gerrymcgovern

gerrymcgovern , 1 hour ago to random

"AI models take in inputs and produce outputs, but the logic and data used to reach those results are not accessible, making it difficult — or even impossible — to fully see how they operate."

https://builtin.com/articles/black-box-ai

We're giving our future over to this? A water guzzling, energy sucking, material chomping monster that can't stop lying and we can't even find out how it made up its lies.

This is progress?

This is innovation?

Wake up.

This is a grift.

This is a scam.

This is a con.

gerrymcgovern , 1 hour ago to random

AI's killer app: LIES

"A parent asked a question in a private Facebook group in April 2024: Does anyone with a child who is both gifted and disabled have any experience with New York City public schools? The parent received a seemingly helpful answer that laid out some characteristics of a specific school, beginning with the context that “I have a child who is also 2e,” meaning twice exceptional."

Just one more example of AI lying.

https://theconversation.com/ai-chatbots-are-intruding-into-online-communities-where-people-are-trying-to-connect-with-other-humans-229473

gerrymcgovern , 1 hour ago to random

"As these AI-driven accounts grow in followers (many fake, some real), the high follower count legitimises the account to real users. This means that out there, an army of accounts is being created. Accounts with high follower counts which could be deployed by those with the highest bid. There is strong evidence social media is being manipulated by these inflated bots to sway public opinion with disinformation."

https://theconversation.com/the-dead-internet-theory-makes-eerie-claims-about-an-ai-run-web-the-truth-is-more-sinister-229609

gerrymcgovern , 1 hour ago to random

"Indigenous peoples around the world have long understood that international structures and laws were created without their inclusion, and in some cases, with the deliberate aim of further excluding them. Indeed, these structures, imposed across almost all parts of the world, have colonial origins."
https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/amplifying-indigenous-voices-at-the-global-level-interview-with-dario-mejia-montalvo/

gerrymcgovern , 2 hours ago to random

"More than 70 human rights defenders in Ecuador, including indigenous leaders, were criminally charged for opposing these projects and criticizing the way consultations are held. In recent weeks, environmental activists and residents in communities affected by mining have staged days of resistance against the La Plata project, run by Atico Mining."
https://www.plenglish.com/news/2024/05/20/ecuadorian-indigenous-people-to-mobilize-against-mining-violence/

A classic tactic of the mining oligarchs is to work with the courts to criminalize the environmental protectors.

gerrymcgovern , 3 hours ago to random

Forever chemicals help us “connect us with our loved ones.” They are “essential” in making semiconductors. They are “critical” to our smartphones and computers. Any ban on forever chemicals would be “devastating” to net zero plans. Banning them would hurt data center operational efficiency. Without forever chemicals, the green, clean, sustainable and renewable future would not be possible.

Toxic Gaslighting
https://www.propublica.org/article/3m-forever-chemicals-pfas-pfos-inside-story

gerrymcgovern , 6 hours ago to random

Breaking: Apple just bought Mother Nature

"Now, it grows. Five green petals transform into the black Apple logo with a green petal. . Environment. Mother Nature. We’re committed to bringing our entire carbon footprint to net zero by 2030 through innovations in materials, clean energy, and low-carbon shipping."

https://www.apple.com/environment/mother-nature/

gerrymcgovern , 8 hours ago to random

What happens when a country has lots of "renewable" energy?

The dirtiest, most energy intense industries go there. In Iceland, bitcoin mining and aluminum smelting have thrived.

The "renewable" energy boom will in fact accelerate environmental collapse, because it encourages and gives license to the core driver of environmental collapse, which is massive overconsumption and waste.

Our crisis is cultural.
Once we were human.
Then we became consumers
Now we become devourers

We must slow down.

gerrymcgovern , 9 hours ago to random

Apple’s ‘next CEO’ says EU’s right-to-repair laws risk forcing ‘bad decisions’ on product design

John Ternus says firm is on the path to sustainability but debate lacks ‘nuance’
https://www.independent.ie/business/technology/apples-next-ceo-says-eus-right-to-repair-laws-risk-forcing-bad-decisions-on-product-design/a465200648.html

The company that gave us irreparable toxic earbuds talk about bad design.

Apple is on "path to sustainability" like all Big Tech

Big Tech: the wudda shudda cudda saved the environment crowd.

Apple, through its unrelenting greed, tried to kill Right to Repair multiple times.
Greed
Greed
Greed

gerrymcgovern , 10 hours ago to random

AI is a lie making machine that could kill you

AI is a grift

AI is a scam on multiple levels. From Big Tech, to the AI designers, all the way down. A scam, grift, dangerous con.

"Any readers looking to try to use these books to figure out which mushrooms were safe to eat and which weren’t would be out of luck, which to Trybuch was seriously concerning. “It could literally mean life or death” if you eat the wrong mushroom, he says."

https://www.vox.com/24141648/ai-ebook-grift-mushroom-foraging-mycological-society

gerrymcgovern , 11 hours ago to random

'The future is going to be harder than the past': OpenAI's Altman and Brock address high-profile resignation

Sam Altman and Greg Brockman shared points about OpenAI's safety protocols on X.

https://mashable.com/article/openai-sam-altman-greg-brockman-respond-to-jan-leike-resignation

Sam Altman and Greg Brockman had a very short conversation about OpenAI's safety protocols.

Greg: What are OpenAI's safety protocols, Sam?

Sam: We don't have any.

Greg: Ok. So, what's it all about?

Sam: Greed.

Greg: Ok. Thanks, Sam. Way to go!

gerrymcgovern , 11 hours ago to random

AI is a lie-making machine

“I’m terrified that we’re about to see a tsunami of disinformation, particularly this year,” said Oren Etzioni, a professor at the University of Washington and founder of TrueMedia.org, a nonprofit aimed at exposing A.I.-based disinformation. “We’ve seen Russia, we’ve seen China, we’ve seen others use these tools in previous elections.”

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/05/19/technology/biased-ai-chatbots.html?unlocked_article_code=1.tU0.WM4F.ISAqsLoknkyc&smid=url-share

All this water, all this energy, all these materials ... for lies and quick bucks.

gerrymcgovern , 1 day ago to random

I’ve been working with Web content since the mid-Nineties, and it has always had a content quality and maintenance problem. 95 out of 100 organizations I have worked with (and I’ve worked with some of the biggest organizations in the world in some 40 countries), they wanted to publish, publish, publish; nearly never to maintain. The Web is a launch-and-leave junkyard. And every year the percentage of content there that has simply been left to rot, it grows and grows.

https://gerrymcgovern.com/web-content-has-a-maintenance-problem/

gerrymcgovern , 1 day ago to random

"If global wealth was a pie, some people get a much larger slice of it to others. Those who get much larger slices offer varied arguments of focusing on making the pie bigger. A bigger pie could potentially offer a win-win solution to everyone, except that the pie would have to be huge to meet the basic requirements of those getting insignificantly smaller proportions of it. Moreover, the resources needed to continue making this proverbial pie bigger are not infinite."

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2467106/time-to-transcend-the-obsession-with-growth

gerrymcgovern , 1 day ago to random

"Degrowth calls for an organized slowing down of society, to minimize harm to humans and other species. Degrowth and post-growth proponents conceive economic growth as a major driver of environmental degradation. Beyond a certain scale, the economy is seen to enter into conflict with ecological life-support systems, the costs of growth accelerate, and environmental conflicts multiply."

https://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322(24)00146-5?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2590332224001465%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

gerrymcgovern , 1 day ago to random

"As the world’s most powerful increasingly look toward the Triangle, the largest reserve of lithium on Earth, as a crucial puzzle piece to save the environment, others worry the search for the mineral will mean sacrificing that very life force that has sustained the region’s native people for centuries. “We will lose everything,” said Flores de Callata. “What will we do if we don’t have water? If the mines come, we’ll lose our culture, we won’t be left with anything.”

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/native-groups-sit-on-a-treasure-trove-of-lithium-now-mines-threaten-their-water-culture-and-wealth/ar-BB1jQeZR?item=personalization_enabled%253afalse&apiversion=v2&noservercache=1&domshim=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1&batchservertelemetry=1&noservertelemetry=1

gerrymcgovern , 1 day ago to random

Projected electricity demand in the U.S. Northwest will likely grow by 30 percent in the next decade, a growth rate faster than previously expected. The increased demand is in part due to the large number of data centers being built in the region.

https://www.planetizen.com/news/2024/05/129067-northwest-power-demand-could-surge-data-centers-transportation-electrification

gerrymcgovern , 1 day ago to random

"The use of disposable vapes has risen particularly quickly among younger adults with over half (57%) of users aged between 18-24 opting for disposable devices. And it’s no surprise; they are widely available, cheap and attractive to young people due to their colourful branding and sweet flavours. As well as being an alternative to smoking they have attracted a new group of consumers that never previously smoked."
https://www.themanufacturer.com/articles/vapings-dirty-secret-the-uks-growing-e-waste-problem/

The glories of tech innovation.

gerrymcgovern , 1 day ago to random

Tech heroes powering net-zero: AI & the race against climate change

The sickening propaganda spewing out of Siemens

"Time remains the great, unstoppable force. It can be our ally and enabler – one of Tolstoy’s “most powerful warriors”. It unites us all in the race to net-zero."

https://www.siemens.com/global/en/company/insights/tech-heroes-powering-net-zero-ai-and-the-race-against-climate-change.html

As the super-greedy Growth Death Cult destroys everything good in this life, let us at least give them our contempt and scorn.

gerrymcgovern , 1 day ago to random

What Microsoft says: We're going to be so zero zero, so environmentally conscious. We're just beautiful, kind people, so caring.

What Microsoft does: We use 20% more water every year and cause 30% more CO2 pollution every year because we're a Super Greedy Corp and we're all in on AI and destroying the environment, every last blade of grass, if we can. And it's all inevitable. Nothing you or any government can do to stop us.

https://futurism.com/the-byte/microsoft-emissions-ai-datacenters

gerrymcgovern , 1 day ago to random

"Every time we use an electronic device like a computer, a phone, or even a washing machine, we are using energy to power the device; and depending on how that energy is generated, this can result in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions."
https://huggingface.co/blog/sasha/energy-star-ai-proposal

There is no "depending". All energy systems are polluting, CO2 generating and environmentally destructive.

It takes coal to make silicon.

Renewable, green, clean energy is a perfect example of greenwashing

gerrymcgovern , 2 days ago to random

Big Tech has got so much in common with the gun lobby. It wants to arm everyone with AI. Then, the good guys with AI can stop the bad guys with AI, while Big Tech profits from selling both sides bigger and badder AI.

AI doesn’t kill people …
AI doesn’t kill the environment …

gerrymcgovern , 3 days ago to random

When Big Tech is challenged on its energy, material and water use, it's response is always that its working on being more efficient, finding ways to keep growing but in a "greener" way.

We must challenge the Growth Death Cult.

Our environment simply cannot cope with this incessant growth of data, data centers, servers, chips, smartphones, laptops, earbuds.

There is no infinite growth on a finite planet. Driven by Big Tech, we have already bust past multiple boundaries.

It's not sustainable.

gerrymcgovern , 3 days ago to random

Hi Indigenous People. We're from the Green Transition and we're here to kill you and your children and destroy your environment because we need these green and clean metals, and you really don't want to get in our way. Have a nice day, now.

Mining tied to climate goals fueling human rights abuses, report says
https://www.eenews.net/articles/mining-tied-to-climate-goals-fueling-human-rights-abuses-report-says/

gerrymcgovern , 3 days ago to random

Mexico is suffering historic droughts and heatwaves. Mexico City is sinking because the aquifer is drying up.

Meanwhile, there is a "boom" in water intense data centers. The poor are going thirty, while the data drinks its fill.

"The data center market in Mexico is booming, with direct investment projections in excess of US$7 billion and an expected expansion of installed capacity from 81 MW to over 1000MW."
https://www.inprogroup.net/en/mexico-data-centers/

gerrymcgovern , 3 days ago to random

Microsoft grabs another 160 acres south of Atlanta for data centers
Tech giant has paid roughly $115 million this year to acquire nearly 320 acres to expand its Southside data center footprint
https://www.ajc.com/news/business/microsoft-continues-aggressive-metro-atlanta-land-grab-for-data-center-development/2OCAF752OFEUDNJTOJPVWLRDGI/

gerrymcgovern , 3 days ago to random

"In January 2020, Microsoft announced a commitment to not only becoming carbon-negative in terms of its environmental impact by 2030 but also to remove all of the carbon that it has produced since the company was founded over 49 years ago by 2050."
https://www.neowin.net/news/microsofts-indirect-emissions-from-building-lots-of-datacenters-went-way-up-since-2020/

Hah
Hah
Hah
Big Tech take us as such fools. They make all these greenwashing promises knowing full well they will never keep them, that in fact they intend to massively increase their pollution.
Big Tech Greed
Big Tech Greed

gerrymcgovern , 3 days ago to random

Microsoft said at a major press conference that it's "boosting efforts to use "greener steel, concrete, and fuels in all our data centers."

"We are greening everything," CEO Chat GPT said. (Microsoft recently made Chat GPT its CEO and chief spokesthing.) "We intend to have renewable nuclear plants beside each data center. Our water will come from the moon fed by a giant plastic pipe we're currently building. All is well, folks. We've everything totally under control."
https://www.axios.com/2024/05/16/microsoft-ai-data-center-power

gerrymcgovern , 3 days ago to random

We can’t live without forever chemicals. Any ban on forever chemicals would be “devastating” to net zero plans said the PFAS engineers and scientists. Banning forever chemicals would hurt data center operational efficiency, industry experts warned. Without forever chemicals, we couldn’t make computer chips and the green, clean revolution would not be possible, the chip engineers said.

gerrymcgovern , 3 days ago to random

"Use of petroleum-based chemicals skyrocketed during the postwar era, most of them entering the market with little concern for safety. Now, mounting evidence links petrochemicals to the rapidly rising prevalence of a slew of chronic and deadly conditions, a review published in the New England Journal of Medicine warned earlier this month."
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/18032024/fossil-fuels-toxic-chemicals-deadly-diseases/

gerrymcgovern , 3 days ago to random

The Cloud is more efficient at ... destroying our environment.

"While it is more efficient for companies to store their data in a shared centre rather than operating their own, these buildings are highly energy intensive. They rely on a continuous power supply and water-intensive cooling systems to keep the equipment functioning properly. This is not helped by the fact that many data centres are built in drought-stricken desert locations."

https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/05/16/microsofts-emissions-soar-by-30-why-is-it-building-more-data-centres-and-what-is-their-imp

gerrymcgovern , 7 days ago to random

"ChatGPT consumes a lot of energy in the process, up to 25 times more than a Google search. Additionally, a lot of water is also used in cooling for the servers that run all that software. Per conversation of about 20 to 50 queries, half a litre of water evaporates – a small bottle, in other words."

AI is predicted to consume twice as much energy as the whole of France by 2030

Training GPT3, took 1,287 MWh (Megawatt hours) of electricity.

https://www.brusselstimes.com/world-all-news/1042696/chatgpt-consumes-25-times-more-energy-than-google