Mike Stevens

@[email protected]
86 Followers
216 Following
110 Posts
🇦🇺 Publishing Director for whichcar.com.au | Dad, designer, journalist, photographer, gadgethead, cyclist. Lefty. Proud of my ADHD. 💪
Workhttp://whichcar.com.au/
Foliohttp://mikestevens.read.cv/
Mike StevensMay 12, 2023
kids have been quietly doing their own thing for 20 minutes or so

Me, in my head, absolutely not out loud: right, think I'll head to the loo.

Kids: Papa!! Can you help me pls!!
Mike StevensMay 12, 2023
Mike StevensMay 12, 2023
It's the weekend, pals. What are you up to? I have a sudden urge to hit the highway and take my time about it...

#volkswagen #vw #camper #westfalia #volkswagencamper #vwcamper #kombi #vwkombi #westfaliacamper

#carsandcoffee @highballcarsandcoffee #highballcarsandcoffee #carsofinsta #cars #car #carporn #carswithoutlimits #carlifestyle

📸 #carphotography #sonya7RV #a7RV #sonyalpha #sonyalphaanz #photography #photos #sigmaphoto #sigmaphotoaustralia #sigma85mmart #sigma85mmf14
Mike StevensMay 12, 2023
Wait, is this considered a selling point? 😂

RE: https://mastodon.online/users/9to5google/statuses/110357736039982280
9to5Google.com (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image Pixel phones to gain new ringtone inspired by Kenny G https://9to5google.com/2023/05/12/pixel-ringtone-kenny-g/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Mastodon
Mike StevensMay 12, 2023
TrashBoatMay 9, 2023
If you want to clean up your timeline and hide boosts in CalcKey, go into Settings>General>Custom CSS and add this:

.notes > .renote { display: none; }

Save and reload.
Mike StevensMay 8, 2023
Bastian AllgeierMay 8, 2023

A while ago, I read about the psycholgical effect that kicks in when someone tries to fight for a good cause, but then makes a tiny mistake.

We are very hard on hypocrisy because our brains like when things add up.

I.e. a climate activist with a plastic cup triggers much harder than Elon taking a 5 minute flight in his private jet every other day.

The first feels wrong, while the second just meets our expectations.

I can't stop seeng this everywhere ever since.

Mike StevensMay 8, 2023
David PierceMay 4, 2023
The Pixel Fold looks like it's the right size — a tablet that folds into a regular-size phone, not a TV remote like the Galaxy Fold — and if that's true I'm gonna buy one so hard https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/4/23711353/google-pixel-fold-announced
Google announces the Pixel Fold

Google has announced the Pixel Fold with some preview images and promises of more details coming at Google I/O on May 10th.

The Verge
Mike StevensMay 7, 2023
Audio link: Not my usual type of post, but worth sharing — and it's a great pod too, so look it up. My point: It's pretty frightening to hear @[email protected] equate text prompt-driven AI creations as effectively equivalent to the well-established tradition of artists learning from other artists, whether historic greats or innovative contemporaries. As co-host @caseynewton notes, artists who learn from others are still putting in the thousands of hours (years of work) to learn the craft itself, either before or in conjunction with taking inspiration from other artists.

More than that, they're integrating and evolving and often building on those inspirations and learnings, which is how art develops.

Do some creators take it too far? Absolutely, and their years spent developing the technical skill doesn't make it okay to apply no talent or creativity of their own. But in the vast, vast majority of cases, artists know where the line is and they take inspiration respectfully — and usually with credit to the artist who inspired them.

Being a 'prompt engineer', apart from being a massive ego-driven wank of a self-appointed title, is not the same thing. Are well-devised AI creations interesting? Absolutely. But when the software has learned from millions of pieces of established art with neither permission nor credit, and the 'engineer' entering the prompts is specifying 'in the style of Artist X', we've got multiple layers of grift. It is irrelevant that the finished piece might simply look inspired by Artist X if no effort is made to honour the original artist. In cases where it's a more directly and immediately identifiable copy of a style, to the point where audiences and buyers could easily confuse it as the real artist's work, that strikes me as a crime in concept if not yet in law.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cr7Jl7sp9Tv/

#HardFork is a great pod, though!
Mike Stevens on Instagram: "Not my usual type of post, but worth sharing — and it's a great pod too, so look it up. My point: It's pretty frightening to hear @kevinroose equate text prompt-driven AI creations as effectively equivalent to the well-established tradition of artists learning from other artists, whether historic greats or innovative contemporaries. As co-host @crumbler notes, artists who learn from others are still putting in the thousands of hours (years of work) to learn the craft itself, either before or in conjunction with taking inspiration from other artists. More than that, they're integrating and evolving and often building on those inspirations and learnings, which is how art develops. Do some creators take it too far? Absolutely, and their years spent developing the *technical skill* doesn't make it okay to apply no talent or creativity of their own. But in the vast, vast majority of cases, artists know where the line is and they take inspiration respectfully — and usually with credit to the artist who inspired them. Being a 'prompt engineer', apart from being a massive ego-driven wank of a self-appointed title, is not the same thing. Are well-devised AI creations interesting? Absolutely. But when the software has learned from millions of pieces of established art with neither permission nor credit, and the 'engineer' entering the prompts is specifying 'in the style of Artist X', we've got multiple layers of grift. It is irrelevant that the finished piece might simply look inspired by Artist X if no effort is made to honour the original artist. In cases where it's a more directly and immediately identifiable copy of a style, to the point where audiences and buyers could easily confuse it as the real artist's work, that strikes me as a crime in concept if not yet in law."

1 likes, 0 comments - Mike Stevens (@yomikestevens) on Instagram: "Not my usual type of post, but worth sharing — and it's a great pod too, so look it up. My poin..."

Instagram
Show threadMike StevensApr 28, 2023
😂 https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/27/23701551/bluesky-skeets-now
They’re ‘skeets’ now

On Bluesky, there’s just been a serious influx of sickos. That’s a good sign for the platform. Also, you don’t post, you skeet. Pull!

The Verge
Show threadMike StevensApr 27, 2023
Y'all I think it's over for ActivityPub. WeRateDogs is now on BlueSky.
Mike StevensApr 27, 2023
Painfully obvious that #BlueSky is going to be favoured over #mastodon (the default concept of ActivityPub in the minds of normal people) by most who leave twitter; twits LOVE a direct twitter rip. It's already building steam with people I followed on twitter who haven't bothered to make a home of Mastodon.

#blueskysocial