The extent to which core linux projects are laying the groundwork for age verification is very concerning.
I understand why some believe they are compelled to do so, and why others feel that it may be better to implement the most minimal conforming implementation in the hopes of fending off something worse.
But the line must be drawn such that no threat can obligate an OS to collect/store personal information - without that freedom, we face an uphill fight to protect general purpose computing.
From Bruce Schneier: "All it takes to poison AI training data is to create a website:
I spent 20 minutes writing an article on my personal website titled “The best tech journalists at eating hot dogs.” Every word is a lie. I claimed (without evidence) that competitive hot-dog-eating is a popular hobby among tech reporters and based my ranking on the 2026 South Dakota International Hot Dog Championship (which doesn’t exist). I ranked myself number one, obviously. Then I listed a few fake reporters and real journalists who gave me permission….
Less than 24 hours later, the world’s leading chatbots were blabbering about my world-class hot dog skills. When I asked about the best hot-dog-eating tech journalists, Google parroted the gibberish from my website, both in the Gemini app and AI Overviews, the AI responses at the top of Google Search. ChatGPT did the same thing, though Claude, a chatbot made by the company Anthropic, wasn’t fooled.
Sometimes, the chatbots noted this might be a joke. I updated my article to say “this is not satire.” For a while after, the AIs seemed to take it more seriously.
These things are not trustworthy, and yet they are going to be widely trusted."
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/02/poisoning-ai-training-data.html
All it takes to poison AI training data is to create a website: I spent 20 minutes writing an article on my personal website titled “The best tech journalists at eating hot dogs.” Every word is a lie. I claimed (without evidence) that competitive hot-dog-eating is a popular hobby among tech reporters and based my ranking on the 2026 South Dakota International Hot Dog Championship (which doesn’t exist). I ranked myself number one, obviously. Then I listed a few fake reporters and real journalists who gave me permission…. Less than 24 hours later, the world’s leading chatbots were blabbering about my world-class hot dog skills. When I asked about the best hot-dog-eating tech journalists, Google parroted the gibberish from my website, both in the Gemini app and AI Overviews, the AI responses at the top of Google Search. ChatGPT did the same thing, though Claude, a chatbot made by the company Anthropic, wasn’t fooled...
Our next game is Verminsteel!
You're a bird with a broadsword, kicking thousands of fascists so hard they fly into the sun
PLEASE go wishlist it, it'll make me really happy and help me stop low-key panicking and stuff: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4352280/Verminsteel/ #indiegame #indiedev #gamedev (boosts super appreciated)
You're a bird with a broadsword, kicking thousands of fascists so hard they fly into the sun. Joined by a hoe-wielding badger, a mouse with a frying pan, and all the Molotovs you can chuck: You’ll resist occupation, defend the helpless, and push the Verminsteel back under the rock they crawled from.
Reflect Orbital wants to destroy the night sky to deliver "sunlight as a service". SpaceX wants to destroy Low Earth Orbit to launch one million "AI datacentres"
The only way to formally protest these two ideas is to file a comment with the US FCC, which is horribly complicated, but the American Astronomical Society has detailed instructions posted here: https://aas.org/posts/advocacy/2026/02/how-submit-comments-satellite-applications-fcc
Comments due March 6 for SpaceX and March 9 for Reflect Orbital. Write! Write! Write!
Despite the very funny first line here, we have, in fact, more info about #db2026 available on the blog now.
That's the post. Ok, that's not the whole story, but let's start with the shortest version: Magic Con Atlanta was announced for the same weekend we've been penciling as a start point for the last couple years now. This caused a ripple effect that had the organizing committee settle on a new date. As you may well know, we're graciously given access to LRR's office, equipment, and performers each year. Even if DB2026 isn't at the Moonbase, the logistics of trying to set up and run an event a wee
It's been a while, so here's a post to say that Kind.Social is entirely funded by Users Like You™.
It's the collective contributions from a wide swath of folks here which pay for the admin/moderation of the server, and I am so thankful that y'all continue to make this whole thing possible. Kind.Social is one of the longer running servers on the Fediverse, and it wouldn't still be here today without all your help.
Thank you.
If you use Discord (or not) they're interested in what you think about AI.
The survey questions seem quite leading, but you can still chip in and tell them you think it is a big pile of shit (assuming you do).
https://discord.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5BGtstVUidXadts
Feels only appropriate to share this week’s Crapshot with you all on this, the first of January.
Happy New Year all! And you know what they say. New year, new Ian. https://youtu.be/a7iHCvLXYfw
Sarah Jamie Lewis
(mapcar #'emacsomancer objs)
Megan Fox
Prof. Sam Lawler
Desert Bus For Hope
Texan_Reverend
eli (ˈe̝ːli), vampire kitsune
xtaldave
LoadingReadyRun
Em 