"How many warehouses of destructively scanned books would be too many?" #AI #LLM @anthropic.com @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Why is Anthropic destroying books? | Kathryn James

The AI company apparently found destructively scanning ‘all the books in the world’ easier than dealing with copyright in its quest for training data

theguardian.com

Spent lunchtime yesterday volunteering as an informal English (and maths!) teacher at the STARCH drop-in for #asylum seekers and #refugees ...1/2

Computer scientist Frances Allen was a pioneer in the field of optimizing compilers. + 1st woman to win the Turing Award + Her research directly shaped compiler design, code optimization & automatic parallel processing Born #OTD in 1932 & died #OTD in 2020. #WomenInSTEM #CompSci

"Embrace the Mediterranean life." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Murderous heat, an endangered food supply, decimated landscapes: embrace the Mediterranean life | George Monbiot

As climate disaster stares us in the face, the radical right says ‘Embrace the Mediterranean life’. Embrace death, more like it, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

theguardian.com

Crop yields down, our countryside scorched and over 2800 people are dead due to this summer's heatwaves. Meanwhile fossil fuel giants are raking in record profits. We must end this rampant profiteering, and cut fossil fuels from our energy mix as soon as possible.

Damian Carrington@dpcarrington.bsky.social · 2d ago

BP profits more than double to $5.7bn in three months as Iran war sends oil prices soaring - "While BP banks enormous profits, millions of households are paying the price" #energycrisis #climatecrisis www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Was inducted as a Tech Mate volunteer by Sunderland City Council yesterday. Sunderland Minster are planning to open a Digital Health Hub under the scheme to enable more #digitalinclusion in our community. www.sunderland.gov.uk/volunteer

Volunteer - Sunderland City Council

sunderland.gov.uk

As I often do on a Sunday, I worshipped at Sunderland Minster, part of the Inclusive Church network, yesterday. A verse from one song read: "But we make his love too narrow by false limits of our own; and we magnify his strictness with a zeal he will not own." ... 1/2

The Arctic Circle just reached a temperature that once seemed almost impossible for such a frozen region: above 100°F, or 38°C … a shocking first … fragile regions are rapidly changing. Sometimes one number can tell a much bigger story … climate change is no longer distant. It’s here. It’s now.

While France, Spain and the UK burned with wildfires, South Tyneside's #climate emergency declaration was officially rescinded on Thursday by the Reform UK led council. #climatecrisis BBCNews www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

South Tyneside Council rescinds climate emergency declaration

A Reform UK motion argues the council can improve the local environment without the official pledge.

bbc.co.uk

The 'destructive scanning' of books by #AI companies is spreading across the world. "If somebody wanted to come and buy all my books and cut them up, well … I’d be unhappy at one level, but I’d be happy at another” @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

‘More than just objects’: Australian booksellers raise alarm over ‘horrific’ destruction of rare titles to feed AI

Secondhand booksellers believe they may have been caught up in the AI supply chain that sees old books scanned then destroyed

theguardian.com

Spent time this morning (and yesterday morning) on another leaflet round for @southtynegreens.bsky.social Kathryn Kaupa is standing in the 6 Aug Harton by-election. Uneventful, except for one friendly pussycat who was sure I could open their front door for them!

Getting into (and out) of serious trouble online: when is fus__ro_dah not fus_ro_dah? www.pcgamer.com/games/an-inn... @pcgamer.com #pcgamer #skyrim

An innocent man spent 18 months in prison because police misread his Skyrim user name

The error came to light while lawyers were working on his appeal.

pcgamer.com

Started updates on the CREST (Compact for Racial Equality in South Tyneside) website yesterday (crest.uk.com). The site hasn't been touched much for a couple of years, so it will take me a while to sort out with just a couple of hours volunteering a week. #equality

A compelling argument for #diversity from Adrian Tchaikovsky's (@aptshadow.bsky.social) character Stig in 'The Doors of Eden': "She can help because, when we take her to where the problem is, she will have different thoughts to us ... 1/3

Destroying rare books after feeding them to #AI anyone? An article from @pcgamer.com about the destructive practices of AI companies seeking the last morsels of human-written material for their #LLM before destroying the books so no one else gets them too. www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/...

AI companies are anonymously buying and destroying millions of books through middleman services to avoid headlines about AI companies buying and destroying millions of books

Booksellers say they're facing a sudden surge of orders for seemingly random rare books—and fear they might be profiting from their destruction.

pcgamer.com

This haunting and powerful #climate video by Prof Kevin Anderson (@kevinclimate.bsky.social) from last year's #NationalEmergencyBriefing shows our species very clearly trying to kill itself. Watch it! #climatecrisis #PEBuk youtu.be/rI8z6A0c5Q4?...

Climate - Prof Kevin Anderson | National Emergency Briefing

YouTube video by The National Emergency Briefing

youtu.be

Spent time this morning on another leaflet round for @southtynegreens.bsky.social Kathryn Kaupa is standing in the 6 Aug Harton by-election. It wasn't too eventful, but one person cleaning a resident's front porch told me he was from the Lawe Top and they're all Green there!

More #nurdles pour into the sea; when will this devastating pollution end? www.theguardian.com/environment/... #plasticpollution

One billion plastic pellets spilled into River Tyne after two ships collide

Up to 25 tonnes of nurdles, the raw material for plastic manufacturing, have spread further than initially feared

theguardian.com

Attended the inaugural meeting of the South Shields Climate Cafe yesterday evening. Some good discussion getting organised and deciding the first few actions. We meet again in a month's time. #PEBuk #climatecrisis

Went to see Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey yesterday evening, a powerful film with much to say about war, leadership, responsibility and the breakdown of rule-based international order. Amazing that Homer's 2800-year-old epic poem still has a strong voice today.

Completed my first addressed letter round supporting Kathryn Kaupa standing for @southtynegreens.bsky.social in the Harton by-election (South Tyneside). Went fairly smoothly except for for unmounting and remounting (with difficulty) one garden gate!

Sad article in @theguardian.com on the lack of linkage to the #climatecrisis and #netzero in newspaper #heatwave reporting. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Most UK media reports on June heatwave failed to mention climate crisis

Exclusive: Analysis of nearly 2,500 articles finds almost three-quarters made no reference to global heating

theguardian.com

Attended the South Shields Lecture yesterday evening at Harton Academy, my old school 1979-81, with David Milliband interviewing @davidolusoga.bsky.social. Some thought provoking insights from history, both personal & national, political commentary and a chilling warning about the perils of #AI.

I have just signed the petition 'Hold a UK-wide briefing on climate and nature risks'; why don't you? petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76... #PEBuk #climatecrisis

Petition: Hold a UK-wide briefing on climate and nature risks

The UK faces growing risks from climate and nature breakdown - from extreme weather to economic disruption and national security threats. Yet the public has never been given a clear national briefing ...

petition.parliament.uk

Spent yesterday morning on my first ever leaflet round for @southtynegreens.bsky.social. Kathryn Kaupa is standing in the 6 Aug Harton by-election. It was hot and tiring, but had some good (and not so good) chats with residents. Out looking for six missing houses this morning!

Spent yesterday lunchtime on informal English teaching for #asylum seekers and refugees at the South Shields STARCH drop-in, and helping overcome other individual #integration challenges faced by migrants to the UK #ESOL

"It's like the Wild West in the North East." "All you need is the tumbleweed coming down." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Anti-social crime leaves South Shields 'like the Wild West'

Locals say they are being terrorised despite authorities' claims of targeting criminal behaviour.

bbc.co.uk

An enjoyable and informative day at the North East Green Party regional conference and AGM, including inspiring keynote from @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social

Attended my first @southtynegreens.bsky.social monthly meeting yesterday evening: where will it lead? 💚

Attended a follow-up meeting yesterday evening for an earlier screening of the People's Emergency Briefing. If there's one screening near you, well worth watching, especially if you are a councillor or MP. nebriefing.org/screening-map #PEBuk #climatecrisis

National Emergency Briefing

Find a People's Emergency Briefing screening near you, or spot a gap that you can fill by hosting a screening.

nebriefing.org