced and is only providing narration because of a...
Another great Campbell commentary is on Bubba Ho Tep. He’s constantly calling out everyone else on the production and talking about what a great job they all did. He sounds like a legitimately great guy to work with, and it helps inform why he’s been so consistently employed even if he never became the superstar he should have.
The Lord of the Rings has like four goddamn commentaries per movie, from the director, the actors, the scenic designers, and the composer Howard Shore, and who knows maybe I’m forgetting a couple. I love hearing the cast because you can alternately hear about what gigantic dorks they are for the material or how incredibly thoughtful they were. I recall hearing Sean Astin get way into political philosophy and how Two Towers was emphatically not a pro-war movie.
The Matrix has philosopher commentaries where Cornel West and Ken Wilber talk about the heavy duty concepts being explored. The fun part is that they seamlessly go back and forth between philosophy and action movie appreciation, where they’ll say stuff like "So you’ve got to remember that in Plato’s allegory of the cave the observer is always— oh shit she just kicked that guy in the throat!"
Iran Might Receive Its First Su-35 Flanker Fighters From Russia Next Week (www.forbes.com)
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Scientists push new paradigm of animal consciousness, saying even insects may be sentient (www.nbcnews.com)
Far more animals than previously thought likely have consciousness, top scientists say in a new declaration — including fish, lobsters and octopus....
And the comments were all "AMEN"s and praying hands emojis. (lemmy.world)
I know I shouldn’t be wasting brain cells on this AI-generated boomer-bait, but I have so many questions:...
banaynay (mander.xyz)
AI nowaday is like Bluetooth 20 years ago: they put it everywhere where it's almost never useful
Everybody Sucks Here (lemmy.world)
Me too. Thanks.
I don't think I was using lemmy back when Easter happened so better late then never (lemmy.world)
This CAPTCHA is unfair! (lemmy.world)
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The Smothering of Abortion Rights Reveals Something Else About Republicans (www.nytimes.com)
The states’ rights case for determining abortion access — let the people decide — falters on the fact that in many states, the people cannot shape their legislature to their liking. Packed and split into districts designed to preserve Republican control, voters cannot actually dislodge anti-abortion Republican lawmakers. A...
The bubble is dead, long live the bubble! (lemmy.world)
spaf @spaf...
What a badass (lemmy.world)
This bamboo stalk got snapped almost completely in half during a storm two years ago, and yet it still lives. (lemmy.world)
I can’t figure out how it could possibly be drawing enough nutrients to live, and yet there it is. I’d have chopped it up and dragged it away but now I’m impressed and want to see how long it goes on.
Try me bitch (lemmy.world)
deleted_by_author
What happened to all the baddies you knew growing up?
I don’t know if this is something people say in other countries, but in my country, there’s this common cliché or “wisdom” where adults will assure you that the people who picked on you in environments like school will universally develop lives of hardship later on, one way or another getting into mayhem....
clearly aliens (mander.xyz)
Small phone lovers... our era is not over. Yesterday I discovered the Unihertz Jelly Star. I fell in love. I will be reporting back. (www.unihertz.com)
publicació creuada des de: discuss.tchncs.de/post/14108486...
Favorite Marvel/DC storylines?
What are some movies with notable director's commentary?
Notable can mean many things. Maybe it was high quality, insightful, and provided context for a more artistic scene. Maybe they teased a cut scene that would have radically shifted the tone of the movie. Maybe it was funny. Maybe the director absolutely hated what they produced and is only providing narration because of a...