One reason, maybe not the only one, could be that they’re being told it’s all lies or in any case untrustworthy reports, or hugely exaggerated. I’ve seen many examples of this.

Tbh I always loved the idea of an opinionated car GPS/AI, just for fun, I always thought it would be hilarious if it gave instructions with an attitude or responded to the driver in kind, depending on what you throw at it. Still not buying a Tesla, just saying.

Very well said. I wish I could articulate this as well as you have here.

FYI, the manosphere is replete with non-white males, and that is not even including the inherent male chauvinism in other cultures. I’m sorry but the critique on whiteness is a little lazy intellectually.

There were subtitles for fuck sake 🙄 I didn’t have to interpret anything. Also, Iranian state TV. There is very little that is ambiguous about the video or what the lady in question represents. Also, I seriously doubt she’s a “journalist” as we like to imagine them, doing investigative work, field work, serving the people, and uncovering the truth. Probably just a mouthpiece for the theocracy on state tv.

Such an excellent visual! Conveys so much, like the very gradual growth of the EU, the abrupt dissolution of the Soviet Union, the long history of both… of course the circular axis makes it look like the Soviet Union is as much present today as the EU… which is kinda misleading, but actually interesting as one could argue that it has left its mark on Europe and its legacy continues to influence geopolitics in the region.

Well, I thought I’d feel nothing if perhaps a little shock, but seeing her flee for her life as she was self-righteously wagging the finger, something that she probably does often in defense of the Ayatollah, was kinda satisfying. Let’s not forget who these people are who uphold this tyrannical theocracy, TV propagandists included. I do not condone what Israel is doing, but just for one moment this felt good.

I don’t think they will, but I’ve been thinking that one way Israel could get current and potential future enemies off their back for good would be if they finally showed the world that they do possess nukes and are not afraid to use them, possibly by making an example of someone. I do hope they won’t prove quite so callous.

AFAIK they’ve tried that before and Israel beat all of them. There’s no contest.

I can absolutely see that. And I don’t think it’s AI-specific, it’s got to do with relegating responsibility to a machine. Of course AI in the guise of LLMs can make things worse with its low interpretability, where it might be even harder to trace anything back to an executive or clerical decision.

Or maybe that is part of the allure of automation: the eschewing of human responsibility, such that any bias in decision making appears benign (the computer deemed it so, no one’s at fault) and any errors - if at all recognized as such - become simply a matter of bug-fixing or model fine-tuning. The more inscrutable the model the better in that sense. The computer becomes an oracle and no one’s to blame for its divinations.

Unfortunately that’s par for the course for any nation in capitalism. Of course it takes on special meaning given Musk’s involvement with the US administration but every capitalist nation promotes its major businesses abroad one way or another.

If only there were a sizable resistance to Putin, maybe then it would make sense.

I am not surprised that Orban would push such a thing. But I am surprised that they would go as far as to amend the constitution for this, with seemingly a very comfortable majority. Is this really a reflection of Hungarian society nowadays? Have so many jumped on the conservative moral panic bandwagon over LGBTQ?

Zuck puts out this weird “pick me” or “me too” energy lately, trying to fashion himself as one compatible with Trump’s world. His interest in Rome may precede Trump’s ascension to power, but his coming out is not a coincidence in my view. And yes, a fascination with Rome started as so many other things as an “innocent” meme and became a fascist dog-whistle.

Thanks for the correction, it’s Augustus Cesar. Still, what an odd connection. Good article btw.

Whether they are returned or not, truth is it will make no difference to any of my life concerns as a Greek. It will make the Acropolis museum a little more spectacular. And it may then bring a little more money than before. That’s it. So yeah, I support the return of all stolen treasures in principle, but the truth is that if they were ever returned it would be more cause for a brief swell of national pride and milked for what it’s worth by whichever government happens to be in place than anything of actual consequence.

Also, by having the artifacts stay at the British Museum, they bear testament to the massive scale extractive exploits of colonialism and how the fates of entire peoples have depended on the favor or disfavor of great powers. I kind of find it more embarrassing for the UK that they are keeping them and every time they refuse to return them it reminds me how rotten and racist the underbelly of western powers is, hidden not-so-well beneath a cultured and democratic veneer.

Yes, but Trump does represent a qualitative change. At least there was some consensus in Washington before him, both on domestic and international affairs. That made the US rather predictable. You knew where your values and interest met theirs and where they did not. That is no more. The US is now home to both some of the most forward thinking people and institutions and some of the most influential regressive beliefs. And all helmed by a fan of the latter and whose tempers change by the minute. The US is right now in some regards a bigger source of uncertainty than either Russia or China, erratic and extremely polarized as it has become. And it’s not only markets that hate prolonged uncertainty. Foreign governments and the people do too.

Zuckerberg wears t-shirts comparing himself to Julius Caesar? Why is that every time I think I’m up-to-date on the latest weirdness there’s more of it?

I mean, Trump hate aside, I personally never thought of the song as gay. It has certainly such a wide appeal that it can be thought of as just a party song, surpassing whatever context may have provided inspiration for it. But reading the statement, I have to say that was a lot of words just to say it isn’t gay lol. And saying my wife will sue you for claiming something I wrote was gay sounds even sillier and like he’s trying to compensate for something.