Julie replaced our toaster oven with a convection oven that also makes toast, with a fancy electronic control panel, and I managed to successfully use it to make toast without burning the house down. I knew today was going to be a good day.
Artificial intelligence is not a threat. The threat is that we live in a society that considers ownership as sacred and work as worth very little.
If I ever think about adopting a puppy again, I’m going to first reread my journal entries from late 2013 and early 2014.
So much poop. Poop everywhere.
Lazy Reporters Claiming Fediverse Is ‘Slumping,’ Despite Massive Increase In Usage (Mike Masnick / Techdirt) Yeah, many people try Mastodon and other fediverse services and don’t like them. But the services are growing fast, despite the bounce rate.
Elon Musk asked Twitter engineers why views of his tweets are declining. One engineer suggested the answer might be because the public is losing interest. Musk fired the engineer. (Zoë Schiffer and Casey Newton / Platformer)
Microsoft unveiled its AI chatbot-driven Bing search this week, presenting possibly the first challenge to Google’s search dominance in 25 years. In response, Google laced up its clown shoes and immediately stepped on a rake and smacked itself in the face. Google demonstrated its own AI chatbot-driven search which (a) isn’t available to the public and (b) prominently and spectacularly answered a question incorrectly.
I wrote this: Oops! Google’s new AI tool Bard showcases artificial stupidity
Epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina and plant scientist Cassandra Quave watch “The Last of Us” and discuss the science. (Your Local Epidemiologist)
Cordyceps, the fungus that causes the zombie epidemic, is real, and it is every bit as horrific as portrayed in the show … but it only affects carpenter ants. The fungus hasn’t significantly evolved in hundreds of millions of years, not even to affect other types of ants.
We will not have mushroom heads running at exorbitant speeds trying to kill us any time soon. While not as sexy, real fungal infections are a major health issue and, with climate change and the rise of antimicrobial resistance, will become even more of one in the future. But if you’re worried about a pandemic, focus on viruses. In the meantime, enjoy the show.
I posted a photo here this evening that I took at the park this afternoon. It was a photo of a woman that I thought was a bride. But some friends here pointed out that she’s almost certainly a quinceañera. Now I feel weird about it, so I deleted the photo. Here’s a photo of a duck instead.
James Cameron did an experiment to confirm the ending of Titanic. Conclusion: the door almost certainly could not hold two people. Sorry, Jack. (Jennifer Ouellette / Ars Technica)