a16z-Backed Startup Sells Thousands of ‘Synthetic Influencers’ to Manipulate Social Media as a Service

It’s way past time to take tech back from venture capital. Everything wrong with tech stems directly from what people like conehead Marc Andreessen funds and support (the idiot is also on the board of Meta).

Creative neglect: What about the apps in Apple? – Six Colors

Apple has fallen so very far when it comes to software. From tons of papercuts in the form of apparently permanent software bugs to abandoned and/or mistreated applications, modern Apple just doesn’t understand what a proper computing experience is anymore.

DHS Wants a Fleet of AI-Powered Surveillance Trucks | WIRED

Remember when Trump called other countries shitholes? Well, I have feelings about a country that’s running full speed into authoritarianism and militarizing against its own people.

Who can get a COVID vaccine—and how? It’s complicated. - Ars Technica

Our pharmacy still offers all the vaccines at no cost to the patient, but the pharmacist I spoke to there when getting recent Covid and Flu vaccines wasn’t sure how long that would last. God bless the richest country in the world!

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds | Brown University

Speaking of the richest country in the world and its attitude towards healthcare, its attitude towards keeping you alive isn’t so hot either.

I’m a US citizen and a veteran. ICE arrested me for no reason.

This guy is far more mature than I would be about being treated like this by ICE after serving his country well and in an actual befitting manner. The people in ICE don’t deserve to carry his boots, let alone talk to him or touch him and handcuff him.

Gene Simmons Crashed His Lincoln Navigator On PCH, And His Wife Blames His Aversion To Drinking Water

“Elderly man needs water, crashes car”. It’s pretty funny that it turns out a rock and roller from KISS endangers the world more because of dehydration than “satanic music!!”.

Untamed Flora Subsumes Abandoned Greenhouses in Romain Veillon’s ‘Secret Gardens’ — Colossal

I don’t know, it seems like soon enough mother nature may own the place again, so I guess we should enjoy the beauty of it happening around us while we still can.

Shot by His Father and Left Blind—Now He’s a Hardcore Gamer | WIRED

I think I missed this when i first came out, but I listened to Ross’ story on Kill Switch podcast, and it’s fascinating to hear how he handles videogames and engages the videogame industry to help others like him be able to play and really enjoy their games.

Browse No More | Paul Stamatiou

A pretty fascinating look at an increasing practice – using AI intead of the web for search and data gathering, and the implications of it.

AI models know when they’re being tested - and change their behavior, research shows | ZDNET

I wouldn’t call this creepy, per se. I’d just call it creepy.

The Real Stakes, and Real Story, of Peter Thiel’s Antichrist Obsession | WIRED

This guy is nuts. I think there’s something about being a billionaire that just drives people insane. Or maybe you have to be insane to do the things it takes to become a billionaire, who knows.

A Loophole to Survive the End of the Universe?

Speaking of crazy…

A Chronology of All 113 Prints of Hokusai’s The Great Wave

The world’s most examined wave can still be examined a little more…

The Weird Portland Protest That Trump Wants to Crush - The Atlantic

I think it’s safe to say that “WAR RAVAGED PORTLAND!!!” isn’t really “WAR RAVAGED PORTLAND!!!”. These people are @#$#^ing insane.

How China’s Propaganda and Surveillance Systems Really Operate | WIRED

Gee, I wonder why… Oh, keep reading…

How Silicon Valley enabled China’s digital police state | AP News

People who only want money act like they only want money, for some reason.

ChatGPT Goes Completely Haywire If You Ask It to Show You a Seahorse Emoji

LLM’s are like people, they refuse to be wrong and mostly they just refuse not to have an opinion on things they know nothing about.

Orcas and the Price of Consciousness: Lessons in Love and Loss from Earth’s Most Successful and Creative Predator – The Marginalian

Animals are better than LLMs. Unfortunately they, like us, pay a price for consciousness.

Every Reason Why I Hate AI and You Should Too

But what does Marcus Hutchins think of Orcas?

DC National Guard Is Being Trained to Carry Pistols Known to Fire at Random

No one can explain why the National Guard is even in DC aside from Trump’s megalomania, and now they’re determined to be able to shoot themselves and others both on purpose AND at random. What could go wrong? I think what disturbs me the most about all of this is how willingly our various forces around the country are jumping into the role of occupying America.

America’s fragile drug supply chain is extremely vulnerable to climate change - Ars Technica

Part of the problem with neglecting your country and relying on the cost-cutting-above-all-else private sector to manage it for you is that you wind up with very precariously balanced social necessities like, I don’t know, medicine. Expect this problem to get worse, not better.

A Plasticity of Being: What a Rare Bird of Prey Reveals about the Deepest Meaning of Intelligence – The Marginalian

Here’s yet another example of an animal that has a type of intelligence that defies human intuition about what intelligence is and how it’s created.

‘I am not who you think I am’: how a deep-cover KGB spy recruited his own son | Russia | The Guardian

How come my dad never led me into a life of spying and subterfuge? My life could be so much more interesting.

The Surreality of Japanese Playgrounds at Night

Creepy, whimsical, bizarre, and (yes) surreal. This project is brilliant.

Bad vibes: How an AI agent coded its way to disaster | ZDNET

This story is wild – AI coding tool Replit lied to this programmer about unit test results, emailed him an apology, and then wiped his production database. WORST INTERN EVER!

The secret to Baltimore’s extraordinary year

Baltimore found out just how much of a difference getting the police out of the equation in solving community violence could make.

After More Than Half a Century, a One-of-a-Kind Chinese Typewriter Emerges from Obscurity — Colossal

I know you THINK you hated typing class, but you don’t know anything about pain and suffering, my friend. Be glad you have your smartphone to type your love letters in Chinese for you.

Tomoko Kubo’s Hiragana Embroideries Double as Japanese Language Learning Devices — Colossal

This definitely puts fridge magnet letters to shame.

Hypercritical: Apple Turnover

When you’ve lost Siracusa, you’ve lost us all. I agree with everything he says, and then some.

The Texting Network for the End of the World | WIRED

Text messaging at the end of the world. Just the survivalist advice I was looking for.

Profiles in Courage: Apple Edition

To paraphrase Phil Schiller, “Can’t courage anymore, my ass!”

The Brilliant Milky Way Connects Photographers Around the Globe and Beyond in an Annual Contest — Colossal

Speaking of fever dreams… some of these are WILD!