From Pine View Farm

Geek Stuff category archive

The Snaring Economy 0

The artful dodger.

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Dis Digital Dystopia 0

Man standing in bathroom with plumber.  Plumber holds up cell phone and says about the toilet,

Click for the original image.

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Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0

Ready to disobey robot’s rules of order? You bet your sweet bippy.

Via Bruce Schneier.

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Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0

Foisted on you surreptitiously? Yes indeedy-do, at least if you use Windows 10 or higher.

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Geeking Out 0

Mageia v. 9 with the Plasma desktop. Firefox and KeepassXC are shaded. Xclock is in the upper right; GKrellM is in the lower right. The wallpaper is from my collection.

Screenshot

Click for a larger image.

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Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0

Potentially hazardous? Follow the evidence.

At Psychology Today Blogs, Tahir Rahman discusses how AI “chatbot interactions can reinforce harmful ideologies or worsen mental health issues.”

Follow the link to follow the evidence.

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Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0

Baited and switched? Most definitely.

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Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0

The dialog: We must go down to the hall immediately.

The closed caption: We must go down to the hole immediately.

The intelligence: Artificial.

The stupid: Real.

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The Cryto Con 0

Grung_e_Gene sees a parallel with the Galt and the Lamers. Here’s a bit from his article, which was inspired by the reaction to the short-lived (about 15 minutes) “Hawk Tuah” meme coin.

The cries and recriminations of Fraud and various allegations of a Pump & Dump or “Rug Pull” by Welch and a small cadre of accounts who apparently drained all the value and bankrupted “investors” have resounded across Social Media these past few days.

But, it’s staggeringly amazing to me the Crypto Community has immediately called for investigations and “legal action” by Government and Regulatory Bodies on their purposefully Unregulated, Untied to Government Scam Coins. The whole purpose of every crypto was to uncouple it from Government to have a truly free monetary system unburdened by inflationary fiat currency and the over-bearing hand of government.

Although, this is no different than Libertarians demanding a Government Military exist to keep their Slaves in Line but, not put the odious boot of Law & Order on their neck as the scheme and swindle and attempt to create the Randian Utopian.

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The Crypto Con 0

Plus ca change, plus la meme chose.

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Phoning It In 0

The phone rang. The caller ID showed a number from a city on the other side of the country, a city where I know no one, a city I haven’t set foot in in four decades.

As I sometimes do, I picked up the phone and said nothing. (When I do that, the computer on the other end will often disconnect after 11 seconds.)

After a few seconds, a woman’s voice said, “Hello. I’m Polly, I’m an AI assistant . . . .”

That’s when I hung up.

So, a recording on a computer is now an “AI Assistant.”

Give me a break.

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Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0

A mixed bag. Most definitely.

Bruce Schneier and Nathan Sanders look at how AI may affect politics. Here’s a tiny bit of his most excellent article:

Most politics is local, and AI tools promise to make democracy more equitable. The typical candidate has few resources, so the choice may be between getting help from AI tools or getting no help at all. In 2024, a US presidential candidate with virtually zero name recognition, Jason Palmer, beat Joe Biden in a very small electorate, the American Samoan primary, by using AI-generated messaging and an online AI avatar.

At the national level, AI tools are more likely to make the already powerful even more powerful. Human + AI generally beats AI only: The more human talent you have, the more you can effectively make use of AI assistance. The richest campaigns will not put AIs in charge, but they will race to exploit AI where it can give them an advantage.

But while the promise of AI assistance will drive adoption, the risks are considerable. When computers get involved in any process, that process changes.

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Twits Own Twitter X Offenders 0

At Above the Law, Joe Patrice savages somewhat less than taken with Elon Musk’s notion that Twitter’s AI zombie Grok should evaluate court cases.

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The Disinformation Superhighway 0

Sara Gorman and Jack M. Gorman look at how “social” media helps spread dis- and misinformation about mental health and offer some suggestions for combating the flood of FUD. A snippet:

A relatively recent TikTok phenomenon called “Undiagnosis” is particularly problematic. In these videos, users record themselves usually dancing to a song listing conditions they previously thought they had and then declaring themselves “undiagnosed.” The process of “undiagnosis” is littered with questioning whether serious mental illnesses even exist, which is obviously harmful to the mental health community’s need for people to take mental illnesses seriously as true medical conditions. While some have said that there’s some benefit to this kind of open conversation and that it may reduce stigma in some ways by making discussion about mental illness more acceptable, the potential harms are still obvious. People with mental illness conditions are being encouraged to decide they don’t actually have them. That can lead to dropping out of treatment or refusing treatment in the first place, clearly placing people at risk.

One more time, “social” media isn’t.

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Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0

The dialog: The pencil sharpener.

The closed caption: It depends on sharper gold.

The stupid: Not artificial.

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Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0

Fomenting the phony. Well, maybe just a bit. From El Reg:

Originality.AI, an online AI detection platform, examined 8,795 long-form LinkedIn posts – defined by the site as 100 words or longer – and found that, based on its own assessment tools, 54 percent of such posts “are estimated to be AI-generated.”

This trend suggests that many self-proclaimed thought leaders on LinkedIn may be presenting AI-generated content as their own profound insights.

Much more at the link.

Aside:

Speaking of the land of the me-me-me . . . .

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Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0

The dialog, at about the 24 minute mark: You’ve got to ‘elp us, Ken.

The closed caption: You got elbows, Ken.

The words: They fail me.

About five minutes later:

The dialog, as Ken calls the name of another character: Rocky! Rocky!

The closed caption: Rookie! Rookie!

Afterthought:

Just because Big Tech calls it “intelligence” doesn’t make it so.

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It’s All about the Algorithm 0

At Psychology Today Blogs, Nigel Bairstow and Jeremy Neofytos argue that you don’t use “social” media. It uses you. A snippet:

The shift in social media platforms from user-led spaces to algorithmically curated ones has changed the customer experience from one of autonomy and connection to something more akin to an addictive cycle. By continuously presenting users with a carefully selected flow of trending or popular content, social media mimics the characteristics of an addictive substance, pulling users back into a loop of passive consumption. Where platforms once encouraged people to “capture the moment” and connect with one another, many now prioritise perpetual engagement at the expense of authenticity and user choice. This transformation has led to a subtle yet powerful alienation of the individual user from the platform’s original purpose.

Remember, “social” media isn’t.

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Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? No So Much. 0

Divine? Give me a break.

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Influencer Idiocy 0

Emily Balcetis, writing at Psychology Today Blogs, has some issues with how “influencers” promote products. She believes that

Stricter rules are needed to limit harmful social media marketing.

Follow the link for her reasoning and, remember, “social” media isn’t.

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