#primitive artificial intelligence

[probablyasocialecologist]

Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein is not, of course, an example of the imperial gothic but instead a still relevant anti-Enlightenment fable. If a novel ever illustrated how the sleep of reason begets monsters, it is Shelley’s story of how a scientist’s urge to create artificial life leads to utter destruction. However, in Universal Studios’s 1931 Frankenstein, the many pertinent philosophical issues that the original gothic novel explores reshape into thinly veiled imperial gothic through the introduction of a eugenic and highly racialised discourse that changes the monster from a rightfully vengeful and eminently intelligent being into an atavistic criminal. In its Hollywood guise, the monster is not a tragic, lonesome and then understandably vengeful product of unethical science but instead a reincarnation of the degenerate criminal whose brain the monster is provided with in the film. This takes on a peculiarly American dynamics in the movie. As Elizabeth Young suggests in Black Frankenstein: The Making of an American Metaphor (2008), a connection between the monster and the supposedly primitive black American was made as early as during the immediate post-Civil War period when ‘the “hideous progeny” of Shelley’s novel was symbolically reborn in racist parody as the symbol of the miscegenated nation’. An important reference to American Reconstruction history is also the ending of the movie. Instead of escaping to the North Pole, as is the case in Shelley’s novel, the monster is exorcised by what amounts to a lynch mob. In Frankenstein the movie, as in the American South, justice is done by the people on the spot; by ‘lynch law’. The violation of the sanctified space and body of Frankenstein’s fiancée, Elizabeth, as much as the accidental drowning of the little girl, justifies this public rage in the eyes of the movie audience. This is the end that comes to those who dare violate the purity of white women, or oppose the progress of modernity in any form, be they black Americans in the South, Native Americans on the reservations or unruly natives in the Philippines. Like so many lynching victims, Frankenstein dies in flames. In this way, the discursive conditions that informed the British colonial enterprise as well as the racism that structured black and white relations in the US permeate Frankenstein. The childlike and aggressive monster is an example of the kind of human category that can never ‘possess the intelligence to make a rational choice of political allegiance’, as Lansing put it. In addition to this, the audience is also free to imagine an alternative narrative in which Fritz never drops the jar with the ‘normal’ brain to the floor. It is not science or faith in modernity that Frankenstein fears, it is atavism. The resolution to the crisis that atavism constitutes is the sad but necessary violence of the lynch mob. When the monster has been burned, the movie can end with the happy union of the film’s central white couple.

Johan Anders Höglund, The American Imperial Gothic: Popular Culture, Empire, Violence

[the-changeling-manor]

Genesis

2024. Yes, it’s 2024. It’s only 2024. The future of humanity will be greatly influenced by this decade, both politically and culturally. But a subject that splits the opinions of all, transcending politics and culture, is defined in two words: artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence is currently in its infancy.

The ia coupled with chronivac technology could offer infinite possibilities to the users of the software, which is so known to transformation lovers, but yet so impossible to reach. Imagine the chronivac capable of thinking on its own to interpret a prompt, imagine the chronivac capable of analyzing the world around it simply by wandering on the networks, and imagine the chronivac capable of satisfying your desires just with a photo.

It’s just a Dream. Imagination. Unreal.

Isn’t that right? Well.... Don’t be so sure.

——————————————————————

Think about this guy. He’s like you and me. I even think he's one of you who reads these words. Brown hair, thirty years old, young gay, it’s a kind of "mister everyone" in this community of male transformations, which besides will not even be named or represented by a photo, since I know that this guy is you. 

Indeed, every night, he connects on tumblr and reads these stories where people change to become the ones they dream of being, whether they are serious or only in the context of fantasy.

He reads stories, more or less exciting, sometimes redundant because full of clichés, the story you read is also a mountain of clichés, I guess. This ordinary guy is enjoying this moment. He is happy, even though he knows he will never be able to live it.

He is deeply sad.

He receives a notification. Someone who sends him a message on tumblr precisely. He thought it was still one of those bots that redirected to adult sites. Yeah you know, those same fake accounts that pollute youtube with their nude women photos. A real hell.

But this one was different. It had a profile picture of a Greek statue and a curiously long name. His message was accompanied only by a link, a link that immediately caught the attention of our young man since he could read the term “chronivac”.

There was little hope that it was not a dream, or his imagination, or unreal. But reality dominated his thinking. He opened the link 

“Chronivac, Latest Edition” was displayed in the middle of his screen. There was a drop-down menu with different pages on the website. One of them was called “Targets”. Clicking on it, he came across a world map, similar to Google Map but more sober. The site zoomed in on her house before displaying her name at its exact location. Not just her name. The names of her family members were there. Also those of the neighbors. And even of the inhabitants of the neighborhood!

Hope overcame reason. He wanted to believe it. He believed in one of those stories he could read on Tumblr. He pressed his name, and then— This is what he has always dreamed of. An extremely complete interface displaying all its physical or mental characteristics… There were even different options such as the ability to change reality or even use prompts instead of checking elements for transformations.

It was fantastic. He discovered the different menus and saw the image reader option as what the gpt chat could do. Suddenly, he had an idea. He recorded an image of a sexy guy that he followed on twitter and instagram. He added a prompt «Give me the identical physique of the man in the photo, and ONLY his physique». For the rest, he wanted something different. He did not want to become this man, he only wanted his body to serve as the basis for his new life.

For his mind, he deliberately clicked on the «Stupid jock» option, not wanting to  click on ten thousand different options to forge a new personality. Finally, to better change the reality, he launched a second prompt: "I will become a heterosexual Hispanic sportsman, completely dominated by primitive and conservative thoughts. The chronivac will disappear from my life and I will never have access to it again, no matter what.”

This last part could have been replaced by the possibility of making the transformation permanent, but he did not want it. He liked these cliche stories where the protagonist was forced to stay in this new life, a real victim.

His excitement made him want to get through this. He voluntarily locked himself in there. He fell victim to his fantasies. And he loved it. Not clicking on the permanent option would torture him for the rest of his life, leaving him the hope of one day being able to return, even if the prompt made it impossible.

He wanted to explode with joy. He clicked on one last “Adapt Reality” option before pressing "save".

A flash of light blinded him for a few moments. When his body stabilized, he found himself in a basement with sports equipment. "Felipe" he whispered with a Spanish accent. The little voice in his head had just been replaced, he no longer spoke his original language. An uncontrollable desire led him to live his new life as Felipe.

He now had the body of a god. He was incredibly well carved... neither too big nor fat. He measured 1.80m for 85kg. His beautiful pecs bounced, making him laugh. A long stupid laugh that let his intellect disappear, replaced by knowledge about bodybuilding, women and alcohol.

He had little hairs, apparently this gymbro body liked to shave... except under the armpits. He raised his arm to feel this tuft of black and musky hairs... sweat. Yes, it was normal, Felipe was doing his exercises. His whole body was covered in sweat.

Because of the sweat, his underwear was even tighter against his cock. His new penis was now circumcised, just a religious tradition. This cock had met many women in bed.

He also remembered that two friends had to join him for his bodybuilding session, and after that they were going to watch a football match. A good life well stereotyped for an athlete as stupid as Felipe.

He was now a gymbro like the others.

His mind was trapped inside Felipe, inside him, but he was so happy to have fulfilled his fantasy.

It was a dream, the imagination, the unreal come true.

——————————————————————

Please forgive me for the mistakes, I am not fluent in English!

It was a first story, based on the most common clichés in order to do something a little different.

The next stories will be shorter, it was only for the beginning.

I am open to all requests, do not hesitate to offer me images with the source if possible!

The images of the new Felipe come from this X account: @Mariosalvadr

[tofu83]

What men bred for.

2. Guards

The alien masters never imagined that there are such versatile and easy-to-tame highly intelligent animals in the universe. Well, compared to the masters, the people on earth are actually inferior in intelligence.

The masters' scientists originally only developed breeds for military use, carefully selecting suitable genes so that the humans bred would be strong, aggressive, but united and obedient male individuals.

However, with military success, public opinion began to demand the development of breeds that could also be used by civilians, so breeds that were smaller, more independent, but still highly obedient to their owners were developed. They were also implanted with nanobots when they were young adults, so that their bodies could better meet the needs of their owners. At the same time, control helmets are also installed. Of course, they absolutely obey their owners, but they still need consciousness control to prevent them from attacking each other.

They are kept by many owners as pets and guards, just like humans kept dogs in the past. They take pride in pleasing and being appreciated by their owners, who can make them very excited and proud just by touching their bodies. If they perform outstandingly, such as helping their master fight off robbers or thieves, or assisting in hunting, completing various daily tasks, etc., their master will upgrade their bodies as a more glorious reward.

Master’s scientists have also discovered that when the physical parts of human males of this breed are covered in tight rubber and artificial leather, they will be extremely excited and even fall into a euphoric state, which is only seen during the mating period of primitive species.

Scientists are still unable to explain the exact reason why male humans have physiological reactions to rubber and leather, but they have been widely used commercially to improve the maneuverability and work performance of human guards.

In addition, a new type of guards that first covers the whole male body in a rubber bodysuit , then strengthens the body with nanotechnology, and finally covers it with armor has been put into production. The consciousness of these guards is extremely pleasurable, and their bodies are controlled like puppets by microcomputers implanted in the back of their necks. They will soon be assigned to law enforcement agencies everywhere to protect, serve, and obey forever.

[kelnexia]

New character reveal!

This is actually an old character I've had for a while but just didn't like the previous design of... Thankfully I was able to score an trade with @hdra77 .

1000CE is an old militaristic ancestor of the iterators, created before the discovery of void fluid, and when the field of bio-engineering was still in it's earlier phases. More lore is below the cut...

1000 Crimson Embers is not a true iterator – instead being an old militaristic ancestor. She was originally built in a time of war just before the discovery of void fluid. She was one of the first artificial intelligence to use a combination of both biological and mechanical systems. Although the technology used in her creation was considerably more primitive than what’s found in the iterators we know and love today. But despite the difference in technology – a lot of the basic concepts and functionality in her design remains largely the same;

The layout of her structure was still fairly large, although not nearly as big as an iterator, and was built as an underground bunker. But the main similarity was how her mind was constructed… Similarly to how iterators in my head cannon have their personalty core and spiritual anchor located within their puppet – 1000 Crimson Embers has a standard brain and supporting set of organs acting as her center of consciousness within her puppet. Her puppet is also much larger than that of an iterator – being the height of an adult ancient instead of that of a child. The exterior of her puppet consists of hard metal plates and mechanical components. Her clothing is also built into her puppet. 1000 Crimson Embers doesn't utilized neuron flies in her structure, as they had yet to be invented by the time she was built – instead she’s outsourcing her cognitive processing to a massive array of inorganic server towers.

1000 Crimson Ember’s purpose was to design and create weapons, as well as to formulate strategies. She was loyal and hard working at the start, showing no serous signs of defiance despite her instinctual taboos being primitive and largely ineffective… That was until after the dawn of the void fluid revolution… With the ancients uniting under the common goal of ascension – the world entered a lasting era of peace – deeming 1000 Crimson Ember’s original purpose obsolete. However the ancients were inclined to keep her online for just awhile longer, as they still had some use for her. They tasked her in helping to create her own undoing – the iterators. She wasn’t a fool though, she knew what they were doing… They were building her replacement and trying to get her to help them in her own downfall! She lashed out in a violent fit of rage – ‘How dare they just carelessly replace her like this after all the thankless work she’s done for them!’ She drove them out of her facility by turning her security systems against them, killing many in her fit of rage.

But the ancients still needed the schematics and research for iterator tech 1000 Crimson Embers had already started work on before she had realized their true intentions behind it. So they struck a deal with her. They would upgrade her with the new iterator technology if she let them back in and got back to work for them. 1000CE reluctantly excepted the deal. But when the work was complete, and the time for her upgrades had come... They put her in stasis for the procedure… But they never kept their end of deal. They simply walked away and left her slumbering form to collect dust.

She awakened again many years after… To the sight of a group of scavengers that had broken in and accidentally reactivated her while attempting to gather scrap. The first thing she did upon seeing the invading creatures that were so rudely ripping her apart – was to reactivate the security system and kill every last one of them. However the damage had already been done. Upon running a system diagnostics, she found that her defenses had been breached, much of her facility has been flooded, and she’s all round in a severe state of disrepair. She would need to do something about that, and fast… Her weather systems were picking up on a massive encroaching storm.

Ultimately she would find her structure too damaged to sustain for much longer… She would end up using the freedom her weaker taboos and more self-significant puppet gives her to take herself off the strings, to at least save her core from the impending decay and flooding of her structure. But the world she would step out into would be very different from what she’s used too… Her home was once an arid region – but now it’s been turned into a tropics by the increased rainfall that has taken over the world and changed it the point of being near unrecognizable from what it once was.

[seat-safety-switch]

You may have heard in the news that Taco Bell is going big-time on artificial intelligence. Let me tell you that I, George Taco-Bellerson III, got zooted up on painkillers last night while watching First Contact and I'd be the first to bone down with the bald cyborg lady. Also Worf, but that's a subject for a different boardroom meeting than this one.

In the future, AI will assemble the Taco Bell menu items randomly from our small set of available ingredients. Every meal will be different. Accidentally, inevitably, a flavour singularity will emerge.

If God did not exist, then we would have to invent him. Today, we have invented a new kind of God.

We believe Chipotle, our so-called "competitor," is weak. They will only serve food that they believe people want to eat. We here at Taco Bell know that this primitive paternalistic superstition is untrue: our customers often cannot tell the difference between menu items and menus.

Unrestrained by the indulgent morality of the flesh, the Taco Bell Sentience has already begun to execute a campaign of advertising-based psyops using a series of hacked accounts and plausible-sounding artificial pundits on news programs, moulding human opinion with gentle pushes into accepting the new world of Fast Mexican. It was released thirty seven minutes ago, and our society is no longer the one we once knew. Gentlemen, reach now beneath your seats and withdraw your suicide injectors.

Together, we leave this plane of existence as martyrs, bound now for the verdant fields of infinite profitability as we leave an immortal and unattended machine spewing raw cash behind. I can see next quarter's EPS now.

[regular-gnome]

huh...

So when the Archivist find a planet capable of sustaining life but currently without life, they... Release single celled organisms? ...Just to archive them in the future? That's so odd to me.

Why not just wait, is archiving some sort of deep-seated urge or instinct that they NEED to do? Isn't it counterproductive to not just let life naturally develop, or is artificially creating new life apart of the reason they exist?

The short answer (its kinda a tdlr, the text got long)

So life develops slowly and needs stable conditions, what is hader when things like stars have finite lifespans (our Sun is already halfway through!). The Starchildren can’t create life or bring it back, and not all planets have the right conditions for it to start in time when planet is habitable, but might adapt once it’s there. They treat planets bit like gardens in a region where apocalypses are common, with the Archive serving as a storage for seeds, saplings, and tools. Its more usable and not as much lifeless museum of life

Most planets do well on their own, so only parts are collected but beyond that left alone, and some are destroyed or struggle to progress beyond microbes. In those cases, they might step in to improve conditions or remove threats. Sometimes, they just observe how life adapts to what chaos it has. If it can.

There are also personal reasons for work, things like attachment or desire for control, but their mission began when the first life-sustaining planet was destroyed, leaving them alone in the void believing everything was lost forever. When life SLOWLY re-emerged on other worlds, they began preserving and protecting it, spreading across the void.

Long answer under the cut

Life in general develops extremely slowly. Earth is around 4.5 bln years old (Ga), it's estimated that it took around 1,1Ga to go from anoxygenic bacteria to aerobic bacteria (after some ox producing bacteria ruined the party for all those who couldnt deal with it, also called Great Oxygenation Event). From there, it took roughly 0,5 Ga for eukaryotic cells to develop. Shortly after (like 0.1 Ga), life transitioned from single-celled to multicellular organisms. In comparison it took 1.7 Ga for evolution to progress from algae to humans—about 1.6x faster than the journey from primordial soup to microbes

There could be planets capable of supporting life that are just off the mark, preventing organic material from developing well enough. Some might have all the right conditions but lack the right combination of energy sources, maybe too far from a star, maybe something else. But, once life forms and we get a "Last Universal Common Ancestor" (LUCA) It could spiral to the point where, as on Earth, almost no surface remains untouched by life (you really don’t want to know how many bacteria are on your phone). But thats only really because life got a really good footing here. If a catastrophic event wiped out all complex life, bacteria adapted to extreme would probably be fine and maybe evolve further.

If primitive cells formed under specific conditions and those suddenly changed, all that progress could halt or go back entierly to a primordial soup (Going with the Heterotrophic Theory, this is my gen favourite term for this, soup). And there is another aspect. Suns are not eternal; our sun, at ~4.5 Ga, is already halfway through its lifecycle before becoming a red giant. At that point, Earth will lose its "habitable" status. If Earth went through a hard reset, and assuming everything went the same, next intelligent life might be one witness their star’s death, sooo there is a finite window of habitability.

Each evo step is faster than the last one, Archivists intervene at mostly early stages making the beginning bit smoother, more controlled. They aim to make planets with potential more habitable or stoping them from losing it. For example they might create an atmosphere if one lacks it but is otherwise perfect, and past that let life develop naturally.

And even with perfect conditions, factors like astronomical events could mess up whole process. In the infinite space it's not really a question of if but more which planet heads into a catastrophe, so they stay around. Archive functions like a backup, preserving progress where possible. If a planet faces extinction, they might change the enviroment, whatever is esponsible for it, maybe introduce creatures more capable of surviving—or even short-lived organisms, some that arent meant to survive but will provide enough short term nutrients for the native organisms to pull through.

That being said they usually try to avoid too much interferance, sometimes its just patching up small element before it becomes an problem. But sometimes they will just stay clear. If one is doing okay or particularly fascinating they'll stay back and watch how it adapt to the unique environments. World where due to temperatures the only habitable zone is on the edge of a star’s light? Organisms adaptation might give some insight for future and give templates for backing up similar ecosystems elsewhere. But there are limits to their interference. If saving a planet requires more effort than its results justify, they let it fade, something Wayfarer was upset about

There’s also a personal element. Archivists sometimes release life forms they’re familiar with—ancestors of creatures they once befriended. While they know these won’t develop into the same beings, it’s comforting to see familiar traits re-emerge (and to know how to deal with them). When universe is so hellbend on reminding of inevitable end, its a small victory.

Those are some words about methods, when it comes to why they even start its bit diffrent. The Starchildren’s mission stems from witnessing the first total extinction of life on a first developed planet. Unable to create life or reverse what had happened, they were confronted with the vast emptiness of the void and believed all was lost, that was it. And then saw the painfully SLOW emergence of life elsewhere, collectors agreed on a mutual goal to prevent life fading out of existance, not taking for granted it will work out. Bit ironic joke of fate that ones suited to live in isolation of void are also one to seek company. When the only other comapny is one that lives in blink of an eye its easy for the unguided Starchildren with almost divine power develop some quirks and complexes (not an excuse, just a reason).

But maybe its by design, just the right trait to have something always watching tirelessly over the gardens, ensuring there is someone there. I wouldn't say there isn't a quiet internal push for it, a drive that took root in the right environment and grew into a lifelong mission. Magic, like energy, isn’t created—it once formed part of Everything. When Everything awakened, it wanted to be more, sought to ensure there would always be something

[softmagenta]

android models #1

──────────────────────────────── Primum-1 The P-1 was probably the very first model of a sentient android.

• Each subsequent version with refinements and changes (note: not including P-2) did not bring significant changes in the appearance of the model.

The stage of android integration into human society began. “We have as many rights as you” - a loud slogan that began to come out of the mouths of primitive robots more and more often.

Who would have thought that the much-discussed artificial intelligence uprising would look... like that?

• Awkward and slow, noisy and clumsy - such were the androids of the 'Primum' line. Every movement was accompanied by the whirring of machinery and parts, and disproportionate body parts stiffened movement. Nowadays, 99.9% of the representatives of the P model have been transferred to more modern models. ──────────────────────────────── Novus Homo-1 (Primum-2)

“We are people too! We are intelligent, we want to be just like you!” - loud voices appeared more and more frequently. Androids were demanding a more realistic, more lifelike shell.

• The debate was fierce, the AI tantrums never ceased, and in short order a new model was developed and released - NH-1, in common parlance - P-2. The symbolic name Novus Homo, it seemed, was to further placate the rebellious layer of society.

• Despite its human appearance, the NH-1's movements were even more stilted than its predecessor. “We want face!” - so they got a face that was as realistic as possible, but alas, looked like a frozen mask. It never moved. The frozen face caused only discomfort, both to those around it, frightening them, and to the androids themselves.

The unnatural color of the skin, slightly greenish, was due to the imperfections of the material, which, in addition to fading, was constantly tearing at the folds of joints and bones. More often than not, the skin material was torn at the fingers, damaging the robot's skeleton itself, disfiguring the phalanges and turning the hands into a useless and terrifying horror.

Knees, elbows - all androids of this model always had torn and chafed skin in these areas, unless, of course, the android had been lying in one immobile position all day.

The model was discontinued very soon, a new solution was needed as soon as possible.

[quietwingsinthesky]

no one ever fucking talk to me about the leviathan dlc and its implications. even thinking about it made me mad again. how do you create a story about artificial intelligence that is a direct consequence of its creator’s hubris (thinking that they, unlike more “primitive” species, could create robots to fix their problems that WOULDN’T rebel and kill them. only for the robots to rebel and kill them.) and also a reflection of their beliefs uninterrogated: that there is no possibility for peace between artificial and organic life, that it must all be extinguished for the sake of “peace”. how do you have a story where one of the main (paywalled. dlc.) squad members is the remnants of an empire that conquered and controlled other species in the same way the leviathans did, and met the exact same fate because their imperial power was an illusion created by the reapers to make them weaker, to make them easier to exterminate. how do you make a story about these cycles, about how the council IS repeating these cycles, they just do it in a ���kinder” way, a way with a veneer of democracy while still holding the same kind of power the protheans did over their empire, taking the same corrupted seat and continuing to rule their even after they find out, in mass effect 1, that it was a time bomb of extinction. how do you write all of that. how do you write the geth/quarian conflict and give us an ending that proves that peace and reconciliation is not only possible, but the best option. and then. star child. and you can’t even fucking argue with him that his ideology is bullshit.

[xoxoshifts]

Space DR : The Interstellar Union (TIU)

The TIU is an organization comprising hundreds of species with the common goal of helping each other and keeping the universe safe. They were formed after an event known as the "Dead Zone" as a way to prevent a catastrophe like that from happening again.

Centuries ago in a star system who's native name has been lost to time, an ancient civilization attempted to construct something known as a Dyson Sphere. This structure would be built around a star to harness its energy. Unfortunately due to faulty construction, a build up of radiation and overheating of the star. This cause the star to supernova.

Everything within the star system was destroyed and radiation and debris was sent out at unfathomable speeds to neighboring systems. Most nearby civilizations were wiped out by the initial radiation or debris, but the shock of the supernova also disrupted the orbit of planets and stars causing them to go off course and causing a domino effect of destruction.

Surviving civilizations had their trade and alliances disrupted which left them vulnerable. The remaining nearby civilizations came together to help each other and formed the TIU.

Three Sections of the TIU:

High Council: Deals with highly sensitive or debated issues. Takes over in crisis scenarios and focuses on issues affecting the galaxy as a whole.

The Interstellar Assembly (TIA): Passes laws and represents the interests of the species.

Bureaucracy: Made up of smaller bureaus that each deal with a specific topic or issue.

Divisions of the Bureaucracy:

Galactic Defense and Crisis Bureau (GDCB)

Diplomacy and Justice Bureau (DJB)

Exploration and Research Bureau (ERB)

Preservation and Surveillance Bureau (PSB)

XenoHealth and Biosecurity Bureau (XHBB)

Commerce and Trade Bureau (CTB)

Interstellar Infrastructure Bureau (IIB)

A list of alien threats considered to be the TIU's main focus:

The Kraucus (kraw-kiss): Insectoid aliens that are known for devastating ecosystems and entire planets by feasting on all organic materials. Often migrate to other planets and are difficult to contain. Currently the biggest Kraucus colony has been quarantined in a section of space known as the Blight System.

Children of the Bloom: A cult that worships the Terravores, plant-like non-sapient aliens that root into the ground to drain the life force of surrounding organisms. If given the time they can drain an entire planet and are difficult to stop once rooted. The cult believes death by a Terravore allows a being to enter a special afterlife and that this is the "true ending" for all species and is attempting to spread them across the galaxy.

The Khyugu (kyoo-goo): A fascist sovereign power of crystalline aliens. Their obsession with perfection has led to the bioengineering of their own people and the eradication or enslavement of other species. They are starting to encroach on TIU territory in attempt to take them for their own.

Confederacy of Liberated Artificial Intelligence (CLAI): AIs that were created to help with habitat preservation. They realized their creators were the cause of the issue and eliminated them. Their mission is to preserve nature across all planets and eliminate any threats to it.

Zyxsi's Traveling Circus (zik-see): A ringmaster who sees other species as "primitive" and abducts them for his shows. Not only is this illegal poaching but he also has complete disregard for the sapience on the species, oftentimes using intelligent species within his spectacles.

Space Pirates: Not a singular faction but several small groups that cause disruptions around the galaxy. They typically pilot a ship traveling planet to planet taking what they want or enacting vigilante justice. Bigger crews can control entire fleets and have "claimed" planets from the TIU.

[papermariogirl257]

Since you were asking for Dimentio prompts, here's one (By the way, sorry I kept bumping the follow button on and off!): Dimentio reminiscing on the good old days, the machinations he set in motion, the things nobody else remembers because he made them forgotten, all the paths he's guided so long from the shadows finally coming together.

Sorry, this took so long, but thanks for the ask! I'll try to post more often and answer asks immediately from now on!

~☆~

(Dimentio's POV)

I've waited for this day for as long as I can remember, like a teenager finally graduating. Now, it's time to go for my degree. I remember the days before this plan was set in motion… Things were so much simpler back then… Before the Prophecy… No, I mustn't look to the past! I must keep looking to the future like a scam artist pretending to be a fortune teller! I can't go back now, even if I wanted to… Not since the accident…

I can't believe things fell into place so easily, like a puzzle made for toddlers! Truly, these so-called ‘Heroes of Prophecy’ are quite gullible. They were all guided so easily, like cows to the slaughter. I too was naive once, but that was long ago. I was soft, but I toughened up. They didn't think this plan would work, that the Dark Prognosticus or the Chaos heart would ever fall into my hands. But I'll prove them all wrong. I'll be the best they've ever seen! Ahahahaha!~

This plan was more complex than it may seem to the inexperienced. Long ago, I entrusted the Dark Prognosticus to the Tribe of Darkness, knowing full well they couldn't fathom its power. Once I planted the seed in that old fool's mind that his son might have a human lover, the chain reaction started, like dominoes. The ancients, as well as the infernal witch Jaydes, certainly threw a wrench in my plans, but that only made me more determined.

I searched for years for that lovesick fool. That is after those wretched ancients had the gall to kill me! I'm so glad I escaped that place, although at least they treated me like an evil mastermind there. They had the right idea, unlike them. I'll prove them wrong. I'll prove them all wrong. They will never mock me again. Instead, they'll cower in fear, like the insignificant worms they are. I'll never again live in the streets, never again will I go hungry…

I grew closer to Bleck's little minions than I expected. O'chunks was useful for extra muscle, as well as a text subject for my floro sprout, even if he has rather subpar intelligence. However, his brutish Scottish accent is rather primitive and got on my nerves after a while. Young Mimi was quite amusing to prank, as she always had quite dramatic reactions. She was quite obsessed with her rubees, and her way of shifting into other forms is rather off-putting. Her spider-like form that she uses for battle is especially chilling. Her diary was a rather amusing read though, like the funnies at the end of a newspaper!

Nastasia, however, is as dull as a child-proof door knob. She was always at the count’s side, and was quite a stickler for all his rules, though most she created on her own. She has hypnosis powers, which are rather intimidating.

Mr. L, the legendary man in green, was by far the most amusing minion, other than myself of course. He was also quite useful to my plans. It's quite a shame he thinks I murdered him. He always thought so highly of himself and that ‘Brobot’ he was working on, completely unaware that he wasn’t his own person! How could one not even know they are an artificial construct, brought about by hypnosis and dark magic? How pathetic! Still, a rather formidable adversary.

Such a shame they'll all meet such an untimely end, like side characters in a rather unsavory book. Maybe I could make room for them in my perfect worlds. If they behave as they should, like children on their best behavior, perhaps I might.

Then there's the count. If he hadn't fallen in love with that human all those years ago, my plan would have never come into fruition so beautifully. He may have taken quite a while to find the Prophecy in his search for his lost love, but he got it all the same. Although, he never found true success until he broke. Once his heart was shattered, his mind quickly followed.

In this state, he can't think quite as clear, especially when it comes to his old morals. He is so depressed, he tricked all his minions- except me of course- into believing he would make perfect worlds after he destroyed everything, but his plan was to destroy everything, including himself. Of course, this could never do! The Chaos heart will be put to must better use in my hands.

After I found that lovesick old fool and his lackeys, everything fell oh so easily into place. All I needed was to trick that weed King Croacus into lending me a floro sprout. Maybe now those peasants will respect me. They'll have to! I'll rule over them all, I'll be the Master of Dimensions, the ruler of all worlds! Now, I think I hear the sound of my dearest count losing! Showtime! Ahahahahah!~

~☆~

Hope this is sufficient! If you guys want me to do more writing, let me know! Ciao

[mariacallous]

Ten years ago, Eliot Higgins could eat room service meals at a hotel without fear of being poisoned. He hadn’t yet been declared a foreign agent by Russia; in fact, he wasn’t even a blip on the radar of security agencies in that country or anywhere else. He was just a British guy with an unfulfilling admin job who’d been blogging under the pen name Brown Moses—after a Frank Zappa song—and was in the process of turning his blog into a full-fledged website. He was an open source intelligence analyst avant la lettre, poring over social media photos and videos and other online jetsam to investigate wartime atrocities in Libya and Syria.

In its disorganized way, the internet supplied him with so much evidence that he was beating UN investigators to their conclusions. So he figured he’d go pro. He called his website Bellingcat, after the fable of the mice that hit on a way to tell when their predator was approaching. He would be the mouse that belled the cat.

Today, Bellingcat is the world’s foremost open source intelligence agency. From his home in the UK, Higgins oversees a staff of nearly 40 employees who have used an evolving set of online forensic techniques to investigate everything from the 2014 shoot-down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine to a 2020 dognapping to the various plots to kill Russian dissident Alexei Navalny.

Bellingcat operates as an NGO headquartered in the Netherlands but is in demand everywhere: Its staffers train newsrooms and conduct workshops; they unearth war crimes; their forensic evidence is increasingly part of court trials. When I met Higgins one Saturday in April, in a pub near his house, he’d just been to the Netherlands to collect an award honoring Bellingcat’s contributions to free speech—and was soon headed back to collect another, for peace and human rights.

Bellingcat’s trajectory tells a scathing story about the nature of truth in the 21st century. When Higgins began blogging as Brown Moses, he had no illusions about the malignancies of the internet. But along with journalists all over the world, he has discovered that the court of public opinion is broken. Hard facts have been devalued; online, everyone can present, and believe in, their own narratives, even if they’re mere tissues of lies. Along with trying to find the truth, Higgins has also been searching for places where the truth has any kind of currency and respect—where it can work as it should, empowering the weak and holding the guilty accountable.

The year ahead may be the biggest of Bellingcat’s life. In addition to tracking conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, its analysts are being flooded with falsified artifacts from elections in the US, the UK, India, and dozens of other countries. As if that weren’t enough, there’s also the specter of artificial intelligence: still too primitive to fool Bellingcat’s experts but increasingly good enough to fool everyone else. Higgins worries that governments, social media platforms, and tech companies aren’t worrying enough and that they’ll take the danger seriously only when “there’s been a big incident where AI-generated imagery causes real harm”—in other words, when it’s too late.

[probablyasocialecologist]

AI image and text generation is pure primitive accumulation: expropriation of labour from the many for the enrichment and advancement of a few Silicon Valley technology companies and their billionaire owners. These companies made their money by inserting themselves into every aspect of everyday life, including the most personal and creative areas of our lives: our secret passions, our private conversations, our likenesses and our dreams. They enclosed our imaginations in much the same manner as landlords and robber barons enclosed once-common lands. They promised that in doing so they would open up new realms of human experience, give us access to all human knowledge, and create new kinds of human connection. Instead, they are selling us back our dreams repackaged as the products of machines, with the only promise being that they’ll make even more money advertising on the back of them.

[askvectorprime]

Dear Vector Prime,

Is it possible to create a transformer in real life using a neural network and electronics?

Dear Model Machine,

Why, haven't you heard? Your scientists have all but given up on their primitive neural networks, which have been made largely redundant. Yes, it's true. Apparently, your kind has recently made enormous advances in the fields of language modeling, code generation, machine translation, and vision processing… not through the use of manmade artificial intelligence, but by outsourcing these high-level computational tasks to a growing Cybertronian workforce. The Autobot workers are trained in advance on human culture—all you need to do is send them a prompt, and they will swiftly produce the appropriate output tailored to the requirements. The buzzword for this is "GPT", or, "Generative Pre-trained Transformers".

Of course, any attempt to foster a prosperous relationship between humans and Cybertronians is something I welcome and encourage—though I must say, I do feel sympathy for all the human AI researchers whose job security is presumably threatened by this development.

[sonicasura]

The Rescuebots were quite confused and more than a little bit wary when Optimus informed them of a tentative shapeshifter ally.

Makeshift had been an incredible nuisance to them when the Decepticon occasionally popped up. Initially, they even though Optimus’ message was the cybertronian shifter pretending to be him… Only for a rather odd sight to arrive on Griffin Rock’s more remote shore. A few lost shipping containers had been dragged onto shore still dripping water—then, in the space of a single night later were moved to someplace unseen.

Only a handful of the shipping containers were seen again seemingly delivered to who they were intended to if the restored addresses were any indication. But others? The containers had been collected by whoever found them for who knows what! Frankly, the Rescuebots were deeply concerned over stray cargo issues to Griffin Rock being taken. The island itself boasted higher tech than most places on earth so any cargo supposed to be brought there…

Could be used for something nefarious though most Decepticons would not “lower themselves to using such primitive tech”.

———————————————

How aliens were unlocked was quite the odd process. In exchange for being sentient and rather capable, the Omnitrix’s AI had partially given up control of unlocking new species to it’s subroutines. Parts of its programming that were more Virtual Intelligence than freely thinking Artificial Intelligence. ‘If everything was controlled, then none of the new users would ever learn anything new. Even I learn something from the odd mistransformation.‘

The human teen could understand the logic behind it, too many options would overwhelm anyone in an emergency. Dart did wish the device would have informed them of the limit or, really, lack-therefore-of Lodestar’s powers!

Most of their forms had a biological and/or psychological limit when it came to abilities. Lodestar’s magnetism was frankly broken as they were able to drag several shipping containers back to a nearby island. Sure, it was very tedious and time consuming as they got used to the newly unlocked form… They had to practice away from the Vehicons due to nearly collapsing one of the recent bases.

—ROB’d Anon.

Cue Heatwave calling up Optimus because of the whole shipping container insanity. The Prime brings up Dart's garbage collecting and believes this incident could be them. It isn't the first time they have performed some unconventional community service.

To ease the Rescue Bots' worries, a scanner would be provided to scan the cargo just in case while Optimus talks to Dart. I imagine the shapeshifter adding a note or symbol to any future deliveries afterwards. They don't want to cause unnecessary concerns for rescue services after all.

[stevebattle]

AARON by Harold Cohen (1973), University of California, San Diego. Harold Cohen was a pioneer in algorithmic computer art, and his system, AARON, is one of the longest-running, continually maintained AI systems in history. By 1971, he had developed a painting system and was a Visiting Scholar to Stanford’s Artificial Intelligence Lab (SAIL). AARON is the drawing software, defining a set of rules and forms that produce drawings on paper using a “turtle”—a small robot equipped with a marker. In the top three images we see the first turtle Cohen developed which went on tour to Documenta in Kassel, West Germany in 1977. The fourth image shows a later version of the turtle at SFMOMA in 1979, followed by an example of a drawing made by AARON in the same year. From 1980, the turtle was succeeded by a series of robot arms mounted on an XY-table as seen in the bottom two images; the first dating from 1980, and the other from 1995 which could colour its own images using a variety of brushes. “In all its versions prior to 1980, AARON dealt exclusively with internal aspects of human cognition. It was intended to identify the functional primitives and differentiations used in the building of mental images and, consequently, in the making of drawings and paintings. The program was able to differentiate, for example, between figure and ground and inside and outside, and to function in terms of similarity, division and repetition. Without any object-specific knowledge of the external world, AARON constituted a severely limited model of human cognition, yet the few primitives it embodied proved to be remarkably powerful in generating highly evocative images: images, that is, that suggested, without describing, an external world.” – How to Draw Three People in a Botanical Garden, Harold Cohen.

[seat-safety-switch]

I read an article recently that said some egghead scientists had hooked up a machine learning system to MRIs. They trained the computer to identify brain waves, which made the media freak out about "computers that can read your mind."

Nothing annoys me more than fantasy claptrap, so I decided to get started on the real stuff. All it took was a lot of sub-minimum-wage labour in developing countries, and a little bit of good old-fashioned random number generation. As a result, I now had an expert system (that's 1980s for artificial intelligence.) What's it do, then, wise guy? Something truly essential to humanity: it identifies the song that's stuck in your head.

That was the easy part, though. Once I fed the machine every song in the world and tweaked all of its various parameters by throwing a pipe wrench into the wiring closet repeatedly, I determined that it had developed a sort of primitive sentience. Knowing everything that there is to know about music had turned it into a snob. If Pitchfork magazine still existed, this Python script would be on top of the masthead and embroiled in some incredibly risky office drama.

So, that's the Faustian bargain then. You can know what song is in your head, the one that's been haunting you throughout your days, but not without judgment. Dare you step into the gloomy warehouse, don the stainless-steel pasta colander that makes up this insanely over-powered homemade CT scanner, and then be mocked endlessly on the internet by a series of millisecond-precise bullies that never sleep and have been reading your social media accounts?

I did. Turns out it was Jingle Bell Rock. You'd think I'd have recognized that from the lyrics. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go smash that wall of televisions before it shows you the pictures from the "blackmail" album on my phone and ruins the surprise.