#AI truck technology

[artisticdivasworld]

The Impact of AI and Automation on the Trucking Industry

Photo by Ricky Esquivel on Pexels.com So, we’ve all  heard about the buzz around AI and automation in the trucking industry, right? It’s pretty fascinating stuff. I know it sounds all high-tech and futuristic, but it’s really changing the game for truckers in ways that are super practical and beneficial. First off, there’s predictive maintenance. Imagine you’re on the road, hauling a load, and…

[ormymarius]

sucks how sci-fi movies that take place close to the year we’re in imagine technology to be much cooler than it actually is in 2024

[wigoutlet]

[professorbressi]

1/17 A.I.

A Jaw-Dropping Outlook for Artificial Intelligence Revenue Growth – ETF Trends ETF Trends Bright Artificial Intelligence Outlook for QQQ, QQQM. For investors willing to take the long-term view of AI, which could be advisable as an avenue …Flag as irrelevant  Survey: CEOs fear their companies won’t survive 10 years with AI, climate challenges AP News … survive the coming decade without a…

[automotiveera]

Driving the Future: Autonomous Commercial Vehicle Market Revolution

The autonomous commercial vehicle market is experiencing growth and is projected to reach USD 1,302.1 billion by 2030. This development can be ascribed to the continuing development in commercial vehicle technologies, growing government aid for autonomous commercial cars, and rising requirement for effective advantages and well-organized and safer driving options.

In recent years, the semi-autonomous category, on the basis of vehicle autonomy, contributed a higher revenue share. Vehicles must be fortified with electronic stability control or at least one of the progressive driver-assistance system ADAS features (either for steering or acceleration) to attain level 1 automation. Most of the European nations and the U.S. have forced the acceptance of basic ADAS features in all new commercial vehicles, which essentially makes all of them semi-autonomous.

In recent years, the truck category held the larger market share, and the category is projected to remain dominant in the vehicle type segment of the industry during the projection period. This can be credited to the growing utilization of autonomous trucks for logistical processes, like domestic logistics transportation, automated material handling, logistics digitalization, and yard management.

In the coming few years, on the basis of the application segment, the public transportation category is projected to advance at the fastest rate. This can be credited to the rising acceptance of autonomous shuttle facilities for public mobility reasons. Numerous start-ups and recognized businesses are coming up with strategies to grow level 5 autonomous shuttles for public transport. Such shuttles will not need human drivers for the process, which will aid transportation agencies save on working prices.

In the past few years, the North American region dominated the industry with the highest revenue for the autonomous commercial vehicle market, and the region is also projected to remain in the top spot during the projection period. This can be mainly credited to the increasing research and development activities on autonomous automobiles and growing aid from the federal and state governments for advancing autonomous driving technologies.

The APAC region is projected to witness the fastest development because of the booming vehicle industry here. APAC is the globe's largest vehicle maker, responsible for almost half of the annual production.

Hence, the continuing development in commercial vehicle technologies, growing government aid for autonomous commercial cars, and rising requirement for effective advantages are the major factors propelling the market.

[reasonsforhope]

Green energy is in its heyday. 

Renewable energy sources now account for 22% of the nation’s electricity, and solar has skyrocketed eight times over in the last decade. This spring in California, wind, water, and solar power energy sources exceeded expectations, accounting for an average of 61.5 percent of the state's electricity demand across 52 days. 

But green energy has a lithium problem. Lithium batteries control more than 90% of the global grid battery storage market. 

That’s not just cell phones, laptops, electric toothbrushes, and tools. Scooters, e-bikes, hybrids, and electric vehicles all rely on rechargeable lithium batteries to get going. 

Fortunately, this past week, Natron Energy launched its first-ever commercial-scale production of sodium-ion batteries in the U.S. 

“Sodium-ion batteries offer a unique alternative to lithium-ion, with higher power, faster recharge, longer lifecycle and a completely safe and stable chemistry,” said Colin Wessells — Natron Founder and Co-CEO — at the kick-off event in Michigan. 

The new sodium-ion batteries charge and discharge at rates 10 times faster than lithium-ion, with an estimated lifespan of 50,000 cycles.

Wessells said that using sodium as a primary mineral alternative eliminates industry-wide issues of worker negligence, geopolitical disruption, and the “questionable environmental impacts” inextricably linked to lithium mining. 

“The electrification of our economy is dependent on the development and production of new, innovative energy storage solutions,” Wessells said. 

Why are sodium batteries a better alternative to lithium?

The birth and death cycle of lithium is shadowed in environmental destruction. The process of extracting lithium pollutes the water, air, and soil, and when it’s eventually discarded, the flammable batteries are prone to bursting into flames and burning out in landfills. 

There’s also a human cost. Lithium-ion materials like cobalt and nickel are not only harder to source and procure, but their supply chains are also overwhelmingly attributed to hazardous working conditions and child labor law violations. 

Sodium, on the other hand, is estimated to be 1,000 times more abundant in the earth’s crust than lithium. 

“Unlike lithium, sodium can be produced from an abundant material: salt,” engineer Casey Crownhart wrote ​​in the MIT Technology Review. “Because the raw ingredients are cheap and widely available, there’s potential for sodium-ion batteries to be significantly less expensive than their lithium-ion counterparts if more companies start making more of them.”

What will these batteries be used for?

Right now, Natron has its focus set on AI models and data storage centers, which consume hefty amounts of energy. In 2023, the MIT Technology Review reported that one AI model can emit more than 626,00 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent. 

“We expect our battery solutions will be used to power the explosive growth in data centers used for Artificial Intelligence,” said Wendell Brooks, co-CEO of Natron. 

“With the start of commercial-scale production here in Michigan, we are well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for efficient, safe, and reliable battery energy storage.”

The fast-charging energy alternative also has limitless potential on a consumer level, and Natron is eying telecommunications and EV fast-charging once it begins servicing AI data storage centers in June. 

On a larger scale, sodium-ion batteries could radically change the manufacturing and production sectors — from housing energy to lower electricity costs in warehouses, to charging backup stations and powering electric vehicles, trucks, forklifts, and so on. 

“I founded Natron because we saw climate change as the defining problem of our time,” Wessells said. “We believe batteries have a role to play.”

-via GoodGoodGood, May 3, 2024

--

Note: I wanted to make sure this was legit (scientifically and in general), and I'm happy to report that it really is! x, x, x, x

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The REAL AI automation threat to workers

I'm Kickstarting the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues, narrated by @wilwheaton! You can pre-order the audiobook and ebook, DRM free, as well as the hardcover, signed or unsigned. There's also bundles with Red Team Blues in ebook, audio or paperback.

Long before the current wave of AI hype, we were being groomed for automation panics with misleading stories. Remember this one? "'Truck driver' is the most common job in America. Self-driving trucks are just around the corner. How can we prevent America's army of truckers from turning into a howling mob when the robots steal their jobs?"

https://futurism.com/millions-of-jobs-are-at-risk-but-their-loss-could-be-for-the-greater-good

It was absolute nonsense. First of all, "truck driver" isn't a particularly common job in America! The BLS lumps together all cargo vehicle drivers under a single classification. The category error here was thinking that every delivery van driver, furniture mover, and courier is behind the wheel of a big rig, cracking wise on a CB radio as they tear up the interstate.

But what about automation threats? It's possible that if we redesigned the interstates to give 16 wheelers their own separated lanes, and then set them to following one another, that they could traverse long distances in that way. Congratulations, you've just invented a shitty, failure-prone train.

"Shitty train AI" does not threaten the job of the vast number of people the BLS classifies as "truck drivers." For one thing, "shitty train AI" isn't going to pilot a UPS van around the streets of a busy city with other road users. Sure, a few robotaxi companies have bamboozled city governments into conscripting the city's residents into an uncontrolled murderbot experiment. These are not going well:

https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/9-key-leaders-depart-gms-cruise-amid-ongoing-investigation-into-san-francisco-incident/

More than $100b has been set on fire chasing the robotaxi dream, and the result is most charitably described as a technological curiosity, requiring 1.5 high-waged remote technicians to replace each low-waged driver:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/09/herbies-revenge/#100-billion-here-100-billion-there-pretty-soon-youre-talking-real-money

But even if we could perfect this technology, robots still wouldn't replace all those "truckers" who drive delivery vans (to say nothing of moving vans!). The hard part of driving a UPS van isn't just getting it from place to place – it's getting the parcel into the place. The robo-van would still need at least one person to get the parcel from the back of the van and into the reception desk, porch, or other delivery zone. It's not going to fire those parcels at your door with a catapult. It's also not going to deliver them by drones. Drone delivery is another one of those historical curiosities, capable of delivering a very narrow range of parcels, under even narrower circumstances:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/05/comprehensive-sex-ed/#droned

If all UPS delivered was lightweight, non-fragile rectangular parcels ordered by people with large, unobstructed back yards, then sure. Congrats, you've just created the world's least-useful parcel delivery service!

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/06/amazon-drone-delivery-service-seeks-faa-approval-to-launch-in-2022/

All that said, the big rig drivers probably don't need to worry about robots stealing their jobs. It's not even clear that "shitty train" is within our technological grasp, but even if it is, there's yet another problem with the AI automation trucker jobpocalypse: "trucker" is already one of the worst jobs in America:

https://www.usatoday.com/pages/interactives/news/rigged-forced-into-debt-worked-past-exhaustion-left-with-nothing/

It's hard to overstate just how fucking terrible it is to be a trucker. Truckers are trapped in abusive debt holes by their employers – who misclassify their workforce as "contractors" in a bid to sidestep labor law. Shriven of any labor rights, truckers are forced into the most ghastly, body-destroying, family-wrcking, financially precarious existence imaginable.

You can drive a truck for years, give almost all of the money you earn back to your employer (who denies that you're their employee) to pay back the usurious loan for your truck. Then, your employer can underschedule for shifts so that you miss a loan payment, and they can repo your truck and keep the six-figure repayment you've already made to them, leaving you destitute.

They can force you to work for hours – days! – without pay while you wait for loading and dispatch. They can make you drive long past the point of safety, then, if (when) you get into a wreck, they can fine you for not taking the mandated rest breaks.

Now, these drivers aren't about to be replaced by AI – but that doesn't mean that AI won't affect their jobs. Commercial drivers are among the most heavily surveilled workers in the country. Amazon's drivers (whom Amazon misclassifies as subcontractors) have their eyeballs monitored by AI;

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/17/revenge-of-the-chickenized-reverse-centaurs/

AIs monitor the voices of the (primarily Black, primarily female) workforce at Arise – homeworkers who field customer service calls for blue-chip companies like Carnival Cruises and Disney. They're listening for unruly children or pets in the background, and workers who fail to muffle these dependents lose the contracts they have to pay to train for:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/01/22/paperback-writer/#toothless

And AI monitors the conduct of workers on temp-work apps. If a worker is dispatched to a struck workplace and refuses to cross the picket-line, the AI boss fires you and blacklists you from future jobs for refusing to robo-scab:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/30/computer-says-scab/#instawork

Writing in The Guardian, Steven Greenhouse describes the AI-enabled workplace, where precarious, often misclassified workers are monitored, judged, and fined by algorithms:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/jan/07/artificial-intelligence-surveillance-workers

Whether it's the robot that gets you disciplined for sending an email with the word "union" in it or the robot that takes money out of your paycheck if you take a bathroom break, AI has come for the workplace with a vengeance.

Here's a supreme irony: nearly all of the beneficial applications for AI require that AI be used to help workers, not replace them, which is absolutely not how AI is used in the workplace. An AI that helps radiologists by giving them a second opinion might help them find tumors on x-rays, but that's a tool that reduces the number of scans a radiologist processes in a shift, by making them go back and reconsider the scans they've already processed:

https://locusmag.com/2023/12/commentary-cory-doctorow-what-kind-of-bubble-is-ai/

But AI's sales pitch is not "Buy an AI tool and increase your costs while increasing your accuracy." The pitch for AI is "buy and AI and save money by firing workers." Given how bad AIs are at replacing humans, this is a bad deal all around, both for the worker who loses their job and the customer who gets the substandard product the AI makes.

There is a very limited slice of applications where an AI could make a lot of money for a company that deploys it, without costing that company anything when the AI screws up. For example, AI is a really good tool for fraud! Rather than paying people to churn out millions of variations on a phishing email, you can get an AI to do it. If the AI writes a bad phishing email, it's OK, since nearly all recipients of even good phishing emails delete them. What's more, no one will fine you or publish an op-ed demanding that your board of directors fire you if you buy an incompetent AI to commit fraud. Fraud is a high-value, low-consequence environment for using AI.

Another one of those applications is managing precarious workers who don't have labor rights. If the AI unfairly docks your worker's wages, or forces them to work until they injure themselves or others, or decides that their eyeball movements justify firing them, those workers have no recourse. That's the whole point of pretending that your employees are contractors: so you can violate labor law with impunity!

But that's not the ironic part. The ironic part is that "being a shitty boss" is the one AI application that companies are willing to increase their net spending on. No one buys an eyeball-monitoring AI so they can fire a manager. This is the one place where AI is there to augment, rather than replace, an employee.

This makes AI-based bossware subtly different from other forms of Taylorism, the "scientific management" fad of the early 20th century that saw management consultants choreographing the postures and movements of workers to satisfy the aesthetic fetishes of their employers:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/24/gwb-rumsfeld-monsters/#bossware

The pseudoscientific cod-ergonomics of the 1900s was demeaning and even dangerous, but it wasn't automated, and if it increased worker output, this was incidental to the real purpose of making workers move like the machine-cogs their bosses reassured themselves they were:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/21/great-taylors-ghost/#solidarity-or-bust

Every AI panic is a way of deflecting attention from the real, grimy, here-and-now ways that AI is destroying our lives by demanding that we entertain nonsensical science fiction claims about large, shiny existential risks that AI might present in the future.

The "X-risk" of the spicy autocomplete chatbot waking up and using its newfound sentience to turn us all into paperclips is nonsense. Adding words to the plausible sentence generator doesn't turn it into a superintelligence for the same reason that selectively breeding faster horses doesn't lead to locomotives:

https://locusmag.com/2020/07/cory-doctorow-full-employment/

But there is a way that AI could destroy the human race! The carbon footprint and water consumption associated with training and operating large-scale models are significant contributors to the climate emergency, which threatens the habitability of the only planet in the known universe capable of sustaining human life:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/federicoguerrini/2023/04/14/ais-unsustainable-water-use-how-tech-giants-contribute-to-global-water-shortages/

Likewise, AI isn't going to replace you at work. But it's already augmenting your shitty boss's ability to rip you off, torment you, maim you and even kill you in order to eke out a few more basis points for the next shareholder report.

Science fiction is a fun and useful way to tell parables about our current technologies. But it's not a roadmap for the future. The fact that sf writers like me found AIs as useful measures to describe Earth's dominant artificial life form – the limited liability corporation – doesn't mean that superhuman AIs should – or can – be created.

Back the Kickstarter for the DRM-free audiobook of The Bezzle, read by Tumblr's own @wilwheaton!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/11/robots-stole-my-jerb/#computer-says-no

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

[rationalisms]

could you recommend an indie game that does disco elysium or its kind of game better? (/genuine)

i'd be happy to recommend some games to you for sure!

but i would like to preface this by saying that my point (which is hard to explain in a pithy tag aside to be fair lol) isn't necessarily that these will be "better" than disco elysium. that's incredibly hard to quantify anyway since so much of this is based on taste. e.g. i disliked some things about DE other people loved (like the pacing) even though i overall had a good time with the game.

it's more that the way people were talking about disco elysium, especially in terms of like... "professional video game journalism" but also definitely on this site and the other formerly blue side, was tinged with this tone that DE is somehow unique or groundbreaking in its attempt to treat a video game like an artform or a serious vehicle for storytelling. which is insulting especially to the games DE clearly draws from.

a lot of people who don't usually play video games played DE based on recommendations, which is great! but a huge part of the response from those people didn't seem to be "wow, clearly i can have a good time with video games if they're like this, i should seek out more". it instead seemed to be "well folks, pack it up, this is the one video game i will enjoy because it's Deep unlike everything else out there". which is incredibly disappointing.

anyway. whether these recommendations will hit for you will primarily depend on what you're looking for when you say "its kind of game", but here's some games that gave me the same general feeling.

planescape: torment is the game that heavily inspired disco elysium. it's a similarly combat-light crpg with a focus on exploration and story and set in a weird, technologically discongruent setting. i would also recommend its sequel, torment: tides of numenera. i didn't enjoy that one as much but it was still pretty good.

kentucky road zero is a game about a truck driver who has to cross the titular road zero and the many people he meets on the way. it's also magical realism so if you enjoyed the genre of disco elysium this might be up your alley.

beautiful desolation is another game which is based on real world culture/history with sci-fi world building on top. in this case south africa. it's really beautiful and rewards exploration in a similar way.

return of the obra dinn is also an atmospheric detective game set on a ship lost in 1803. it's by the same creator who made papers, please (which is also excellent by the way).

hypnospace outlaw has a similar half absurd, half earnest tone. it also felt similarly nostalgic to me. it's incredibly easy to sink a lot of time into this one though so watch out lol.

orwell, and its sequel, orwell: ignorance is strength, are similar "internet" simulators like HO with a much more overt political tone (if you couldn't tell by the name lol). you play as an employee for a government surveillance program.

stasis if you're looking for more isometric point and click games with a strong atmosphere and great voice acting.

sunless sea, and its sequel, sunless skies, are exploration/roguelike games about a weird, fantastical world. if you've ever played fallen london, they're set in the same universe.

what remains of edith finch is also magical realism and dark comedy, so if you enjoyed the tone of DE you might enjoy that.

some say it has always been here also has a surreal and sometimes oppressive atmosphere. i wish this game was longer, i loved it so much.

i miss the sea of japan is another wonderful bitsy game i got reminded of when i thought about SSIHABH. it's wistful and sweet.

i have no mouth and i must scream is a psychological thriller about five people and their dark pasts trying to outwit an AI. it's very atmospheric and also has variously fucked up (by life) protagonists.

whispers of a machine is another detective game with more of a sci-fi slant, though it's set in a world inspired by sweden and other nordic countries. it's also very atmospheric and has some great voice acting.

buddy simulator 1984 gave me a lot of the same feelings disco elysium did (wistfulness, nostalgia, anxiety, etc lol). i really loved the first half of the game but wasn't as into the second half, would absolutely still recommend it though.

and if we're talking just straight up great crpgs with a heavily political tone, i will always always always recommend harebrained schemes shadowrun trilogy (especially dragonfall and hong kong, both incredible games. returns is... fine lol but definitely not on the level of the sequels) and fallout 1 and 2.

plus, no rec list about magical realism would be complete without life is strange. :') i haven't played any of the sequels and it's been a long time since i played it, but i remember loving it at the time.

games i haven't played yet but that are on my to play list and which look like they could scratch the same itch:

citizen sleeper, also a dice based game which is very narrative and exploration based.

norco, which several of my friends love a lot.

where the water tastes like wine, which is set in the great depression era of the US and about collecting stories and sharing them.

pentiment, another detective game set in a real world approximation. i love everything obsidian touches so i'm sure it's great, but i haven't gotten round to it yet.

night in the woods seems to be popular with people who like DE so it might be up your alley. i'm pretty sure it's also magical realism?

roadwarden is another isometric point and click game about exploration and friends have said it has a great atmosphere.

i hope those are a good starting point for you! i would also genuinely recommend just hopping on itch.io and typing in a random prompt and seeing what you get. i've discovered sooo many wonderful games (many of them completely free, though i will always advocate for tipping the creators) by just noodling around on there. tons and tons of incredible indie games who don't have the luxury of publisher funding made by people who could really use the support.

enjoy and have a lovely day ^__^

[mariacallous]

At 8:22 am on December 4 last year, a car traveling down a small residential road in Alabama used its license-plate-reading cameras to take photos of vehicles it passed. One image, which does not contain a vehicle or a license plate, shows a bright red “Trump” campaign sign placed in front of someone’s garage. In the background is a banner referencing Israel, a holly wreath, and a festive inflatable snowman.

Another image taken on a different day by a different vehicle shows a “Steelworkers for Harris-Walz” sign stuck in the lawn in front of someone’s home. A construction worker, with his face unblurred, is pictured near another Harris sign. Other photos show Trump and Biden (including “Fuck Biden”) bumper stickers on the back of trucks and cars across America. One photo, taken in November 2023, shows a partially torn bumper sticker supporting the Obama-Biden lineup.

These images were generated by AI-powered cameras mounted on cars and trucks, initially designed to capture license plates, but which are now photographing political lawn signs outside private homes, individuals wearing T-shirts with text, and vehicles displaying pro-abortion bumper stickers—all while recording the precise locations of these observations. Newly obtained data reviewed by WIRED shows how a tool originally intended for traffic enforcement has evolved into a system capable of monitoring speech protected by the US Constitution.

The detailed photographs all surfaced in search results produced by the systems of DRN Data, a license-plate-recognition (LPR) company owned by Motorola Solutions. The LPR system can be used by private investigators, repossession agents, and insurance companies; a related Motorola business, called Vigilant, gives cops access to the same LPR data.

However, files shared with WIRED by artist Julia Weist, who is documenting restricted datasets as part of her work, show how those with access to the LPR system can search for common phrases or names, such as those of politicians, and be served with photographs where the search term is present, even if it is not displayed on license plates.

A search result for the license plates from Delaware vehicles with the text “Trump” returned more than 150 images showing people’s homes and bumper stickers. Each search result includes the date, time, and exact location of where a photograph was taken.

“I searched for the word ‘believe,’ and that is all lawn signs. There’s things just painted on planters on the side of the road, and then someone wearing a sweatshirt that says ‘Believe.’” Weist says. “I did a search for the word ‘lost,’ and it found the flyers that people put up for lost dogs and cats.”

Beyond highlighting the far-reaching nature of LPR technology, which has collected billions of images of license plates, the research also shows how people’s personal political views and their homes can be recorded into vast databases that can be queried.

“It really reveals the extent to which surveillance is happening on a mass scale in the quiet streets of America,” says Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union. “That surveillance is not limited just to license plates, but also to a lot of other potentially very revealing information about people.”

DRN, in a statement issued to WIRED, said it complies with “all applicable laws and regulations.”

Billions of Photos

License-plate-recognition systems, broadly, work by first capturing an image of a vehicle; then they use optical character recognition (OCR) technology to identify and extract the text from the vehicle's license plate within the captured image. Motorola-owned DRN sells multiple license-plate-recognition cameras: a fixed camera that can be placed near roads, identify a vehicle’s make and model, and capture images of vehicles traveling up to 150 mph; a “quick deploy” camera that can be attached to buildings and monitor vehicles at properties; and mobile cameras that can be placed on dashboards or be mounted to vehicles and capture images when they are driven around.

Over more than a decade, DRN has amassed more than 15 billion “vehicle sightings” across the United States, and it claims in its marketing materials that it amasses more than 250 million sightings per month. Images in DRN’s commercial database are shared with police using its Vigilant system, but images captured by law enforcement are not shared back into the wider database.

The system is partly fueled by DRN “affiliates” who install cameras in their vehicles, such as repossession trucks, and capture license plates as they drive around. Each vehicle can have up to four cameras attached to it, capturing images in all angles. These affiliates earn monthly bonuses and can also receive free cameras and search credits.

In 2022, Weist became a certified private investigator in New York State. In doing so, she unlocked the ability to access the vast array of surveillance software accessible to PIs. Weist could access DRN’s analytics system, DRNsights, as part of a package through investigations company IRBsearch. (After Weist published an op-ed detailing her work, IRBsearch conducted an audit of her account and discontinued it. The company did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment.)

“There is a difference between tools that are publicly accessible, like Google Street View, and things that are searchable,” Weist says. While conducting her work, Weist ran multiple searches for words and popular terms, which found results far beyond license plates. In data she shared with WIRED, a search for “Planned Parenthood,” for instance, returned stickers on cars, on bumpers, and in windows, both for and against the reproductive health services organization. Civil liberties groups have already raised concerns about how license-plate-reader data could be weaponized against those seeking abortion.

Weist says she is concerned with how the search tools could be misused when there is increasing political violence and divisiveness in society. While not linked to license plate data, one law enforcement official in Ohio recently said people should “write down” the addresses of people who display yard signs supporting Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, exemplifying how a searchable database of citizens’ political affiliations could be abused.

A 2016 report by the Associated Press revealed widespread misuse of confidential law enforcement databases by police officers nationwide. In 2022, WIRED revealed that hundreds of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees and contractors were investigated for abusing similar databases, including LPR systems. The alleged misconduct in both reports ranged from stalking and harassment to sharing information with criminals.

While people place signs in their lawns or bumper stickers on their cars to inform people of their views and potentially to influence those around them, the ACLU’s Stanley says it is intended for “human-scale visibility,” not that of machines. “Perhaps they want to express themselves in their communities, to their neighbors, but they don't necessarily want to be logged into a nationwide database that’s accessible to police authorities,” Stanley says.

Weist says the system, at the very least, should be able to filter out images that do not contain license plate data and not make mistakes. “Any number of times is too many times, especially when it's finding stuff like what people are wearing or lawn signs,” Weist says.

“License plate recognition (LPR) technology supports public safety and community services, from helping to find abducted children and stolen vehicles to automating toll collection and lowering insurance premiums by mitigating insurance fraud,” Jeremiah Wheeler, the president of DRN, says in a statement.

Weist believes that, given the relatively small number of images showing bumper stickers compared to the large number of vehicles with them, Motorola Solutions may be attempting to filter out images containing bumper stickers or other text.

Wheeler did not respond to WIRED's questions about whether there are limits on what can be searched in license plate databases, why images of homes with lawn signs but no vehicles in sight appeared in search results, or if filters are used to reduce such images.

“DRNsights complies with all applicable laws and regulations,” Wheeler says. “The DRNsights tool allows authorized parties to access license plate information and associated vehicle information that is captured in public locations and visible to all. Access is restricted to customers with certain permissible purposes under the law, and those in breach have their access revoked.”

AI Everywhere

License-plate-recognition systems have flourished in recent years as cameras have become smaller and machine-learning algorithms have improved. These systems, such as DRN and rival Flock, mark part of a change in the way people are surveilled as they move around cities and neighborhoods.

Increasingly, CCTV cameras are being equipped with AI to monitor people’s movements and even detect their emotions. The systems have the potential to alert officials, who may not be able to constantly monitor CCTV footage, to real-world events. However, whether license plate recognition can reduce crime has been questioned.

“When government or private companies promote license plate readers, they make it sound like the technology is only looking for lawbreakers or people suspected of stealing a car or involved in an amber alert, but that’s just not how the technology works,” says Dave Maass, the director of investigations at civil liberties group the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “The technology collects everyone's data and stores that data often for immense periods of time.”

Over time, the technology may become more capable, too. Maass, who has long researched license-plate-recognition systems, says companies are now trying to do “vehicle fingerprinting,” where they determine the make, model, and year of the vehicle based on its shape and also determine if there’s damage to the vehicle. DRN’s product pages say one upcoming update will allow insurance companies to see if a car is being used for ride-sharing.

“The way that the country is set up was to protect citizens from government overreach, but there’s not a lot put in place to protect us from private actors who are engaged in business meant to make money,” Nicole McConlogue, an associate professor of law at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law, who has researched license-plate-surveillance systems and their potential for discrimination.

“The volume that they’re able to do this in is what makes it really troubling,” McConlogue says of vehicles moving around streets collecting images. “When you do that, you're carrying the incentives of the people that are collecting the data. But also, in the United States, you’re carrying with it the legacy of segregation and redlining, because that left a mark on the composition of neighborhoods.”

[artzzyb00-27]

{💙Secret Admirer💙}

Taken from your family and brought up in a place you loathed was something screwed up. Even more so when you're experimented on to explore your "potential" in their eyes. That's how it was for reader, taken from Earth with a portal and raised by the Krang in attempt to create a weapon for mass conquer and destruction was torture.

Even more so when she got to age limit of training and was sent to Earth after the attempted invasion to try again. Secretly lightly sabotaging her "families" efforts at opportunity. It became greater with the turtles appearing in her life. She found them interesting, being in the near vicinity made her feel like she wasn't abnormal due to having powers that her captors gave her.

Every time they showed up to decipher the Krang's plans, she'd leave clues blatantly out, but not so obvious for them to get suspicious. After some watching from afar, she could tell that the one baring katanas and wearing blue as his color palette was the one giving orders. Drawing interest towards him from reader.

A few instances and being at the same place at the same time without interacting turned into her rescuing his shell any chance she could. It became scary how easily he got distracted and got his ass kicked. So using the very thing that made her a villain in anyone else eyes, she started turning the tide in favor of the turtles.

At some point after continuing to aide the guys, they realized their success wasn't just luck anymore. Specifically Leo's luck. One time when fighting some Foot Soldiers, they managed to get the slip on Leo, literally, and had him falling of a building. Instead of landing hard and cracking his shell, he slowed down in the air and landed on his feet without injury. Another incident was an attempted ambush on the Foot Soldiers trying to steal supplies at the docks and they knocked Leo out getting him kidnapped.

When his brothers couldn't reach him in time, the truck with an unconscious Leo began to drive away before it was shot at the tire, causing it to flip and have Leo fly out. After returning to the lair the brothers had tried to look through nearby security cameras to find the source of the blast. No chance. Cameras were already altered as if the altercation never happened.

Which only confirmed their believes that someone was helping. How it occurred, they didn't know. Till this point they've never seen magic before, or other mutants with powers so at first they believed it to be technologically advanced assistance. Like anti-gravitational beam guns, or biotech from afar.

When Leo was almost killed by a Foot Soldier catching him off guard, stopping mid-air floating with a katana aimed for Leo's throat and sent flying the opposite direction, Raph reached his limit.

"We can't pretend like that didn't happen!"

"I know Raph, but what do you want to do? Call 'em up and say, 'Hey, thanks for saving me! Also who are you?'" Rolling his eyes and trying to walk away from the conversation. Of all people to not be complaining about the help, Leo was not expected to be the one to act like this. Typically he'd be confrontational right away if it was happening to any other of his brothers.

"Hypocrite." That made the leader freeze. With the other two siblings hold their breathes. "If it was Mikey, you'd be begging Don' to help you investigate whoever was causing this to happen. Why is it so easy for you to ignore your own safety." With a hard sigh, Leo turned around with his head up and eyes closed.

"Fine. Let's find out who this person is." After some discussing, they came up with a plan. Donnie had been developing holo-bots. Helpful for training, and in-combat fighting against enemies. Using an AI design page that he pirated(as if he was spending 30$) he was able to make the holo-bots look like foot soldiers.

After some further detail fining, they set up the "ambush" of Foot Soldiers on turtle leader. And like planned, mystery hero showed up. Or more accurately, mystery heroine. When one of the holo-bots "cut" Leo's leg and he made a convincing groan of pain, reader leapt down and activated her powers. Before blowing them up though, they dissipated back to their mini-portable computers and Leo's injury was revealed fake.

When she finally realized he was examining her with intensity, she thought he was judging her or planning on how to attack. So being reasonable, she turned to flea but ended up being surrounded by the others. At an attempt to try and keep running, Raph pinned her cloak to a metal pole with his Sai.

"Why do you always keep saving my brother? Why you so keen on keeping him safe? Who the hell even are you?" As Raph continued getting closer, reader began zoning out and have and anxiety attack. Until Mikey makes his brother back up and helps reader calm down.

"You okay there?" With a swift nod, Mikey smiled and she gave small one back.

'At least Mikey can get through to her. Better him than any of us three.' Leo thought internally.

"I'm really sorry for our brothers behavior. We don't have a lot of friends so he's really used to being abrasive like he is with us." Reader smiled and took the Sai of her cloak.

"It's alright, I understand. I'm the same way sometimes believe it or not." She said giving Raph his weapon back, receiving a quiet apology in return.

Still silent Leo continued observing her, trying to find any malice that could be hidden. But there wasn't. This girl was genuine with her actions.

"My name is Reader. I save Leo because one I know how much you need him, and two, I recognize a kind spirit when I see one. He's worthy of saving. As are all of you, but you're brother is quiet clumsy."

With embarrassment, Leo tries to ignore the smirks on his brother's faces and talk to the girl who had been saving his life.

"Thank you, I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't wanted to save me. I hope you continue to assist us in the future." With a slight nod she gave Donnie her contact information while continuing to explain.

"I came from Earth, but the Krang took me a long time ago. Experimented on me till I turned eighteen and was sent during the attempted invasion. I'm not helping them or the Foot though, I only pretend so they don't bother me. In turn I sabotage what I can and make sure I don't get caught." Admirable, cool, smart, powerful, kind-hearted. Smitten. Leo's smitten. Does he advance it? No, he'd make Raph leader first. But god, was she attractive on all his boxes.

"Hello? Are you there?" Reader asked concerned, oblivious to what was happening. Leo tried stumbling out an apology till Mikey's laughter interrupted him. Which gained him ten laps for later. "Alright, well I need to get going. Before the Foot Clan gets suspicious and all. Byyyyyyye!!"

Using her powers to fly-jump far away and continue racing through rooftops quickly, Leo just smiled at her using her purple essence to navigate her own way. Hearing a cough he turned to look at his brothers who were smirking in amusement.

"Gimme that contact Donnie. Donnie, Donnie! Give it to me!" He continued to yell chasing after his brother who was laughing(chortling) his ass off. Raph and Mikey followed after them laughing to.

After that, for a while she did keep in touch. Would hang out at night and brought pizza sometimes for them to eat but at one point she just disappeared. Obviously, it didn't make sense. Especially when trying to message her, the phone auto sent with a notice that the phone number was out of service. A couple months passed and the brother's assumed she was sent back to Dimension-X1416.(Get the reference?)

Leo was hit the hardest, especially with little to no fights during the time she was gone. The lair been more quiet and Leo couldn't handle it anymore, so he left the lair for a bit to clear his mind. Receiving looks from his family.

When on top of the Guggenheim Museum watching city lights from afar he sighed out.

"Something on your mind, turtle boy?" That voice. Turning his head in surprise, Reader stood their with an upgraded version of her old battle outfit. It was mixed with casual clothing like purple Jordans and fingerless gloves. Smiling hard Leo got up and raced over to her.

"Holy shit!" he yelled and swooped her into a hug and spun around a bit. With her laughing as well. Setting her down, he got a good look on her. She gained a few new scars but minor ones. One the went over her nose and another up her neck.

"What's with the look?"

"You were gone for months without telling us. What happened?" Shrugging she walked near the edge took a deep breathe. Leo went over to her just enough so people below wouldn't see him.

"Foot Clan moved to Japan to gain equipment for something. Since the fight was moving over, I had to leave. And I wanted to make sure they didn't grow suspicious of me being on the phone constantly, due to a certain cute mutant turtle with a blue bandana was texting me 'Good morning' messages." Getting embarrassed at her rant/scolding/flirty statement, Leo rubbed the back of his neck laughing softly.

"I mean why do you think I saved you? Yeah I wanted to help but, there's are multiple reasons why I mainly saved you compared to your brothers." Again getting more hot under his skin Leo smirked and looked up.

"Glad to know the magical sparks mutual huh?"

"Don't push it."

[sleepdepriveddoorknobs]

Now that I'm thinking about it. I wish hashtag didn't get a virtual assistant. I know that part of her power comes from her love of technology but I feel like after getting hacked from mandroid she'd want to take a step back from it. Or try to at least use fire walls or more- less hackable tech. Part of me really wished that she didn't get her alt mode by accident in that car wash or because they were getting rid of all that ghost tech in the beginning of the episode but instead, going to Dot for advice. I would have loved to see hashtag change from a ghost van to a Dot's ranger truck so she could accompany her mom and stuff and also learn to enjoy nature. You would think that Hashtag would want to have less internet all around her but nooooooo. Also like, i feel like it'd be dangerous to be so distracted driving with all of those pop ups from Hashtag's assistant. Just gonna be honest I was so mad they gave Hashtag an ai I had to step back and pause the episode.

[artisticdivasworld]

Top Trucking Industry Trends of 2024: Adapting to a New Era of Innovation and Challenges

The trucking industry is experiencing significant changes, driven by advancements in technology, economic pressures, and environmental concerns. One of the biggest trends is the adoption of electric trucks. Many companies are feeling the push to reduce carbon emissions and meet sustainability goals. Electric trucks, while expensive upfront, are being seen as long-term investments due to lower…

[whumpsmith-participates]

AI-less Whumptober 2024

Day 4 - Non-consensual body modifications

Tags/CW: cyborg, chronic pain, suicidal ideation, mild electrocution

Being a cyborg is never all that it's cracked up to be. If you think car maintenance and general health are complicated enough, imagine having to combine the two. First your oiling your joints and next you're taking your vitamin pills in a last-ditch effort to battle your depression without having to see a psychiatrist for it.

Sure, your robotic limbs enhance your strength, and you don't have to search for an oven mit to take your burning chicken out of the oven, but that doesn't change the fact that maybe, just maybe, you never fucking asked for any of these enhancements.

Alexei Aleksandrovitsj knew that feeling all too well.

He never asked. Even if it saved his life, he often wondered if that had really been worth it. The worst part was that it wasn't some unfortunate accident. It had all been orchestrated. A decision made for him by people he had never met in a meeting room he had never seen to force the hand of someone he didn't even talk to much.

Alexei's father was a brilliant man, a pioneer in his field. He was married to his job, and though he loved his son very much, he seemed to love his work even more. He gave Alexei and his mother everything, except his time. Alexei didn't mind too much though. He knew his father's work was important, and honestly he didn't know any better. Things got a bit lonely when his mother died, but he simply adjusted and moved on.

He didn't want to become a burden to his father, so he could continue to focus on his beloved work. After all, his work was changing people's lives for the better. Allowing people to get their lives back with advanced prosthetics, and even curing people from injuries that would've otherwise left them permanently disabled, or dead. Better yet, his father's work allowed Alexei to hire laundry services and a maid to keep up with the work that his mother used to do.

Life was good. Until it wasn't.

While Alexei was enjoying the little luxuries of having money to burn and no parents around to tell him what to do, his father was being pressured by the government to perform unethical experiments to see if his technology could be used to force people back to work when they would otherwise be dismissed. Or better yet, to enhance already healthy people, so they could create an army of powerful humans. An army of artificial super humans.

When Alexei's father refused to play along with their horrible plans, they didn't hesitate to target his beloved son. Orchestrating a tragic accident that should have killed him, and only allowing the poor man to save his son if he signed a contract that would give him no choice but to cooperate.

So without giving Alexei a single say, the left side of his body — which was mangled after a short, passionate, and toxic affair with a speeding truck — was mostly replaced with machinery; His eye, part of his lower jaw, his left arm and shoulder, a lung, a kidney, part of his heart, his hip joint and his entire leg.

On one hand, Alexei was touched that his father cared enough to throw all his believes out the window just to save his life. Yet on the other hand the human body wasn't designed to cooperate with that much machinery, so most days he often wished his father hadn't given in and saved his life. Especially since he had the gal to die just to help him escape.

He didn't like talking about it. He'd never talked much about his feeling in general. Suck up. Put up. Soldier on. That was the motto he repeated to himself as he tried to get through the day. What he told himself whenever he felt greedy for asking for a third plate of food, needing a lot of energy to keep his body running. The motto he paced his breathing to when his body was screaming in pain around all the foreign materials melded to his skin. And what he told others when they expressed worry about his mental state.

Suck up. Put up. Soldier on.

The first words he spoke when he woke up, and the last words he uttered before falling asleep. Playing on a mental loop as he dragged himself to his adoptive brother's workshop for maintenance, grateful for the help, yet dreading having to decline his suggestions for improvements.

Tyler McLagg was an intelligent and creative boy, but on bad days he was exhausting to be around. He resolved any issues with some quick tinkering, and sometimes his suggestions did actually improve Alexei's quality of life, but other times they were just...silly.

"What do you mean you don't wanna be able to shoot bullets out of your finger?"

"It means I don't vhant it."

"Alright, fine!" Tyler relented, throwing his blueprints on his other desk before rolling his chair back over to Alexei's half-disassembled arm. "It'd look super cool though..."

Alexei repeated his mantra in lieu of rolling his eyes.

"Just look at elbow. It slips."

"I think I know what the problem might be," Tyler said, pulling a pair of goggles over his eyes, making them look unnaturally large and bug-like, "there's not enough oil getting to this part, causing the metal to grind too much, which was the locking you complained about the other day and once it's ground down too much you end up slipping instead."

"Da."

"I can restore the grip a bit for now while I work on a long-time solution for the lubrication," Tyler said, "just gotta test for nerve conductivity..."

He grabbed a pen on a wire, and before Alexei could stop him he jabbed it into his arm. It was just a small little static shock...on what was essentially an exposed nerve.

In a reflex, Alexei grabbed Tyler's wrist with his good hand, glaring at him.

"...did you feel that?" Tyler asked.

"Da."

"Oookay, so no welding," Tyler said, carefully dislodging his wrist from Alexei's grip, "I'll use glue."

"Spaciba."

Tyler smiled, putting the pen away and grabbing some other supplies from a drawer. Alexei relaxed a bit, sitting back while Tyler tinkered on his elbow. The silence didn't last, though. It never did with Tyler.

"So...how are you otherwise?" he asked, "any other issues with your parts, or just in general?"

"The usual," Alexei said.

"Okay," Tyler slowly said, "your heart all good? You mentioned chest pains last time. Did you get those checked out."

"Unfortunately nothing wrong with heart," Alexei said.

"...unfortunately?" Tyler repeated.

Alexei looked back at his stupid big bug eyes and realised what he'd said.

"I meant fortunate," he said, "mistranslated."

"Oooh!" Tyler said, "yeah no, unfortunate is the opposite of fortunate. If you really meant to say unfortunate that means you wouldn't want to be....alive..."

Alexei resisted the urge to grimace as Tyler trailed off. At least he took those stupid goggles off, yet his eyes still had something bug-like. The way they glistened in the light as he peered at Alexei.

"Al...are you okay?" he asked.

"I mistranslated," Alexei insisted, "davai. If you finish fast we can get lunch. I'm hungry."

Tyler stared at him a bit too long for comfort, before thankfully putting his goggles back on and continuing his tinkering. After putting his arm back together he prodded him with that pen a bit more to make sure everything was connected properly, before making him do the usual stress tests.

Squeeze a ball, write some words, lift some light and delicate items without breaking them, lift some heavy items without breaking himself...it was a familiar routine, and a necessary one so his arm wouldn't unexpectedly give out on him.

"I'll figure out your elbow and tomorrow I'll take apart your leg for the usual checks and cleaning," Tyler said, "if you have time, of course."

"I have time," Alexei said.

"Great! See you at dinner then," Tyler said.

Alexei could only grunt in reply. Maintenance days weren't his favourite, but the frequent maintenance kept a lot of the usual pains at bay. At least his leg had less of a nerve issue than his arm, so it wouldn't hurt as much. And if it did...

Suck up. Put up. Soldier on.

Masterlist Main account

Alexei is Russian btw so he has a bit of an accent. He doesn't seem very fond of Tyler here, but I promise he'd die for his bro, and not just because he wants to die in general lol

[wigoutlet]

[yantisocial]

if you do subsystems could you make a 3-5 headmate large marvel cinematic universe subsys? if not, just one headmate!

This is gonna be so chaotic because I mayyyy or may not have mostly just included my favorite mcu characters UwU (and its mostly just basic info, due to the amount i'm writing. so...I lied. my self control is in shambles and i got really into this.)

{ I have included Paraphilias here since you didn’t request there to not be, but you can obv disregard anything in this that you don’t want 😊}

anyways, I hope you find these packs helpful!

BODY/GENERAL INFO

Birth Name: Myles Mangjeol

Age: 27

Collective Pronouns: he/they + ai/ais/aiself

Collective Name: Matchbox (Match), Cryo

(Cis)IDs: half-East Asian (South Korea), half-Caucasian (Germany), ocd, did, npd, avpd

TransIDs: genderflux, transMasc, transKind, permaWindblownHair, 

Discomforts/Triggers: food stands/trucks

Appearance:

ALTER 1:

(I went a little off the rails for this one, sorry lol. They came to me in a vision and HAD to be included here.)

Name(s): Match, Lighter, Pyro, Burne

Nickname(s): Pie, Bur

General Description: Pyro is a civilian who lives in NYC near Stark Tower, and has looked up to Tony Stark for years. They are a pyromaniac but are not nonconsensually violent (aka they don’t start fights, they finish them, lol). They’re trained in self defense and enjoy taekwondo, which he has earned their blue belt in. burn also knows how to street fight, but no longer does so unless necessary. however, when they were 16-18 they were quite a thug and did do some petty crimes, such as theft. A lot of times they miss that life. They tend to scrape by in life, are a survivalist at its core, and generally live paycheck to paycheck. Nonetheless they have a brilliant mind and love to tinker with and make all sorts of gadgets (mostly ones that include fire in some way lol).

Age: 25

Pronouns: he/it/burn/they/she ; prefers masculine or neutral terms

Interests: heroes, cooking, eating, burning things, street fighting, taekwondo, rapping

Discomforts/Triggers: hates being called anything like “kid” or kiddo, or being referred to as a girl/woman, even when using she/her pronouns ; Cynophobic (fear of dogs), Haphephobic (fear of being touched), Scoptophobic (fear of being stared at), Agoraphobic (fear of crowds and/or open/public spaces)

(Cis)IDs: Pyromaniac, Abrosexual, Asexual-spec, Partially Blind, Puerterican-American, Mutant (moderate strength enhancement)

TransIDs: transArsonist, permaBurned, permaScarredHands, permaScarredFace, transPyromancer, transReciprosexual, permaBloodyNose, transCriminal, transVillain, permaRedIrises

Role (if any): Host ; Has been around since the body was 12

Emoji and/or Proxy Tag: 🫥❤️‍🔥 or ~ℼ or 🥧🔥

Source Talk (if applicable): yes

Paras: Sadomasochism (hurting others & being hurt), Agonophilia (consensual noncon), Odaxelagnia (biting/being bitten), Pyrophilia (fire)

Appearance: 

Extra: relates HEAVILY to the songs “Redemption” by Poor Man’s Poison, “Saint Bernard” by Lincoln, “Coffee” by Jack Stauber, and “BURN IN HELL” by Red Leather. They really can't see w/o their glasses/contacts but often takes them off and leave them at home for sensory reasons

ALTER 2:

Name(s): Anthony Stark

Nickname(s): Tony

General Description: Tony does not consider himself to be Iron Man in any way, just a tech genius. He has no interest in heroism, but loves creating new technology. He does really like Iron Man though.

Age: 32

Pronouns: he/it/tech

Interests: tech, computers, AI, fidget toys (tech likes the keyboard ones best), inventing

Discomforts/Triggers: dislikes intimacy and is a self-proclaimed “playboy” due to this

(Cis)IDs: cishet man, aromantic-spec, white, partially deaf in one ear

TransIDs: transSocial, transBisexual, transRich

Role (if any): emotional protector

Emoji and/or Proxy Tag: 🤖🛠️ or --T.Stark

Source Talk (if applicable): yes

Paras: Hybristophilia (Criminals), Mazophilia (breasts)

Appearance: 

Extra: enjoys music by Red Leather, Hollywood Undead, Paramore and Saint Motel

ALTER 3:

Name(s): Winter Soldier, J.B.

Nickname(s): Jim, Wint, Soldier

General Description: J.B. is cold, closed off, and generally feels very few emotions, though not zero. He dislikes talking to others, including those in his system, but if its what needed to get the job done, he’ll do it. He split very recently due to the system being overworked and underslept. He doesn’t feel hunger, so the others have to remind him to eat. He has an insanely high pain tolerance.

Age: 26

Pronouns: he/him

Interests: drumming, fighting, indie and punk rock music (he REALLY likes the songs "Risk" by Mega Mango, “Sleepwalk” by Forrest Day, and “Feel Better” by Penelope Scott, but you’d have better luck pulling his teeth than getting him to admit he likes anything other than violence lmao), dark chocolate, deadly sweet coffee

Discomforts/Triggers: people in general ; he’s incredibly antisocial

(Cis)IDs: white, bisexual, ASPD, Autistic

Role (if any): Cassmate

Emoji and/or Proxy Tag: [JB] or --WS

Source Talk (if applicable): no.

Paras: Haematophilia (blood)

Appearance:

Extra: god he’s so emo. Head in hands my dude. Get this man a coffee (specifically the starbucks peppermint mocha or espresso con panna) and a band tee with the sleeves cut off STAT. he also really likes fall weather and watching the leaves fall from the trees to relax. He hates mint but loves peppermint. He laughs at pain (both his own and others’) because he doesn’t realize it…actually hurts…

ALTER 4:

Name(s): Loki Laufeyson

General Description: agent of chaos, bastard king. Loves to lie and is scary smart. He’s kinda chill though, ngl. WILL cover up a murder for you if you ask. Not that you would ask. probably.

Age: 1,082

Pronouns: any, enjoys when they’re switched up

Interests: stirring the pot (causing drama), cheesy drama shows like Love Island and The Bachelor/-ette

Discomforts/Triggers: ornithophobic (fear of birds), haphephobia (fear of/disgust from touch) and honestly, he just really doesn’t like the hulk

(Cis)IDs: bisexual, genderfuck, npd, bpd, aspd

TransIDs: nullspecies, nullrace, nullethnicity, nullgender

Role (if any): no one knows, he just exists to be a bastard i think

Emoji and/or Proxy Tag: 💎👑 or 😏💸 or -L.

Source Talk (if applicable): not unless you’re pretty close

Paras: there’s gotta be some sort of asguardian word for “mortal-liker,” right…?

Appearance:

Extra: POINTS AT HER. 🫵 WILL WOOD AND MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE ENJOYER...that's all thank you.

[connectionterminated13]

I think one of cub au Cassie's goals post ruin, Is understanding remnant/ Supernatural stuff and the way it interacts with technology and AI.

Michael is very hesitant about this of course but Cassie just trucks along. She wants to find a way to harness the power of remnant and the Spirit without having to HURT Anyone.