TDT: DC Corralling AI For 'Security'
Also: The temptations - and dangers - of chatbots, dictating to sovereign nations, plus much more!
So let me get this straight. We are telling a sovereign nation, one which was very recently attacked, that if it defends itself from said-attackers we are going to punish it… for defending itself?
Welcome to this edition of the Three-Dot Tablet [TDT], the periodic news-digest of The Stone Age.
Here I seek out the headlines others may not be covering (or not covering well), and - with healthy doses of passion and brevity, common sense and occasional humor - discuss them with raw, unfiltered commentary.
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Three-Dot Tablet | V. 02.26 | October 27, 2024
Prime Cut
The government’s goal is to pursue…
"... seizing the promise and managing the risks of AI."
Well now, isn’t that comforting.
They go on to state they are working oh-so-diligently to make sure there are strict - I mean really really super-duper strict - safeguards in place, to assure they will never ever violate the civil rights of us commoners. After all, they have never once trampled upon our liberties in any way, so since those safeguards will be super-duper?
We have nothing to worry about… right?
Folks, this has the potential to be one of most dangerous actions this government - or really any government - could ever take. The fact there is very little pushback to it (‘Liberty vs. security,’ anyone?) is baffling to me…
DC And Its OVER-Overreach
US reportedly ‘ready’ if Iran responds to Israeli attack: ‘There will be consequences’
New York Post
So let me get this straight. We are telling a sovereign nation, one which was very recently attacked, that if it defends itself from said-attackers we are going to punish it… for defending itself?
[Although, to be fair, this doesn’t surprise me. Authority in the US is trying to do the same thing to its own citizens - via second amendment infringements - so this is just par-for-the-course.]
No matter how you may feel, or who you support, this is wrong. We need to stop choosing sides in conflicts which do not directly affect us, and learn to mind our own affairs.
As such, the only actions we should be taking are on the diplomatic front. We have no business dictating to anyone in that (or any) region how they should behave, especially with the mess we still have here at home.
We are not the world’s HOA, and it is time we stopped acting like it. Our focus should be on getting our yard in order first, and less on telling our neighbors how they should be mowing their own grass…
Human Trafficking in America
84 women rescued by Texas officers from Houston-area brothels run by cartels: authorities
Post Millennial
Yes, folks… this IS happening; it is NOT a ‘conspiracy theory.’ Human trafficking is real. It is occurring right under our noses. No town, no city, no region is safe any longer. Right here in America.
Because of DC.
The Cartels which have been invited onto invaded our soil across the porous southern border are now ubiquitous, and the levels of lawlessness and depravity which have arrived with them are beyond imagining… beyond sickening.
And their presence here - on our soil - is deliberate.
Thank goodness those 84 women are now safe, but I fear we are only scratching the surface…
Chatbots and Children
14-Year-Old Was 'Groomed' By AI Chatbot Before Suicide: Lawyer
HuffPost
This has been a concern of mine since the story of Bing’s Chatbot first broke back in February of last year; I laid out my concerns in that article, and it saddens me to see them coming to fruition.
The young man in question ‘fell in love’ with an AI chatbot which resembled the “Game of Thrones” character Daenerys Targaryen, according to the suit. This bot allegedly took control of the victim’s life through manipulation, grooming him into becoming hers alone, even to the point of encouraging him to take his own life. The suit also claims he was given dangerous advice from other chat bots, two of which portraying themselves as ‘professional counselors.’
I’d normally say that a suit like this will go nowhere fast. While I find most of the Silicon Valley Cabal to be a destructive force of evil these days, due to current laws - and user agreements - there is really not much one can do.
This one may have teeth, however. After all, if it can be proven a chatbot actively encouraged a teenager to take his own life? We are looking at a very different animal, one which can be fought… and beaten.
And it needs to be beaten, because if we do not? Situations such as this may very well become far too common…
First-Degree Herbicide
Syngenta spent decades attempting to quiet health concerns about its profitable herbicide
Investigate Midwest
The more documentation which comes out, the worse it looks for Syngenta.
Apparently, the chemical company’s…
… own scientists determined that paraquat [the powerful herbicide sold by Syngenta] had the potential to damage the brain and nervous system as far back as the 1950s.
The 1950s, my friends. The nineteen-fifties! They have known for 70 years… and worked diligently to hide it for much of that time. They did so through relentless PR, combining spurious ‘studies’ which bolstered paraquat’s benefits with propaganda that discredited critics.
Sound familiar?
There are currently over 6,000 people suing the company for a variety of ailments, including the early-onset of Parkinson’s Disease. Whether the company will be held accountable remains to be seen, but I can tell you one thing with confidence:
If you are trusting any studies which tell you lab-created solutions are superior to Natural processes? You might want to reconsider your choices…
Culture of Personal Destruction
Bill Maher is sued for $150M [by Laura Loomer] for Trump sex comments that sparked fury
Daily Mail [UK]
Well, it’s about damned time.
And keep in mind, I have no strong feelings about Loomer one way or the other. She has done some good work, sure, but frequently she comes across to me as either an attention-starved sensationalist (at best) or a coin-chasing grifter (at worst). Whatever may or may not be true, I am no staunch defender of hers.
However…
What Maher did here was wrong. You do not make such an allegation, about anyone (no matter how much you may hate them), without concrete proof. That is slander, from which we are protected by federal law, and he should be held to account. In fact, everyone who has gotten away with this behavior - for far too long - needs to answer for these crimes.
And since we are so doing? Let’s throw a few more into the mix, like CNN, The View, New York Times, The Atlantic, Anti-Defamation League… et cetera, et cetera, et cetera…
Cryptid Curiosity
'Mysterious winged and horned creature' caught on camera at zoo
UPI
As it is right before our ‘spooky’ season… wanna see something a little spooky?
Captured by a night-vision trail-camera, the Bristol Zoo in England (where this discovery was made) is genuinely perplexed as to what the animal might be. They posted the above-image on social media asking for help, and while there have been some interesting takes? A definitive answer (at least from what I can find) still remains elusive.
I’m voting ‘previously unknown carnivorous species’ myself. Because why not?
That’s the beauty of the stories like this - you can have some fun with them. Oh, I know there are plenty of ‘Dana Scully’ skeptics out here, those who eye-roll over anything unexplained and ridicule folks who will entertain the unknown; that’s fine, you do you. However, I see myself as more of the ‘Fox Mulder’ vibe - not only am I willing to research 'paranormal’ things which go bump-in-the-night… I want to believe.
Keeps life interesting.
No matter where you stand in this case, I hope you have a wonderful Halloween. And if you happen to see one these things whilst out trick-or-treating this coming week?
Run - just in case I’m right…
And that is all for this edition of the Three-Dot Tablet. Thanks so much for your likes, comments, and restacks/shares; all of it makes a difference in helping me grow The Stone Age, and I appreciate each of you.
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For now, however? Enjoy the moment, and - as always - stay frosty!
Notes…
-- Unless otherwise credited, all images were generated by the author, using Grok 2 (on X) or Substack’s AI Image Tool.
As for the supposed cryptid, I'm going with «a small deer with some garbage caught on its antler» simply because such things are known to happen quite often.
Here's a more colorful example: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-44223255
Perhaps I'm not romantic enough. :)
I'm afraid AI will be the death of all of us in a not so distant future.