In a troubling first, AI employed in mass online influence campaign
The use of AI to trick unsuspecting users and create people who do not exist marked a major, troubling new development, researchers said.
Johanna Lindsey, Bestselling Romance Novelist, Has Died At 67
Lindsey started writing romance on a whim, and she wrote more than 60 novels – and sold more than 60 million books. – The New York Times
Jeanette Winterson Is Worried About AI
The author of Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit and 10 other novels, along with much nonfiction and several children’s books as well, Winterson says, “People always say ‘let’s get the technology out there and lots of people will benefit in time.’ Well, no, because by that point, the technology will change and the rich will control it completely. The world is moving too fast for the trickle-down effect.” – The Guardian (UK)
Why your cat is lousy at chess yet way smarter than even the most advanced AINextWeb
Why your cat is lousy at chess yet way smarter than even the most advanced AINextWeb
OGNAP: how the Government protects its donors and tax dodgers
Bring out yer dead, bring out yer dead. Tis' the season to bury the news. Michael West reports on OGNAP. If you don't know what OGNAP is, or beneficial ownership registers, this story is a must-read
IT’S COME TO THIS: AI System Warns Pedestrians Wearing Headphones About Passing Cars.
The Japan News: “People who habitually read paper books tend to have a higher degree of willingness to work on anything and to think more multilaterally than those who prefer to read electronic books on a smartphone or a computer, according to a recent survey by the National Institution For Youth Education, which was released Monday…
“People who have a habit of reading possess such abilities regardless of the medium. But the survey has made it clearer that physical book readers are better in those abilities,” an official of the institution said…”
They've announced the winners of this year's Jalal Al-e Ahmad Literary Awards, one of the leading Iranian literary awards; see also the Tehran Times report, Memoirs of suspect in Mykonos murders case wins Iran's most lucrative literary prize.
It's interesting to see that no prize was awarded in the fiction categories -- neither best novel nor best short story. I wonder what messages the judges (authorities ?) were sending .....
Last year, Finland launched a free online crash course in artificial intelligence with the aim of educating its citizens about the new technology. Now, as a Christmas present to the world, the European nation is making the six week program available for anyone to take.
Atlantic – The shared phone was a space of spontaneous connection for the entire household. “…Over the course of the 20th century, phones grew smaller, easier to use, and therefore less mystical and remarkable in their household presence. And with thespread of cordless phones in the 1980s, calls became more private. But even then, when making a call to another household’s landline, you never knew who would pick up. For those of us who grew up with a shared family phone, calling friends usually meant first speaking with their parents, and answering calls meant speaking with any number of our parents’ acquaintances on a regular basis. With practice, I was capable of addressing everyone from a telemarketer to my mother’s boss to my older brother’s friend—not to mention any relative who happened to call. Beyond developing conversational skills, the family phone asked its users to be patient and participate in one another’s lives…”
LEARNING TO CODE ... These Reporters Lost Their Jobs. Here Are the Stories They Couldn’t Tell..
LAURIE PATTON. Unintended consequences: How NSW planning laws have stolen democracy from ratepayers
One of the fundamental principles of the democratic system enjoyed in Australia for more than 200 years is the right to make representations to your local MP, or in the case of local government to your elected councillors. Regrettably, changes made last year to NSW planning laws have denied ratepayers this ability and effectively handed unbridled power to unelected council bureaucrats. Continue reading
‘Everything is Burning’: Australian Inferno Continues, Choking Off Access to Cities Across Country Common Dreams. The map mentioned in the article.