politics
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 “A Boy’s Own Story” was seminal for many of us in the 1980s. His most recent memoir “The Loves of My Life”, 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 ‘Hallucinations’ Are Worse Than Ever https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2025/05/06/why-ai-hallucinations-are-worse-than-ever/
AI is getting ‘more powerful’ 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 “reasoning” systems from companies like OpenAI is producing incorrect information more often. Even the companies don’t 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 🗑️
The Chicago Sun-Times used AI to write a Summer Reading list - and it was full of garbage including recommending books that don’t exist …
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 Amazon’s grip.
If you’d 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:
Ideally, start using a service that supports local bookstores:
- Libro (audiobooks): https://libro.fm/
- Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/ebooks
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
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 “a day without Lesbians is like a day without sunshine”.
Anita Bryant, singer and anti-gay rights crusader, dies aged 84
“Breakfast without orange juice is like a day without sunshine.”
Book of the Day - “The Future is History” (Masha Gessen, 2017)
Subtitled “How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia”. A warning we need to heed.
#books #history #booksky #totalitarianism
Glorious day in Pōneke the day before the hikoi mō Te Tiriti hits town.
It’s 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:
Lies are the path to totalitarianism
“Before mass leaders seize the power to fit reality to their lies, their propaganda is marked by its extreme contempt for facts as such, for in their opinion fact depends entirely on the power of man who can fabricate it.” – Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism 💬
I think we all need to work hard to retain our composure in the face of the many challenges and provocations we face. Not because we shouldn’t address those issues - but precisely because a well considered response is essential. #mbnov
Alexa, Amazon and loss leading
So it seems that Alexa is making huge losses for Amazon.
It is not that making losses is unusual for Amazon; their entire business model is based on ‘loss leading’. The problem with Alexa appears to be that the ‘loss’ wasn’t ‘leading’ to anything…
Amazon Alexa is a colossal failure - on pace to lose 10 billion this year
