Bits

Overall, the custom software and hardware makes writing homework with the machine effortless and effective. I have been writing assignments and lab records using the machine since June 2022. With the latest software, my teachers were unable to accurately distinguish machine written text and human written text. https://hackaday.io/project/190788-homework-machine/details

Connecting an unthinking, non-deterministic language system, potentially on a poorly secured machine, to a variety of services on the internet is scary in the same way as letting a random-number-generator control your house’s thermostat during a once-in-a-century cold snap. That it could kill you doesn’t mean the number generator is self-aware. https://www.baldurbjarnason.com/2023/beware-of-ai-snake-oil/

a mobile, browser-based game that lets you see how good a job you would do as a front line content moderator for a growing technology company that hosts user-generated content” #seriousgames #games https://www.chrbutler.com/what-i-want-from-the-internet

Arts

50th anniversary .. new trailer .. & returning to cinemas on #solstice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXq-NuS24fg

Never has the Fantastic flourished, so sinister and so terrifying, as in modern life! https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/ether-dreams

Politics & Economics

“A sobering new study finds that the world’s biggest industries burn through $7.3 trillion worth of free natural capital a year. And it’s the only reason they turn a profit.”

“Of the top 20 region-sectors ranked by environmental impacts, none would be profitable if environmental costs were fully integrated. Ponder that for a moment: None of the world’s top industrial sectors would be profitable if they were paying their full freight. Zero.” https://grist.org/business-technology/none-of-the-worlds-top-industries-would-be-profitable-if-they-paid-for-the-natural-capital-they-use/ HT: Harold Jarche