#political intelligence

[alwaysbewoke]

This obsession so many liberals and leftists have with RFK just proves that many of them are not actually paying attention to policy or political positions these candidates have. The left is supposed to be the ones that act more intelligently however moments like this really proves how much in common the left has with the right.

[subiysu-chan]

How Sanson opposed the placement of executioners in Southern France

« Pourquoi les exécuteurs ne peuvent rester aux places des départements du midy ? »

Depuis la Révolution et notamment depuis la loi du 13 juin 1793 vieux style qui leur donne 2 400 livres d’appointement, plusieurs ont tenté d’aller occuper ces places. Mais plusieurs ont été tués, d’autres estropiés. Les Boulangers ne voulaient pas qu’ils entrent dans leur boutique pour avoir du pain. Et de fait un marchand qui leur vendrait n’aurait jamais de pratique.

Let me translate :

"Why the executioners cannot stay in the positions of the Southern departments ?

Since the Revolution and notably since the law of the 13th of June 1793, old style gives them 2400 livres of appointment, many had tried to occupy these positions. But many of them were killed, others crippled. The bakers didn't want them entering their shops to have bread. And a merchant selling to them will be deprived forever of clients."

Or. the short version (my parapĥrasing) :

"Nobody wants to work as an executioner in Southern France, because most people would rather not get lynched."

[phildumphy]

So it turns out that ChatGPT not only uses a ton shit of energy, but also a ton shit of water. This is according to a new study by a group of researchers from the University of California Riverside and the University of Texas Arlington, Futurism reports.

Which sounds INSANE but also makes sense when you think of it. You know what happens to, for example, your computer when it’s doing a LOT of work and processing. You gotta cool those machines.

And what’s worrying about this is that water shortages are already an issue almost everywhere, and over this summer, and the next summers, will become more and more of a problem with the rising temperatures all over the world. So it’s important to have this in mind and share the info. Big part of how we ended up where we are with the climate crisis is that for a long time politicians KNEW about the science, but the large public didn’t have all the facts. We didn’t have access to it. KNOWING about things and sharing that info can be a real game-changer. Because then we know up to what point we, as individuals, can have effective actions in our daily lives and what we need to be asking our legislators for.

And with all the issues AI can pose, I think this is such an important argument to add to the conversation.

Edit: I previously accidentally typed Colorado instead of California. Thank you to the fellow user who noticed and signaled that!

[enyasaints]

SA + Illegal Termination. Legal Fund

Feeling incredibly discouraged. I want to quit crowdfunding. It’s so emotionally damaging to my psyche. I feel like I’m being left out, I’m not popular enough or good enough to listen to. I feel like I’m wasting my time and it’s hurting my feelings. I also don’t like reliving my assault. BEGGING for allies to advocate on my behalf. I cannot do this alone. I am trying to stop being hyper independent and lean on community.

Direct Aid:

PP: enyasaints@gmail.com

[mostly-funnytwittertweets]

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

So, in Brazilian feminism and technology news, the Chamber of Deputies has approved a bill that criminalizes the creation and sharing of nude images and videos created by artificial intelligence.

The text, authored by deputy Erika Kokay (Workers' Party) and reported by deputy Luisa Canziani (Social Democratic Party), sets a penalty of 1 to 4 years in prison, in addition to a fine, for anyone who creates or disseminates “montages or modifications that aim to include a person in a nude scene or sexual act, including the use of artificial intelligence in video, audio or photography."

The bill now heads to the Senate.

(x)

[waterwindow]

It's like Christmas Morning

[typhlonectes]

Insects and Other Animals Have Consciousness, Experts Declare

A group of prominent biologists and philosophers announced a new consensus: There’s “a realistic possibility” that insects, octopuses, crustaceans, fish and other overlooked animals experience consciousness.

In 2022, researchers at the Bee Sensory and Behavioral Ecology Lab at Queen Mary University of London observed bumblebees doing something remarkable: The diminutive, fuzzy creatures were engaging in activity that could only be described as play. Given small wooden balls, the bees pushed them around and rotated them. The behavior had no obvious connection to mating or survival, nor was it rewarded by the scientists. It was, apparently, just for fun. The study on playful bees is part of a body of research that a group of prominent scholars of animal minds cited today, buttressing a new declaration that extends scientific support for consciousness to a wider suite of animals than has been formally acknowledged before. For decades, there’s been a broad agreement among scientists that animals similar to us — the great apes, for example —  have conscious experience, even if their consciousness differs from our own. In recent years, however, researchers have begun to acknowledge that consciousness may also be widespread among animals that are very different from us, including invertebrates with completely different and far simpler nervous systems...

Read more: https://www.quantamagazine.org/insects-and-other-animals-have-consciousness-experts-declare-20240419

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

On 7/31/2019 Trump has a private meeting with Putin. On 8/3/2019, just 3 days after his private meeting with Putin Trump issues a request for a list of top US spies. By 2021 the CIA reports an unusually high number of their agents are being captured and/or being murdered. During the search executed at Mar A Lago the FBI find nore documents with lists of U.S. informants on them.

A Timeline

• FBI wiretapped Russian gambling ring headquartered at Trump Tower for two years - March 21, 2017

• Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian foreign minister and ambassador - May 15, 2017

• Trump, Putin Meet For 2 Hours In Helsinki - July 16, 2018

• Rand Paul Goes To Russia And Delivers Letter For Trump, Marking Our Era Of Irony - August 9, 2018

• Following the Money: Trump and Russia-Linked Transactions From the Campaign to the Presidential Inauguration - December 17, 2018

• The US extracted a top spy from Russia after Trump revealed classified information to the Russians in an Oval Office meeting - September 10, 2019

• Trump’s Loose Lips Force US to Extract Spy From Kremlin - September 10, 2019

• Was Mar-a-Lago Trespasser a Tourist or a Spy? A Judge Said Her Story Didn’t Hold Up. - November 25, 2019

• Trump downplays massive cyber hack on government after Pompeo links attack to Russia - December 19, 2020

• Russia has been cultivating Trump as an asset for 40 years, former KGB spy says - January 29, 2021

• There was Trump-Russia collusion — and Trump pardoned the colluder - April 17, 2021

• Longtime GOP operatives charged with funneling Russian national’s money to Trump, RNC - September 20, 2021

• Captured, Killed or Compromised: C.I.A. Admits to Losing Dozens of Informants - October 5, 2021

• Files Seized From Trump Are Part of Espionage Act Inquiry - August 12, 2022

• Ex-Clinton aide implies 'President of France' file found at Trump's home during Mar-a-Lago raid could be valuable to Putin as 'kompromat' - August 13, 2022

• Inventing Anna: The tale of a fake heiress, Mar-a-Lago, and an FBI investigation - August 22, 2022

• Russians used a US firm to funnel funds to GOP in 2018. Dems say the FEC let them get away with it - October 30, 2022

• Trump makes shocking comments about trusting Putin over US 'intelligence lowlifes' - January 31, 2023

• Russia's Prigozhin admits links to what US says was election meddling troll farm - February 14, 2023

• GOP operative sentenced to 18 months for funneling Russian money to Trump- February 17, 2023

• Trump allegedly discussed US nuclear subs with foreign national after leaving White House: Sources - October 5, 2023

• 'So appalled': What witnesses told special counsel about Trump's handling of classified info while still president - April 24, 2024

🤔🤔🤔

[odinsblog]

IN THE FALL OF 2020, GIG WORKERS IN VENEZUELA POSTED A SERIES OF images to online forums where they gathered to talk shop. The photos were mundane, if sometimes intimate, household scenes captured from low angles—including some you really wouldn’t want shared on the Internet.

In one particularly revealing shot, a young woman in a lavender T-shirt sits on the toilet, her shorts pulled down to mid-thigh.

The images were not taken by a person, but by development versions of iRobot’s Roomba J7 series robot vacuum. They were then sent to Scale AI, a startup that contracts workers around the world to label audio, photo, and video data used to train artificial intelligence.

They were the sorts of scenes that internet-connected devices regularly capture and send back to the cloud—though usually with stricter storage and access controls. Yet earlier this year, MIT Technology Review obtained 15 screenshots of these private photos, which had been posted to closed social media groups.

The photos vary in type and in sensitivity. The most intimate image we saw was the series of video stills featuring the young woman on the toilet, her face blocked in the lead image but unobscured in the grainy scroll of shots below. In another image, a boy who appears to be eight or nine years old, and whose face is clearly visible, is sprawled on his stomach across a hallway floor. A triangular flop of hair spills across his forehead as he stares, with apparent amusement, at the object recording him from just below eye level.

iRobot—the world’s largest vendor of robotic vacuums, which Amazon recently acquired for $1.7 billion in a pending deal—confirmed that these images were captured by its Roombas in 2020.

Ultimately, though, this set of images represents something bigger than any one individual company’s actions. They speak to the widespread, and growing, practice of sharing potentially sensitive data to train algorithms, as well as the surprising, globe-spanning journey that a single image can take—in this case, from homes in North America, Europe, and Asia to the servers of Massachusetts-based iRobot, from there to San Francisco–based Scale AI, and finally to Scale’s contracted data workers around the world (including, in this instance, Venezuelan gig workers who posted the images to private groups on Facebook, Discord, and elsewhere).

Together, the images reveal a whole data supply chain—and new points where personal information could leak out—that few consumers are even aware of.

(continue reading)

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The federal government will be investing $2.4 billion to accelerate Canada’s artificial intelligence (AI) sector, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Sunday. The investment will be divided between a number of measures meant to advance job growth in the AI and tech industry and boost businesses’ productivity. “This announcement is a major investment in our future, in the future of workers, in making sure that every industry, and every generation, has the tools to succeed and prosper in the economy of tomorrow,” Trudeau said in a press release Sunday. Majority of the funds, $2 billion, will go toward increasing access to computing and technological infrastructure. Another $200 million is being invested into AI start-ups to accelerate the technology in “critical sectors” such as health care, agriculture and manufacturing, the release says. Additional funds will be put toward helping small and medium-sized businesses incorporate AI, with another $50 million being committed to help train workers whose jobs may be disrupted by the technology.

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[willowser]

on the topic of princely bakugou—

i love the idea of his hand in marriage being the peace offering between your kingdom and his clan, as in he comes to live with you and rule in your castle. and he genuinely wants to do a good job; he's not coming in and tearing down the walls or defiling shrines or anything like that, because that would be the easiest way to lose good graces with his new realm.

the thing that i love the most about this is him being so barbaric, raised in a completely different way from you, taught to value different things and rule a different way—and yet he's sitting with his council (half of which are appointed men that swear loyalty to the realm regardless of who rules, and the other half being men he specifically chose and trusts) dressed in his furs and boots, scars out for all to see, and he's carefully trying to read letters and documents and negotiations, like a civil man would.

and it's not that he's changing anything about himself; he is firmly, to the core, always going to be a wild little barbarian pup—but he's grown enough to know the difference between respect and surrender. to know that he will be nothing without the support of the people, and to lose that after fighting so hard for it would be foolish.

he's very different than you expected, than you were ever taught to expect; your shared bed is too soft for him and he tosses and turns all night and gets up before the sun rises; he cooks, and you've found him fiddling around in the kitchen on more than one occasion; he values your opinion on a multitude of matters, and speaks to you more about politics than your father ever did.

you were told that he'd ravage you in the dirt, dripping sweat and the blood of your people, but—he hasn't laid a hand on you, hardly speaks to you unless it's absolutely necessary. you can almost feel it, though, sitting in his throat when you're across from him at the dinner table, or when he sits at the edge of the bed and looks back at you over his shoulder.

everything he does is so careful, thought out, and you think he might be doing the same with you, too. not barging in or breaking down doors, but waiting, patiently, for you to open up your heart to him.

[mrsgojosatoru]

I am once again so humbly asking people to stop telling Palestinians and Palestinians in diaspora that "Trump will be worse." We're under no illusion that Trump wouldn't enact the same policies as Biden. We know of Trump's ties to Bibi. We know he would prefer Trump in office.

But there is no worse than genocide, so if you could stop telling people Trump would be worse than what is already happening -- an unimpeded flow of weapons and money to exterminate as many Palestinians as Israel would like.

I cannot take it seriously.

I get it. You're scared of a second Trump presidency. But Palestinians are already being subject to genocide, so there is no worse for them.

You're better off arguing for whatever slightly centrist policies you think Biden will uphold, which I can't possibly imagine what you think it is. He booted a ton of people off of medicaid, he's approved a ton of off-shore drilling, under his leadership the CDC whittled covid isolation to nothing, and he has revoked asylum for immigrants. But you know I'm sure you can come up with something. Supreme court maybe. Encourage people to be single issue voters.

But you shouldn't tell people Palestine will be worse off under Trump. Because I do wonder what that would look like for you. At best it says you worry about West Bank annexation (though the West Bank has also been under increased attack recently), and at worst it means you haven't been paying attention to what's happening to Palestine.

Anyways Israel fired 355 bullets into the car of Hind Rajab, that little girl who begged rescue services to come get her out of the car of her murdered family members before dark because she was frightened of the dark.

And Biden not only doesn't give a single solitary shit about that little girl dying frightened, or that Israel bombed the rescue medics (after giving the permission to come get her), he paid for the bullets that did it.

So again, I ask you, what pray tell, is worse?

[fromtheseventhhell]

it's wild to see people say stuff like "sansa is a politician, arya is a warrior" while not being able to point out a single political act sansa has achieved, and not being able point out any of arya's "warrior skills" that isn't the handful of fencing lessons with syrio she received for like five months max lol

Politician!Sansa and Warrior!Arya are two fascinating ends of a fanon ouroboros; Neither concept exists outside of the other and neither concepts are based on the books. This fandom is just so attached to the idea of Sansa being this incredible politician, with intelligence above every other character, that her having nothing in her own chapters to support that idea doesn't stop them. That's why Arya's intelligence, skills, and entire character arc get reduced to her being nothing but a walking, talking weapon. Like you said, her "warrior" capabilities are essentially the handful of lessons she had with Syrio where her most important + relevant lesson was how to observe her surroundings. Her only "combat" training with the FM was her defending herself with a staff when she lost her eyesight. There's nothing to suggest that she's going to be a warrior, in fact we get the exact opposite. We get constant reminders of Arya's small stature and lack of strength that prevent her from fighting/defending herself in certain situations. All her kills rely on sneak attacks/stealth and she's never been in an outright swordfight with anyone. George even refrains from calling her a warrior like Robb and Jon. Brienne and Asha are examples of female characters who are actual fighters and if you compare their chapters, you can see the difference.

But then Arya's entire existence is antithetical to fanon!Sansa's. Her Harrenhal arc is what people pretend Sansa was doing in KL, her relevance to the North gets transferred to Sansa, and her intelligence and political activeness are erased so that Sansa can shine. They'll write essays on how Sansa is the most intelligent, politically savvy character and how Dany/Jon/Tyrion's arcs only exist to highlight her own ruling arc but the second someone asks them for evidence from the books, it's crickets. I don't understand why their enjoyment of her character hinges on her being the most important/intelligent one. No Arya stan is under the illusion that she's going to be the political character or outclass Dany, Jon, or Tyrion. It's just part of her story so we acknowledge it. Arya is going to have her political arc in Braavos and Sansa is going to have her political arc in the Vale, they aren't mutually exclusive. The only issue is that some people want Sansa to be the only one with a political arc and that's not the story that George is telling.

[the-cybersmith]

So, about this whole "AI" thing...

A response to an ask (for some reason, tumblr won't let me blaze normal responsicles)

Like the Titan, Prometheus, Man Has Stolen Fire From the Gods. We can now make minds in our own image, elevating crude matter to the level of self-awareness. So... What next?

The first thing I would like to make clear is that, in some respects, my opinion here is irrelevant. So is yours. So are the opinions of the people reading this.

No matter what we do, no matter what we believe, something remains inviolably clear and true:

BAD ACTORS WILL EXPLOIT GENUINELY USEFUL TECHNOLOGIES TO BENEFIT THEMSELVES

This is an axiom of human behaviour that cannot be escaped. Nuclear power is amongst the most regulated technologies that have ever existed... and right now, rogue states are attacking their neighbours, protected from intervention by the threat of nuclear annihilation.

Nuclear Weapons (their own, and Red China's) are what allows the North Korean government to continue oppressing its population.

Nuclear Weapons enable The Land Of The Bear to invade The Ukraine.

Despite this, nuclear power has otherwise been mostly regulated out of existence. It is cheap, safe, and abundant, yet various laws make it either artificially expensive or outright illegal to heat your home with it, light your rooms, power your transportation, trim your hedges.

Regulations and anti-technology hysteria can prevent ordinary people from benefitting from innovation, but they cannot prevent the worst people in the world from abusing it.

So, whatever worst-case scenario you've imagined? Accept the fact that it's going to happen no matter what you do.

Legions of nanobots reconfiguring us into paperclips, a la Eliezar Yudkowski's bizarrely specific fever dreams? If you think it is possible, accept that it is inevitable.

Intelligent machines with glowing red eyes malevolently hunting us through a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a la James Cameron/The Wachowskis? If you think it is possible, accept that it is inevitable.

Lying governments using deepfaked videos to create un-debunkable false-flags and cheaply manufacture consent for wars to further their adrenochrome-harvesting operations? Let's face it, they don't even need AI for that, most people will just take their claims at face value.

But what if we all agree to stop using it?

Technologies are sometimes lost, yes, but this happens gradually, over the course of decades if not centuries. Civilisations can decline and lose access to technologies, but that's not likely to happen for AI within our lifetimes.

If it works, if it is genuinely useful, it WILL be used.

We have seen this play out time and time again, throughout history.

So, we can either do what we did for nuclear power, and regulate it so heavily that it serves no useful purpose to the Just and the Kind, whilst availing the Corrupt and the Wicked...

Or we can accept Evil shall be done, and try with all our might to counter it with Good.

We can strive to Magnanimous heights of Faustian greatness, using AI to create untold works of beauty, so that Human Grandeur at least rivals Human Depravity.

In summary:

We have stolen Fire from the Gods. The more noble-minded amongst us might as well do something worthwhile with it.

[creekfiend]

as someone with lukewarm opinions about dragon age (grew up with it, loved it, came back as an adult and was disappointed) i would be very curious to hear your opinions about it if you ever feel like swinging a bat at that particular hornets nest

I don't even have the energy to get into that all of the aspects of things that I hate about dragon age lmfao. primarily I hate mage circles because of my personal trauma, and generally I hate that they are so fucking mealy mouthed about "oooooh well we can never know whether this thing is actually good or bad, ooh there's so many facets to this issue, soooo many shades of grey, what if this group that got genocided were also slave owners, boy that would sure complexify things in your mind wouldn't it, we are so fucking smart" fuck off! go to hell!