politics
Thinking about La Bola Negra
Thinking about: La bola negra đż
I went to see âLa Bola Negraâ - the Black Ball - at the New Zealand International Film Festival. It was one of the closing night films - along with Coward - also an amazing film about which Iâll have more to say.
I havenât been able to stop thinking about âLa Bola Negraâ. Its epic scope, its amazing cinematography, genuinely moving performances, and a script to die for. But most of all, its relevance to todayâs world, where hate and violence towards gay and queer people is once again on the rise. This story out of the Spanish Civil War couldnât be more relevant, and connects us to the loss and suffering of queer people in that era.
It is so vital that these stories are told and heard. The loss of Lorca and so many other gay and queer people, the literal and figurative burying of their stories, the heartache and violence - all need to be recovered, remembered and drive us to action.
When this movie comes out in cinemas, go and see it. Then think and talk about what it is saying, and act.
Spending locally
This is a ludicrous amount of money for a website - but I’m more outraged this wasn’t spent within the Wellington region. Its time for our local councils to focus more on spending locally.
Sewage
So apparently Sydney dumps âfilteredâbut essentially untreated sewage into the ocean?
Yuk.
Wellington is far from perfect, but is currently spending vast sums to improve itâs current treatment and to treat the sludge byproduct created by treatment.
I know where Iâd rather live.
"The Illusion of Thinking" - LLMs face "complete accuracy collapse" beyond certain complexities....
Apple’s Machine Learning Research group has published another damning piece of analysis of the capabilities of Large Reasoning Models (LRMs) and Large Language Models (LLMs). This important piece of work further exposes the limitations of LRMs and LLMs - both types of model experience “complete collapse” when dealigning with high-complexity tasks.
The paper is available here: https://machinelearning.apple.com/research/illusion-of-thinking
The key takeaway from this is that Generative and/or General AI are far far away from being safe and useful. More limited Machine Learning algorithms designed to analyse specific types of data are clearly useful. But we should be very wary of extrapolating from this to more “general” AI models.
AI, the Brogliarchs, and the Surveillance State
Excellent Daily Show discussion with Carole Cadwalladr about the dangers for AI, the Brogliarchs and the ‘techno-authoritarian surveillance state’….
You can read more of her work here:
Edmund White
Vale Edmund White (1940-2025), prolific, highly talented and sex-positive gay author. His âA Boyâs Own Storyâ was seminal for many of us in the 1980s. His most recent memoir âThe Loves of My Lifeâ, published only this year, is a perfect capstone for a man who loved men, and wrote about them so well.
Generative AI and LLM (large language models) are in serious trouble
There is growing and very tangible evidence that Generative AI and the Large Language Models (LLMs) that underpin them are in serious trouble. We are talking here about OpenAI’s ChatGPT and its underpinning models, Google’s Gemini, and other similar LLM tools.
Not only are they built on the theft of the underlying intellectual property on which they have been trained, but it is increasingly clear that they are generating vast numbers of errors, ‘hallucinations’ and frankly, bullshit.
Now the evidence is clear that the latest, more ‘advanced’ Generative AI models are increasingly prone to errors and bullshit. The newest OpenAI model has an error rate of 40-60% - a huge jump from the 14% in the first version of the model. No one - least of all their designers - actually understands why - but a leading theory is that the model’s ‘reasoning’ is leading to a recursive number of made up errors and moving towards ‘model collapse’.
Its definitely time for anyone interested in the truth, actual work and delivering value, to hit the hard pause on any use of Generative AI and LLMs until it becomes clear what is going on here.
To be clear, this isn’t to suggest that all forms of machine learning are prone to these kinds of errors. It seems that small, less generic and targeted models can be useful tools. But it does seem that the rush to create ‘general’ models is heading for a train wreck using current approaches and tools.
References and links:
Academic Article - ChatGPT is Bullshit (July 2024) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10676-024-09775-5
AI Hallucinations are getting worse - NewScientist (May 2025) https://www.newscientist.com/article/2479545-ai-hallucinations-are-getting-worse-and-theyre-here-to-stay/
AI Hallucinations worse than ever - Forbes (May 2025) Why AI âHallucinationsâ Are Worse Than Ever https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2025/05/06/why-ai-hallucinations-are-worse-than-ever/
AI is getting âmore powerfulâ but its hallucinations are getting worse - NYT (May 2025) A.I. Is Getting More Powerful, but Its Hallucinations Are Getting Worse A new wave of âreasoningâ systems from companies like OpenAI is producing incorrect information more often. Even the companies donât know why. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/technology/ai-hallucinations-chatgpt-google.html
AI model collapse - The Register (May 2025) Some signs of AI model collapse begin to reveal themselves Prediction: General-purpose AI could start getting worse https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/27/opinion_column_ai_model_collapse/
AI model collapse - BGR (May 2025) AI model collapse might make current hallucinations seem like a walk in the park bgr.com/tech/ai-m…
What is Model Collapse (Jan 2025) In this episode of the Charlotte Content Marketing Podcast, Andrew Rusnak discusses how AI model collapse threatens the integrity of data on the Internet. Learn how AI data is feeding upon itself and how you can take steps to protect your brand from harm through authentic content. www.charlottecontentmarketing.com/knowledge…
Generative AI is garbage đď¸
The Chicago Sun-Times used AI to write a Summer Reading list - and it was full of garbage including recommending books that donât exist âŚ
www.thepopverse.com/literary-…
www.theatlantic.com/technolog…
Stop using Amazon Kindle (before it's too late)
From 26 February 2025, Amazon will stop you downloading your *own* Kindle eBooks. You will be forever stuck in Amazonâs grip.
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If youâd like to escape, download all your Kindle ebooks now before it's too late:
https://www.theverge.com/news/612898/amazon-removing-kindle-book-download-transfer-usb
Remove the DRM using Calibre:
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Ideally, start using a service that supports local bookstores:
- Libro (audiobooks): https://libro.fm/
- Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/ebooks
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Or if you prefer another option:
- Apple Books: https://www.apple.com/apple-books/
- Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/nz/en
- Tom's Guide to DRM free ebooks: https://www.tomsguide.com/tablets/e-readers/no-kindle-no-problem-5-places-to-buy-drm-free-e-books
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Powerful reminder of the underlying action required to address disasters like the L.A. 2025 fires.
The chronicle of a fire foretold | Rebecca Solnit
no personal preparation can compensate for the lack of the collective preparation that is meaningful international climate action. The current fires are reminders of the costs of forgetting
I was this many days old when I realised that this was the origin of the saying âa day without Lesbians is like a day without sunshineâ.
Anita Bryant, singer and anti-gay rights crusader, dies aged 84
âBreakfast without orange juice is like a day without sunshine.â
Book of the Day - âThe Future is Historyâ (Masha Gessen, 2017)
Subtitled âHow Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russiaâ. A warning we need to heed.
#books #history #booksky #totalitarianism
Very proud of my octogenarian parents taking part in te hikoi mĹ Te Tiriti today!
A historic event.
Glorious day in PĹneke the day before the hikoi mĹ Te Tiriti hits town.
Itâs going to be a fascinating day tomorrow.
End of a long saga in Kiribati
It has been a very long year for my partner, Judge Bill Hastings, as a serious constitutional crisis has unfolded in the Pacific island state of Kiribati.
I am extremely proud of the work he did in Kiribati before and during this crisis, and of the integrity and measured judicial approach he has demonstrated throughout.
It is deeply sad that what started as a wonderful opportunity to help the further development of an independent and increasingly indigenous judiciary in Kiribati has ended the way it has.
The article below provides a good account of this week’s developments:
New Zealand judge resigns from top-ranking Kiribati judicial position
A Wikipedia article provides the full background to the constitutional crisis: