I like the part where Dr Grant just looks dead straight into the camera and in a serious tone says ‘There are dinosaurs here. There are dinosaurs in this Jurassic Park’.

Spunch Bob Sqor Ponts

You into masks, baby? Kinky! I like that, baby, yeah! Behave!

I find it crazy that Black Ops, a series that’d surely sell gangbusters with minimal marketing thanks to word of mouth, gets a marketing budget bigger than the GDP of a small country. Yet a new IP that noone has heard of yet gets a far smaller budget. It seems completely back to front, to me.

The argument being made is: "AI is currently slop but there is a reasonable expectation that it will be pushed until it is indistinguishable from human work, and therefore devaluing of human work.

Again, if the work is ‘indistinguishable’ then I don’t see how AI art ‘devalues’ human work any more than the work done by another human. This just sounds like old fashioned competition, which has existed as long as art itself has.

I don’t like AI because it’s just another way that “corporate gonna corporate” and it never ends up working out for the mere mortals’ benefit

Corporations abusing technology to the disbenefit of people is nothing new, unfortunately, and isn’t unique to AI (see Email, computers, clocking in machines, monitoring software etc). That speaks to a need for better corporate oversight and better worker rights.

misinformation is already so prevalent and it’s going to continue to get worse (we have seen this already–trump abuses it continually).

This is a good point, but again AI is hardly the first time technology has been used to spread lies and misinformation. This highlights a fundamental problem with our media and a need to teach better critical thinking in schools etc.

They’re all valid concerns but in my opinion they suggest AI is being used as an enabler, and not that the problems in question are the sole product of it. Sadly if we stopped using anything and everything that was misused for nefarious means we’d go back to the stone age.

My job here is done! Away!

AI is generally bad because it tends to steal content from human creators…

Again, this is an argument that I see a lot, that’s simply not true. AI is not stealing anything. Theft is a specific legal term. If I steal your TV, I have your TV and you don’t. If AI is trained on some content that content still exists. Whatever training takes place steals nothing.

…because corporations want another excuse to throw more workers on the street in favor of machines…

Your point is a valid one, but this not unique to AI and is the inevitable result of the onward march of technology. The very thing we’re using to communicate right now, the Internet, is responsible for billions of job losses. That’s not a valid reason to get rid of it. Instead of blaming AI for putting people out work, we should be pressuring governments to implement things like UBI to provide people with a basic living wage. That way people need not fear the impact the advance of technology will have on their ability to feed and house themselves.

There are some AI uses that are good though, such as AI voice generation to help those that can’t speak to communicate with the world and not sound like a robot.

These are great examples.

Sure, but there’s never a qualifier in these arguments. It’s just ‘hur dur AI bad’ which is lazy and disingenuous.

Given how harder it’s becoming to tell apart AI slop from something made by a human…

If AI is that good, it’s not ‘slop’, is it? I see this argument all the time. Apparently AI is both awful slop, devoid of merit and also indistinguishable from human made content and a threat to us all. Pick a side.

This is the book this is based on: https://simonstalenhag.se/es.html

This film appears to bear only superficial resemblance to the art in question. It also pisses me off that the trailer doesn’t even mention Simon in the first place.

The developer of Thorium (a Chromium based browser) has stated they intent to maintain older functionality for as long they’re able.

Most likely you’re correct, but I was basing my assumption from the following:

However, the Port Authority of NSW said no oil spills had been reported by vessels.

Time may tell I guess…

Natural undersea oil leak somewhere?

All of which should be done by human beings. Period.

Currently, maybe. But technology is fantastic at accuracy, better than humans in many regards. Gemini might have a way to go before it gets there, but it or its successors will get there and it’s moving fast.

Productivity is irrelevant here

I’m not sure it is. Productivity also refers to efficiency of services. If AI can make the services of the National Archives more productive for its staff and/or the public then surely that’s a good thing?

🎵 Tesla Optimus! Humans in disguise! 🎵

You’re mistaken. There is no Season 2 of Altered Carbon.

Maybe they should turn that mirror on themselves. Take a long look at the ‘non decent humans’ within their own ranks:

https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/4/23901575/ubisoft-executives-arrest-sexual-harassment-investigation

This initiative calls on the European Commission to establish a European tax on great wealth. This would contribute to the Union’s own resources, and the revenue would make it possible to amplify and perpetuate European ecological and social transition and development cooperation policies, cofunded by the Member States. The contribution would be used to combat climate change and inequality and would help to ensure that European citizens pay their fair share towards achieving these objectives.

Second recommendation for Affinity Photo as a Photoshop replacement. 👍

Stopping tax evasion by implementing a global tax cooperative so nations can stop competing in a downward race on tax rates

You may or may not be aware that the OECD has already begun implementing something like that:

https://www.bdo.global/en-gb/insights/tax/international-tax/pillar-two-updates-status-of-implementation-around-the-world