What is kind of terrifying about this, aside from everything else, is that this "company" used the actual likenesses and reputations of actual human academics/scientists without their consent or knowledge to make itself sound authentic. Scary times. www.404media.co/company-offe...

Company Offering ‘100% Human-Written, Never AI’ Medical Research Is Entirely AI

Research Gold's team of human methodologists are either AI generated or using the identity of real people without their permission

404media.co

I work at a public library. People who want to use AI seem to have no trouble doing so. People who don't want to use AI have a harder time. I crowdsourced and then finalized this document "How to disable or avoid intrusive AI" and then gave it a short URL: notoai.org Please pass along if it's useful

Somehow without mentioning cybernetics, corporations, or emotional trauma someone really nailed the mood of the Murderbot series

Rosewind@rosewind.bsky.social · last mo.

One of my favourite reviews of “Platform Decay” by @marthawells.com 😂😂😂 No spoilers!

Steve Jobs was the Beau Brummell of technology. I want phones with transparent purple cases. I want buttons.

The secret to eating mulberries is to go fast and don't look too closely

Yesterday my daughter asked me what’s the difference between prisons and universities, and I failed to think of a witty response in time. But thinking about it, prisons do still give you tenure for a really significant contribution to your field

With many newspapers closed & no clear path for local public libraries to preserve digital-only reporting, the work of safeguarding journalism’s record increasingly falls to @archive.org - and their ability to preserve knowledge for the public good is under attack www.wired.com/story/the-in...

The Internet's Most Powerful Archiving Tool Is in Peril

As major news outlets cut off the Wayback Machine, journalists and advocacy groups are rallying to protect the Internet Archive’s vast collection of web pages.

wired.com

No longer my computer

I don't know what the answer is to keep local journalism going but it probably isn't web pages so choked with ads they stutter in my browser even WITH ad blocking turned on

What a great headline

Bluesky has nearly 40 million left-leaning users. Since many Democratic leaders & candidates are slow to build reach and engagement on Bluesky, my goal is to have 25k Iowa-focused followers by the end of '25 so I can amplify Democrats in 2026. Everyone in #Iowa, please follow and share. #VoteBlue

I know that switching to paying cash for physical media isn't a realistic solution for everything, but consumers should start considering workarounds and solutions, because corporations do not and will not make things better. Airgaps & flashdrives.

Alekgator@alekgator.bsky.social · 12mo ago

That TF story you commissioned? Account banned. That vore comic? Banned. That custom puphood? Banned. That latex catsuit? Banned. That fursuit? Furries are called deviants and sexual so... Banned. You went to a con? A furry one? Banned. CALL YOUR PAYMENT PROVIDERS!

#OpEd: The Tea app claims to make dating safer for straight women, but a copycat app for men shows the danger of allowing digital surveillance to stand in for "safety." Screenshots from TeaOnHer—already the second-most popular app in the Apple store—show it being used for misogyny and racism.

The Tea App Markets Itself As a Safe Whisper Network. It's Just More Digital Surveillance

The biggest red flag is that the Tea app seems to be an attempt to quick-fix on an individual level what is a structural problem — that is, misogyny — via surveillance culture.

tnvge.co

The CDC’s Publications on Demand office is closing, but you can order free materials until Friday, August 15. Informational, fact-based materials are available here: wwwn.cdc.gov/pubs/

Activating a national surveillance network to share with the police amidst a mass deportation push is comic book villainy.

Matthew Guariglia@mguariglia.bsky.social · last yr.

Amazon Ring is re-pivoting back to surveillance, including introducing a new tool to let police request footage from Ring users again. The reason they pivoted away was like...4 years of horrendously bad press, atrocious brand recognition, and hard pressure by activists around the country!

Have just realized that the silly “Bezos wants to buy Vogue as a lavish wedding gift for his bride” story that’s been circulating is inaccurate - Bezos wants to buy Condé Nast which owns The New Yorker,Teen Vogue, Wired & Arts Technica because he is an oligarch who wants to crush all dissent.

So… how can you protect yourself? Customs and Border Protection has broad authority to search travelers’ devices when they cross into the United States. Here’s what you can do to protect your digital life while at the US border.

How to Protect Yourself From Phone Searches at the US Border

Customs and Border Protection has broad authority to search travelers’ devices when they cross into the United States. Here’s what you can do to protect your digital life while at the US border.

wired.com

There are options other than using Spotify. If for some reason you really want to pay to stream music, I guess there's Tidal and others. Older article but still true. inthesetimes.com/article/spot...

How Spotify Is Quietly Supporting the Military-Industrial Complex

Unbeknownst to most users, Spotify has a secret endeavor—backing the efforts of war.

inthesetimes.com

Kevin Techau is suspending his campaign for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, citing insufficient fundraising. His exit leaves Democrats without a challenger to GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson, who has won three straight terms in the northeastern Iowa district.

I feel like young David Cronenberg opened a drawer and was surprised by a very old potato at a formative age.

I love the thing where a mystery/suspense show will have a theme song called "the midnight dance of the creepy dolls" and it is basically a minor key version of the Leave It To Beaver theme

The Minnesota shooter apparently used data broker websites to find the home addresses of the people he shot and murdered. Congress has had years to do something about data brokers and they've sided with the tech lobby over and over again. Their inaction is deadly.

Don't be shy. Grab yourself a heapin' helpin' of free software. 🍴 Today's list of free software from OlderGeeks.com Please share. No ads - no crapware - no b.s. since 2008! #computer #computers #tech

We talk about scientists in the US leaving the country. Many will leave science altogether, and many more will never become scientists. This is an old post I made about how grad school sucks.

tired: people AI-generating rando images of themselves as anime WIRED: AI’s energy use already represents as much as 20 percent of global data-center power demand, new analysis has found

AI Is Eating Data Center Power Demand—and It’s Only Getting Worse

A new analysis of AI hardware being produced and how it is being used attempts to estimate the vast amount of electricity being consumed by AI.

wired.com

pitching my comic idea to DC: aquaman's new archnemesis is called Man Ray. no, not a half human half manta ray monster. Man Ray, the surrealist painter and photographer. he just challenges aquaman's preconceptions about formalism

Microsoft's Recall feature is now part of Windows 11. It does a screenshot every 3 seconds and feeds it into AI. They made it opt-in...for now. Please place your bets now for which update will switch it to opt-out! Or get Steam or Mint or something, I don't know, I'm not your mom.

Time for another digital security PSA with guitar … here’s “All the Small Things” but it’s about scrubbing metadata from your photos before you post them 🤘

Quick reminder that Google bought Fitbit a few years back, and was subject to a DOJ investigation as a result. At the time they said they would protect user privacy, but now they are forcing users to migrate from the Fitbit website to a Google account.