Beyond the sheer callousness of using #AI Agents to *check notes* "automate acts of kindness" ending in infuriatingly spam emails, there's the sheer stupidity of having AI agents fumble their way through a graphical use interface meant for humans when we've known how to send emails with lower level tools for far longer. Although I'm not sure having an AI agent fumble its way through the SMTP protocol would be much smarter either.

All in all, another spectacular own goal for people purporting to be "effective altruists".

How Rob Pike got spammed with an AI slop “act of kindness”

Rob Pike (that Rob Pike) is furious. Here’s a Bluesky link for if you have an account there and a link to it in my thread viewer if you don’t. …

^{Simon Willison’s Weblog}

A team of researchers from the Ecole Polytechnique Federale of Lausanne (Switzerland) proved that data centers are a scam.

With their software, an IA the size of ChatGPT can work with just a local network of FOUR computers (total price €9,600 / $11,280).

No need for the cloud.
No need for data centers wasting water and money.

https://goodtech.info/anyway-systems-epfl-ia-locale-cloud-decentralise/

#ai #datacenter #tech #opensource #cloud #environment #climatechange #water #news

L'EPFL dynamite les GAFAM : L'IA de la taille de ChatGPT tourne sur 4 PC à 2300 € (et sans le Cloud)

Des chercheurs de l'EPFL lancent Anyway Systems, un logiciel qui permet d'exécuter des modèles d'IA massifs sur un cluster local de quatre machines standard. C'est la fin de la dépendance au cloud.

^{Rédaction (Linagora)}

People didn't like automobiles, but automobiles, they became the future.

People didn't like planes, but planes became the future.

There were people who didn't like something as simple as seat belts, but even seat belts became the future.

People didn't like computers, but computers became the future.

Likewise, there were people who didn't like the Internet, but as you read this, clearly the internet became the future.

Additionally, there were even people who didn't like smartphones, but smartphone also became the future.

There are still people who hate all these things, even today, but they are part of daily life, and until something better comes along, they will remain so. Just as people didn't like A.I., it too became the future, and it too is still here, part of our daily lives, used by many, and until something better comes along, it will remain.

#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #TheWaveOfTheFuture

If I were on #spotify, I’d cancel my subscription/account immediately.

King Gizzard pulled their music from the platform so Spotify has replaced it with #AI knockoffs of their music. As if paying almost nothing for streaming wasn’t evil enough, they’re now using LLMs trained on stolen content to pay artists nothing at all.

https://futurism.com/future-society/king-gizzard-spotify-ai-knockoff

King Gizzard Pulled Their Music From Spotify in Protest, and Now Spotify Is Hosting AI Knockoffs of Their Songs

An impersonator appears to be using generative AI to poorly clone rock band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard's iconic sound on Spotify.

^{Victor Tangermann (Futurism)}

Come Clean Epstein

3:31 min country music video
#music #country #ai #video

_cool, but also concerning... _
https://www.sciencealert.com/computers-made-from-human-brain-tissue-are-coming-are-we-prepared

#technology #brain #computers #computing #bio-hybrid #stemcells #ai #neuroscience #organoid #transhumanism

Computers Made From Human Brain Tissue Are Coming. Are We Prepared? : ScienceAlert

As prominent artificial intelligence (AI) researchers eye limits to the current phase of the technology, a different approach is gaining attention: using living human brain cells as computational hardware.

^{The Conversation (ScienceAlert)}

Age verification is the new trend to de-anonymize the web. 😡

🚨Starting Dec 10, #YouTube #Australia will ask for your age.

The Big Tech already started rolling out an AI-powered age estimation system. Adults are being marked as minors & are forced to submit IDs before regaining full access to decades-old accounts.

Learn how to avoid YouTube's #AI #AgeVerification: https://tuta.com/blog/how-to-turn-off-youtube-ai-age-verification

#anonymity #privacy

Ask the AI 😄

#meme #meta #ai #bigtech #ask #question #nerd #humor #just4fun #technology #internet #humanity #future #economy #business #facebook

I often use this when trying to explain LLMs to people

#AI #LLM #OhNoWereGonnaNeedAnotherTimmy

Tawny Platis on 65 years of female robotic voices in movies and TV

#voices #assistants #ai

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RjM9bWLdtQ

PS: This video is most definitely not AI-generated. Check out the rest of her channel!

Fediverse folks, especially from the UK! The Lib Dem spokesperson for science and technology has a short feedback form on AI to get public thoughts on the subject. If you have five minutes to fill it out, please do so: I think it'd be good for politicians in her position to be hearing more from small scale creators and academics and suchlike on the problems we're seeing with these technologies.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScZiot9vGHvhOOt-1KX068gZSUwkvdE5vFQSRWTHBEoVIei3Q/viewform

Boosts welcome!

#AI #LLMs

Everyday AI

The Liberal Democrats are gathering real-world insights on how the UK can make AI work for people. Whether you work in tech, policy, business, academia or civil society, or you’re an interested citizen – your perspective matters.

^{Google Docs}

great article on the rhetoric of "agency" / "you can just do things"

https://thebaffler.com/latest/high-agency-individuals-vincent

#agency #ai #politics

**Anthropic AI Class Action Lawsuit**

AUTHOR FRIENDS: the searchable claims database is up! Make sure you check for your works (and check misspellings of your names, titles, etc, the database is a mess).

TELL YOUR FRIENDS
https://www.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/

The FAQ will answer your questions but I also wrote an editorial about the lawsuit in Sigma (local PGH SFF newsletter): https://parsec-sff.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Sigma-473-September-2025.pdf

Anyway, check it out!
Sue

#writers #writing #AI

YouTube Is Using AI to Alter Content (and not telling us)

https://yewtu.be/watch?v=86nhP8tvbLY

#ai

So advancing AI is a religious crusade now?

Thiel “encouraged an audience to continue working toward scientific progress, whether in AI or other forms of technology. Fearing or regulating it, or opposing technological progress, would hasten the coming of the Antichrist”

Peter Thiel Wants Everyone to Think More About the Antichrist - WSJ
#AI
https://archive.ph/BmHIs

Wow, I found an application where AI-generated illustrations and videos is really useful! Are you familiar with these mobile games ads that don’t look anything like the actual game? Now with AI these ads look even further from the actual games!

Isn’t it wonderful?

#AI #VideoGames

Even notepad in Windows has Copilot?

I just... I just want a text editor to keep quick scratch notes on without having to worry about anything being sniffed up or...

Eris...

I hate using Windows....

(note: I have no control or choice in the matter of OS at this specific project. It hurts. But I get paid. So yay.)

#AI #microsoft #windows #notepad #privacy

After watching a YouTube video a friend recorded of one of his Silksong playthrough, YouTube recommended me a recent provocative video about Denzel Washington allegedly storming off The Late Show with Stephen Colbert stage. I didn't click on it, but it did pique my curiosity, as I didn't expect either men to behave this way. A short web search later, I learned this was entirely made-up: https://burlingtongazette.ca/the-interview-that-never-happened/

And sure enough, Denzel Washington has not been a guest on this show since 2021: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Late_Show_with_Stephen_Colbert_episodes_(2025)

*sigh*

#AI #Fake #AttentionEconomy

The Interview that Never Happened

By Pepper Parr June 3rd, 2025 BURLINGTON, ON   There was what I thought a really good interview between Denzel Washington and Stephen Colbert on Facebook. Described as “The Late Show wit…

^{Burlington Gazette - Local News, Politics, Community}

Public Service Announcement:

When someone says "I googled it" they NO LONGER MEAN "I did a web search and this is what one of the web sites that came up in the search said"...

..."I googled it" *now* means "I typed a question into google and google's AI spit out this answer."

Please adjust your conversation and cultural assumptions accordingly.

#AI #LLM

I think the Vibecoding reddit has accidentally stumbled on the best description of vibecoding:

It's "roleplay for guys [it is always guys] who want to feel like hackers without doing the hard part".

(Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/vibecoding/comments/1mu6t8z/whats_the_point_of_vibe_coding_if_i_still_have_to/ )

#ai #vibecoding

GitHub CEO: Embrace AI or get out.

https://www.businessinsider.com/github-ceo-developers-embrace-ai-or-get-out-2025-8

PS. Here’s where to go: @Codeberg

https://codeberg.org

(As an additional bonus, you’ll have the peace of mind of knowing you’re part of an anti-fascist not-for-profit cooperative instead of a trillion-dollar US corporation that’s helping Israel commit genocide.)

#git #sourceControl #revisionControl #GitHub #Codeberg #dev #AI #BigTech #Microsoft #israel #genocide #ethnicCleansing #apartheid #settlerColonialism #Palestine #StopIsrael #StopArmingIsrael #StopTheGenocide #FreePalestine

GitHub CEO delivers stark message to developers: Embrace AI or get out

Thomas Dohmke wrote that humans are often resistant to change. He said that's okay, but these people should probably find another profession.

^{Alistair Barr (Business Insider)}

OK! Best (broadly conceived) op-eds on #AI? Looking for 600-1200 word pieces in outlets great and small from the last few years.

What have you read that’s made a mark?

No one deserves this fate, even if they are the author of their own degradation

More, it's a cautionary tale for us all about the future of #society and #AI and its caustic effects on #mentalHealth

Even if this particular canary in the coal mine chose to place themselves into their predicament with enthusiasm, and is funding it

"A Prominent #OpenAI Investor Appears to Be Suffering a #ChatGPT-Related Mental Health Crisis, His Peers Say"

https://futurism.com/openai-investor-chatgpt-mental-health

#ventureCapital #vultureCapital

A Prominent OpenAI Investor Appears to Be Suffering a ChatGPT-Related Mental Health Crisis, His Peers Say

Bedrock co-founder Geoff Lewis has posted increasingly troubling content on social media, drawing concern from friends in the industry.

^{Joe Wilkins (Futurism)}

What a brilliant session with @emilymbender in conversation with @Kobotic at #RMIT tonight.

Key takeaways:
- #BenderRule - name the language you're working in
- #AI is not one technology - it's many in a trenchcoat. Be specific.
- Who benefits from the changes wrought by AI and who bears the harms and externalities?
- AI is hype - learn enough to cut through it, ask difficult questions
- "Pile of racist linear algebra"
- Read everything by @karenhao
- Read #TheAICon by Emily and @alex
- Read @CriticalAI

BEWARE of Google AI generated video scams -- eight second segments can be a critical clue!

Fraudsters are now using the new advanced #Google #AI video system to create scam videos (including claiming to be from #YouTube) of humans speaking to camera. These are EXTREMELY convincing. One clue (for now) is that the created videos are often limited to eight second segments. To create longer scam videos, fraudsters are stringing together these segments of no more than eight seconds each, usually with a quick fade between them to mask the discontinuities between the segments.

Google is making life much easier for the fraudsters, but much worse for you.