Dire Straits (of Hormuz) 0
Mary Trump discusses the implications of other western nations’ refusal to support Donald Trump’s war on Iran.
The Rule of Lawless 0
It appears that we can now look forward to the initiation of the inquisition.
Courting Disaster 0
Above the Law reports on an attorney-at-flaw.
A Tune for the Times 0
Mild language.
American Stasi 0
Apparently, they do indeed want to use “indiscriminate force against persons exercising their freedom of speech.
All the News that Fits 0
David discusses Donald Trump’s celebrating his efforts to suppress freedom of speech.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
And politeness, it appears, provokes panic.
The panic-causing sound had a much more mundane origin: people crushing water bottles.
Welcome to life in the NRA’s Garden of Bleedin’.
QOTD 0
Caroline Graham:
“I must say,” said Simon . . . , “I never realized how tiring long-term insincerity could be. I shall never envy politicians again.”
Graham, Caroline, Murder at Maddingley Grange (London: Headline Publishing Group, 2009) p. 122
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
A criminal co-conspirator? El Reg reports that “AI is apparently good for the bottom line if your business is crime.”
Details at the link.
The Rule of Lawless 0
My heavens. What is going on here?
War and Mongers of War 0
Thom follows the money.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
Charles Ferguson, a pioneer in website development, looks at the hype surrounding AI and hears a rhyme from his early career. Here’s a tiny bit from his article (emphasis added):
But sincerity often accompanies naivete, as I know all too well. Thirty years ago, I founded the startup that developed the first software tool enabling anyone to build a website — and I totally drank the Kool-Aid. We told ourselves that our product would allow truth-tellers and innovators to bypass gatekeepers, liberating and enlightening everyone. Social networks would, of course, do the same and together we would create a decentralized, egalitarian paradise of unfiltered truth. How wrong we were.
When I look at the AI landscape, heavily populated by extremely young founders, I see the same naivete.
I commend his article to your attention as a timely read.
________________
*Mark Twain.
Stray Thought 0
For some reason, last night I happened to remember that John F. Kennedy wrote a book entitled Profiles in Courage.
If he were to come back to write a book about today’s Republican Party, I wonder what title he would choose.