Whatever: Does the orange one dance with the walrus?
Crapto
- Over 2% of the US's electricity generating capacity is being wasted on Bitcoin.
- Many companies that were wasting energy on crapto are now wasting it on "AI" instead. Which brings me to…
"AI"
- When participating in war games, chatbots tend to choose violence and nuclear strikes.
- In India, an algorithm now declares people dead, and it's up to them to prove they're still alive.
- Google would like to feed your text messages into its LLM system. (Time to start using Signal.)
- UK delivery company DPD put a chatbot on its web site. The chatbot swore and called DPD the "worst delivery firm".
- Scammers are reportedly using neural network voice cloning software.
- A Formula E team tried using an AI-generated female influencer to promote diversity and inclusion.
Environment
- Tesla settled a lawsuit from 25 California counties over dumping lead acid batteries, paint, brake fluid, aerosols, antifreeze, acetone and diesel fuel into landfills. (Previously...)
Technology
- Indian company Appin Technology was allegedly involved in hacking and spying for hire, and founder Rajat Khare doesn't want his name on the Internet.
- A study concludes that more than 7 hours of screen time per day is harmful. (That's OK, the rest of mine are at night.)
- YouTube now has around 14 billion public videos, several of which are worth watching.
- Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan publicly wished death upon San Francisco politicians.
- In 2021, Amazon said it would put a moratorium on sharing its facial recognition technology with police. Good news, moratorium's over.
- Police paid a company to predict someone's facial appearance from their DNA, and then ran facial recognition software on the result.
Politics
- Former Republican congressional candidate was charged with a hate crime for destroying a Satanic Temple display at the Iowa Capitol.
- Under the Trump administration, the White House pharmacy handed out modafinil, morphine, fentanyl, Ambien, hydrocodone, and ketamine, with two lucky staffers getting 2,000 Ambien and another (or possibly one of the same ones) getting 990 modafinil. (Dancing with the walrus? That would explain a lot.)
Brexit dividends
- The UK had the worst food price inflation of any G7 nation in 2023. Now Brexit border controls on food items have come into force, so prices will go even higher.
- Attempts to get a post-Brexit trade deal with Canada collapsed after two years of negotiations.
Valentine's Day gift ideas
- For $50, a New Jersey animal shelter will name a cat after your ex-boyfriend, and then neuter it.
- Want something cheaper? For $5 a Rhode Island shelter will bury your ex's name in a cat litter box.
Education
- A motivated chemistry student in Illinois was punished for his extracurricular studies.
- States that legalized recreational marijuana saw a boost in college applications from top-notch students.
Bad behavior
- Lincolnshire Wildlife Park has a new plan to persuade five African Gray parrots not to swear.
- A Canadian conspiracy theorist who claimed the government was responsible for the 2023 wildfires pleaded guilty to setting 14 wildfires.
- A New York man was arrested for spray-painting squirrels.
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