mhoyeDuring the first few weeks of Operation Desert Storm we'd routinely see footage of entire battalions of Iraqi soldiers walking up to the first American GI they could find waving white flags, believing that the worst thing that could happen to them at the hands of the American military was a shower, an MRE and a pack of cigarettes. The mythos of America as just actor was largely intact then, and that mythos saved a lot of American lives. And then Abu Grahib happened, and that all ended.
Gerald Squelart
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C++ dev ~ Low-volume poster, so following me will be boring at best, opinions my own and not my employer's ~ He/him.
Lesley Carhart 
abadideaI do not have a sub or a free access link with which to read the New Yorker article on whether Sam Altman is a habitual liar. But I can say this.
I was raised by a man who’d lie constantly. He’d promise me anything and everything, and there was always some last-second off-screen emergency that prevented it from being fulfilled. When I questioned why we were always broke if he made so much money, he assured me I just didn’t understand yet how expensive life really is; as an adult with less income and more mortgage who’s nonetheless in the black, I know it literally doesn’t add up.
Sam Altman triggers my instinctive disgust reflex. Every photo, every video, every voice clip fills me with an urge to either scream at him or get the fuck away. I don’t know this man. But I know his damage.
John QuigginAs the recent arrest of Ben Roberts-Smith reminds us, war crimes are forever. Quite possibly in 60 years time, a retired Russian officer on holiday at some European tourist destination will be arrested for war crimes committed in Ukaine. And now US soldiers face the same risk.
Mastodon MigrationThis one takes the cake.🤷
Seems like a new scam is AI companies making infringement claims against the musicians they scraped for sounding like themselves.
Turns out it works because the claims are adjudicated by, you guessed it, AI agents.
"Because YouTube’s copyright claim system operates without individual human review of each dispute, Campbell’s channel was effectively handed over [to the AI company.]"
https://rudevulture.com/ai-company-clones-musicians-voice-then-copyright-strikes-her-own-songs/
h/t @jeeynet https://framapiaf.org/@jeeynet/116359059101502550
AI Company Clones Musician’s Voice, Then Copyright-Strikes Her Own Songs
Folk musician Murphy Campbell found herself at the center of a major ordeal when an entity called Timeless Sounds IR uploaded AI-generated imitations of her music to every major music platform, then used her recordings to strip her of her own income. According to sources, the scheme worked like this: someone fed YouTube videos of ... Read more
Lady Laura 
I’m so jealous of people who can go to bed and immediately fall asleep. Is nothing on your mind at all?
Danielle ForéRE: https://mastodon.social/@elementary/116325116309116883
Someone asked me for a refund over this post, so I’d like to make something clear: our community consists of trans and gay and disabled people and people of color and people whose first language is not English and a whole host of other kinds of marginalization and I have no plans to ever stop celebrating that. If that’s a problem for you, I am extremely happy to give you your money back.
elementaryIt’s also #TransDayOfVisibility today! It’s a good day to acknowledge that if you’re using desktop Linux, you’re almost certainly using something made at least in part by transgender people. And we must continue to work to dismantle systems of discrimination against the trans folks in our community 🏳️⚧️
Diane