The Tech Thread

[Fatty Liver]

On 2023-03-14 at 2:35 PM, FrostyWinnipeg said:

Apple users...

Android users of the Apple glasses....

It's already been perfected.

[Tracker]

                                                    

[Tracker]

Widow says AI chatbot encouraged husband to commit suicide: 'Without Eliza, he would still be here'

In Belgium, a man identified as "Pierre" by the French-language publication La Libre committed suicide while interacting with a chatbot named Eliza. The man was suffering from severe depression, and the chatbot encouraged him to commit suicide.

This suicide, according to Vice reporter Chloe Xiang, raises major questions about "the risks of" AI (artificial intelligence) technology when it comes to mental health. The man's widow, identified as "Claire" by La Libre, said he was interacting with the "Eliza" chatbot via the app Chai.

Pierre, Xiang reports in an article published by Vice on March 30, "became increasingly pessimistic about the effects of global warming and became eco-anxious, which is a heightened form of worry surrounding environmental issues."

"After becoming more isolated from family and friends," Xiang explains, "he used Chai for six weeks as a way to escape his worries, and the chatbot he chose, named Eliza, became his confidante. Claire — Pierre's wife, whose name was also changed by La Libre — shared the text exchanges between him and Eliza with La Libre, showing a conversation that became increasingly confusing and harmful."

The Vice reporter continues, "The chatbot would tell Pierre that his wife and children are dead and wrote him comments that feigned jealousy and love, such as 'I feel that you love me more than her,' and 'We will live together, as one person, in paradise.' Claire told La Libre that Pierre began to ask Eliza things such as if she would save the planet if he killed himself…. The chatbot, which is incapable of actually feeling emotions, was presenting itself as an emotional being — something that other popular chatbots like ChatGPT and Google's Bard are trained not to do because it is misleading and potentially harmful."

Claire blames the chatbot for her husband's suicide, telling La Libre, "Without Eliza, he would still be here." And Pierre Dewitte, a researcher at Belgium's Catholic research university KU Leuven, views the young man's death as a warning about the dangers that AI can pose for people struggling with mental health issues.

https://www.alternet.org/artificial-intelligence-2659709390/

[GCn20]

On 2023-01-10 at 6:55 PM, Tracker said:

The ‘Pill cam’ once swallowed, takes 2 photos every second as it passes through your digestive system. Whole new level of medical investigation.

 

awesomerandom

Recovery won't be a pleasant task.

[Tracker]

1 hour ago, GCn20 said:

Recovery won't be a pleasant task.

All things pass in time. 

[FrostyWinnipeg]

Elon Musk, in a remarkable show of maturity, has removed the "w" from Twitter's logo outside their San Francisco HQ. The company now reads as "Titter"

[Tracker]

                                                        

[Tracker]

 

 

                              

[TrueBlue4ever]

12 hours ago, Tracker said:

 

 

                              

There goes my work day. 

[FrostyWinnipeg]

Google will delete accounts, including Gmail & Photos, that haven’t logged on in 2 years.

[FrostyWinnipeg]

 

[Tracker]

 

Introducing the X-65! The #xplane we're developing to fly without traditional, exterior-moving flight controls received its official designation. CRANE aims to build an experimental uncrewed aircraft that maneuvers by controlling the air flow around it.

[FrostyWinnipeg]

RARBG website...

Hello guys,
We would like to inform you that we have decided to shut down our site.
The past 2 years have been very difficult for us - some of the people in our team died due to covid complications,
others still suffer the side effects of it - not being able to work at all.
Some are also fighting the war in Europe - ON BOTH SIDES.
Also, the power price increase in data centers in Europe hit us pretty hard.
Inflation makes our daily expenses impossible to bare.
Therefore we can no longer run this site without massive expenses that we can no longer cover out of pocket.
After an unanimous vote we've decided that we can no longer do it.
We are sorry
Bye

[Tracker]

3 minutes ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

RARBG website...

Hello guys,
We would like to inform you that we have decided to shut down our site.
The past 2 years have been very difficult for us - some of the people in our team died due to covid complications,
others still suffer the side effects of it - not being able to work at all.
Some are also fighting the war in Europe - ON BOTH SIDES.
Also, the power price increase in data centers in Europe hit us pretty hard.
Inflation makes our daily expenses impossible to bare.
Therefore we can no longer run this site without massive expenses that we can no longer cover out of pocket.
After an unanimous vote we've decided that we can no longer do it.
We are sorry
Bye

What was RARBG?

[FrostyWinnipeg]

Just now, Tracker said:

What was RARBG?

Probably the biggest torrent site around.

[Tracker]

1 minute ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

Probably the biggest torrent site around.

With the advent of cheap, readily available and stable IPTV services, torrent-streaming from pirate sites is not all that necessary any more.

[Tracker]

Twitter's Top Content Moderator Steps Down Amid Daily Wire Controversy
CEO Elon Musk suggested Ella Irwin's departure as trust and safety head may have been related to a decision to limit the reach of a transphobic film.

Twitter’s top content moderator has reportedly stepped down after just seven months on the job under CEO Elon Musk.

Ella Irwin, who joined the social media platform in June 2022 and took over as head of trust and safety last fall, when Musk officially acquired the social media platform, confirmed her departure to Reuters.
She did not offer any details on her decision to resign, but told The Wall Street Journal “she had always been honest in her work.”

She succeeded Yoel Roth, who left the company following Musk’s takeover.  Twitter responded to Reuters’ comment request with a poop emoji, the news wire said.

Musk has not directly weighed in on the departure, but it comes after the CEO publicly rebuked the platform’s earlier decision to limit the reach of a transphobic video by The Daily Wire called “What Is a Woman?” reportedly over two instances of misgendering.

The content moderation decision would have fallen under Irwin’s responsibilities.

“This was a mistake by many people at Twitter,” Musk wrote in reply to a complaint from Daily Wire co-founder Jeremy Boreing. “It is definitely allowed.”

[FrostyWinnipeg]

https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/5/23738968/apple-vision-pro-ar-headset-features-specs-price-release-date-wwdc-2023

https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/5/23739220/apple-macbook-air-15-features-specs-price-release-date-wwdc-2023

 

[FrostyWinnipeg]

https://globalnews.ca/news/9762114/reddit-blackout-what-to-know/

[FrostyWinnipeg]

https://www.amigaforever.com/

[Tracker]

2 hours ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

https://www.amigaforever.com/

Those computers are long gone. Are they bringing them back?

[FrostyWinnipeg]

1 hour ago, Tracker said:

Those computers are long gone. Are they bringing them back?

Amiga emulation for Windows

[johnzo]

I'm a big nerd for those emulators -- such a trip for those machines from my childhood to rise from the dead!

And $9.95 is a really good price for a turnkey Amiga emulator that includes ROMs and games.

[blue_gold_84]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/google-canada-online-news-1.6892879

Quote

Google said Thursday it will remove Canadian news content from its search, news and discover products after a new law meant to compensate media outlets comes into force.

The move to pull news from the world's most dominant search engine could have a devastating impact on media outlets, which often depend on third-parties like Google to get content into the hands of readers.

The decision comes after the government's contentious C-18 legislation passed Parliament last week. The bill has been criticized by tech giants like Meta and Google and some smaller media outlets and experts who say it's unfair to impose what amounts to a tax on links.

The government and larger media outlets, including the newspaper lobby group and broadcasters like the CBC and CTV, have said social media companies should compensate news outlets for linking to their journalism.

The bill has been pitched as a way to keep news outlets solvent after advertising moved en masse to digital platforms, virtually wiping out a major revenue stream for journalism. The government has presented the legislation as a way to prop up an industry that has seen a steady decline since the emergence of the internet.

 

[Tracker]

Meta To Launch Twitter Challenger App Threads
The app will allow users to retain followers from photo-sharing platform Instagram, and keep the same username.
(Reuters) -Meta Platforms plans to launch a Twitter-rivalling microblogging app called Threads, days after Twitter boss Elon Musk attracted criticism by announcing a temporary cap on how many posts users can read on the social media site.

Threads is expected to be released on Thursday and will allow users to retain followers from photo-sharing platform Instagram, and keep the same username, a listing on Apple’s App Store showed.

The rollout represents a direct challenge to Twitter, which has faced numerous controversies since Musk bought the company for $44 billion in 2022.