Rage against the machine

For all the promise and dangers of AI, computers plainly can’t think. To think is to resist – something no machine does

Computers don’t actually do anything. They don’t write, or play; they don’t even compute. Which doesn’t mean we can’t play with computers, or use them to invent, or make, or problem-solve. The new AI is unexpectedly reshaping ways of working and making, in the arts and sciences, in industry, and in warfare. We need to come to terms with the transformative promise and dangers of this new tech. But it ought to be possible to do so without succumbing to bogus claims about machine minds.

What could ever lead us to take seriously the thought that these devices of our own invention might actually understand, and think, and feel, or that, if not now, then later, they might one day come to open their artificial eyes thus finally to behold a shiny world of their very own? One source might simply be the sense that, now unleashed, AI is beyon

SimpleX Chat's response to Wired's article about neo-Nazis moving to its encrypted messaging app.

Edit: manually cross-posted from https://links.hackliberty.org/post/2981854

cross-posted from: https://links.hackliberty.org/post/2932106

Image Transcription:

WHAT WILL A CASHLESS SOCIETY MEAN?

THE PROS

CONVENIENCE — THERE WILL NO LONGER BE ANY NEED TO CARRY CASH AROUND

THE CONS

EVERY TRANSACTION YOU MAKE WILL BE TRACKED YOUR SPENDING HABITS CAN BE LINKED TO YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT

YOU WILL ONLY BE PERMITTED TO SPEND ON THINGS THE GOVERNMENT APPROVES OF. THINGS THAT ARE DEEMED TO BE LUXURIES — MEAT, FUEL, TRAVEL — CAN BE RESTRICTED

YOUR MONEY CAN BE PROGRAMMED WITH AN EXPIRY DATE — IF YOU DON’T SPEND IT BY A CERTAIN DATE, YOU'LL LOSE IT

THERE WILL BE NO ‘BLACK’ ECONOMY. IT WILL NOT BE POSSIBLE TO AVOID TAX, BUT THEN YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GIVE POCKET MONEY TO CHILDREN OR GRANDCHILDREN AND NEITHER WILL YOU BE ABLE TO BORROW OR LEND MONEY TO FRIENDS WITHOUT THAT BEING TAXED BY THE GOVERNMENT

PARKING AND SPEEDING FINES WILL BE TAKEN AT SOURCE, WITHOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF CHALLENGE AND POSS

Image Transcription:

WHAT WILL A CASHLESS SOCIETY MEAN?

THE PROS

CONVENIENCE — THERE WILL NO LONGER BE ANY NEED TO CARRY CASH AROUND

THE CONS

EVERY TRANSACTION YOU MAKE WILL BE TRACKED YOUR SPENDING HABITS CAN BE LINKED TO YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT

YOU WILL ONLY BE PERMITTED TO SPEND ON THINGS THE GOVERNMENT APPROVES OF. THINGS THAT ARE DEEMED TO BE LUXURIES — MEAT, FUEL, TRAVEL — CAN BE RESTRICTED

YOUR MONEY CAN BE PROGRAMMED WITH AN EXPIRY DATE — IF YOU DON’T SPEND IT BY A CERTAIN DATE, YOU'LL LOSE IT

THERE WILL BE NO ‘BLACK’ ECONOMY. IT WILL NOT BE POSSIBLE TO AVOID TAX, BUT THEN YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GIVE POCKET MONEY TO CHILDREN OR GRANDCHILDREN AND NEITHER WILL YOU BE ABLE TO BORROW OR LEND MONEY TO FRIENDS WITHOUT THAT BEING TAXED BY THE GOVERNMENT

PARKING AND SPEEDING FINES WILL BE TAKEN AT SOURCE, WITHOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF CHALLENGE AND POSSIBLY EVEN WITHOUT YOUR KNOWLEDGE

IF YOU PROTEST THE ACTIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT, YOUR MONEY CAN BE SWITCHED OFF.

The year is 2149 and people mostly live their lives “on rails.” That’s what they call it, “on rails,” which is to live according to the meticulous instructions of software. Software knows most things about you—what causes you anxiety, what raises your endorphin levels, everything you’ve ever searched for, everywhere you’ve been. Software sends messages on your behalf; it listens in on conversations. It is gifted in its optimizations: Eat this, go there, buy that, make love to the man with red hair.

Software understands everything that has led to this instant and it predicts every moment that will follow, mapping trajectories for everything from hurricanes to economic trends. There was a time when everybody kept their data to themselves—out of a sense of informational hygiene or, perhaps, the fear of humiliation. Back then, data was confined to your own accounts, an encrypted set of secrets. But the truth is, it works better to combine it all. The outcomes are more satisfying and re

cross-posted from: https://links.hackliberty.org/post/2559706

Abstract

This paper examines the potential of the Fediverse, a federated network of social media and content platforms, to counter the centralization and dominance of commercial platforms on the social Web. We gather evidence from the technology powering the Fediverse (especially the ActivityPub protocol), current statistical data regarding Fediverse user distribution over instances, and the status of two older, similar, decentralized technologies: e-mail and the Web. Our findings suggest that Fediverse will face significant challenges in fulfilling its decentralization promises, potentially hindering its ability to positively impact the social Web on a large scale.

Some challenges mentioned in the paper:

• Discoverability as there is no central or unified index
• Complicated moderation efforts due to its decentralized nature
• Interoperability between instances of different types (e.g., Le

cross-posted from: https://links.hackliberty.org/post/2559706

Abstract

This paper examines the potential of the Fediverse, a federated network of social media and content platforms, to counter the centralization and dominance of commercial platforms on the social Web. We gather evidence from the technology powering the Fediverse (especially the ActivityPub protocol), current statistical data regarding Fediverse user distribution over instances, and the status of two older, similar, decentralized technologies: e-mail and the Web. Our findings suggest that Fediverse will face significant challenges in fulfilling its decentralization promises, potentially hindering its ability to positively impact the social Web on a large scale.

Some challenges mentioned in the paper:

• Discoverability as there is no central or unified index
• Complicated moderation efforts due to its decentralized nature
• Interoperability between instances of different types (e.g., Le

Abstract

This paper examines the potential of the Fediverse, a federated network of social media and content platforms, to counter the centralization and dominance of commercial platforms on the social Web. We gather evidence from the technology powering the Fediverse (especially the ActivityPub protocol), current statistical data regarding Fediverse user distribution over instances, and the status of two older, similar, decentralized technologies: e-mail and the Web. Our findings suggest that Fediverse will face significant challenges in fulfilling its decentralization promises, potentially hindering its ability to positively impact the social Web on a large scale.

Some challenges mentioned in the paper:

• Discoverability as there is no central or unified index
• Complicated moderation efforts due to its decentralized nature
• Interoperability between instances of different types (e.g., Lemmy and Funkwhale)
• Concentration on a small number of large instances
• The ri

Researchers at Harvard’s Nurses’ Health Study exploring conflicting findings on whether pet ownership is good for our mental health have found that having — and loving — a dog (sorry, cat people) is associated with lower symptoms of depression and anxiety.

...

We used several different measures for depression and for anxiety and found overall that there is an inverse association between pet attachment and negative mental health outcomes. That means the more attached you are to your pet, the lower your risk of depression and anxiety.

The effect was particularly strong among women who had a history of sexual or physical abuse in childhood, who made up the majority of our study population.

I think those findings were mostly driven by dogs, because the majority of the pets owned in the study were dogs — it was about two-thirds dogs and one-third cats. The association was similar to what we found when restricting the analysis just to dogs, but

cross-posted from: https://links.hackliberty.org/post/2496422

This survey was conducted among 5,101 U.S. adults from May 15 to 21, 2023

% say they are concerned about how ... use(s) the data they collect about them

• Companies: 81%
• The government: 71%

% say they have little to no understanding about what ... do(es) with the data they collect about them

• Companies: 67%
• The government: 77%

% say they have very little or no trust at all that leaders of social media companies will

• Publicly admit mistakes and take responsibility when they misuse or compromises users' personal data: 77%
• Not sell users' personal data to others without their consent: 76%
• Be held accountable by the government if they misuse or compromise users' personal data: 71%

% say that as companies use AI to collect and analyze personal information, this information will be used in ways that ...

• People would not be comfortable wi

This survey was conducted among 5,101 U.S. adults from May 15 to 21, 2023

% say they are concerned about how ... use(s) the data they collect about them

• Companies: 81%
• The government: 71%

% say they have little to no understanding about what ... do(es) with the data they collect about them

• Companies: 67%
• The government: 77%

% say they have very little or no trust at all that leaders of social media companies will

• Publicly admit mistakes and take responsibility when they misuse or compromises users' personal data: 77%
• Not sell users' personal data to others without their consent: 76%
• Be held accountable by the government if they misuse or compromise users' personal data: 71%

% say that as companies use AI to collect and analyze personal information, this information will be used in ways that ...

• People would not be comfortable with: 81%
• Were not originally intended: 80%
• Could make people's lives easier: 62%

% say tha

When a user downloads a file from an untrusted source such as the web, Windows adds the Mark-of-the-Web to the local copy of the file.

The presence of the Mark-of-the-Web triggers additional security checks and prompts when opening the file. This helps reduce the risk of executing untrusted content.

Unfortunately, threat actors have discovered that Windows does not always handle or properly apply the Mark-of-the-Web to files served over WebDAV.

Before the release of the Microsoft June security patch, files copied and pasted from WebDAV shares did not receive the Mark-of-the-Web designations. This meant that users might copy and paste files from a WebDAV share to their desktop, and those files could subsequently be opened without the protections of Windows Defender SmartScreen or Microsoft Office Protected View. In particular, this means that there would be no reputation or signature checks on executables.

More info: https://github.com/abrahamjuliot/creepjs

More info: https://github.com/abrahamjuliot/creepjs

cross-posted from: https://links.hackliberty.org/post/2260127

Archive link: https://web.archive.org/web/20240716045110/https://www.takahe.org.nz/heat-death-of-the-internet/

Archive link: https://web.archive.org/web/20240716045110/https://www.takahe.org.nz/heat-death-of-the-internet/