floof.org
So, have you ever thought your devices were listening to what you were saying, and then ads for that thing would show up...and all the pundits kept telling us it was coincidence and we were just seeing patterns because people seek patterns?
Yeah...naw. @404mediaco in their tradition of breaking all kinds of news, would like to tell you that you're not insane, and the pundits were wrong.
404 brings receipts: Cox Media Group (CMG) says it can target adverts based on what potential customers said out loud near device microphones, and explicitly points to Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Bing as CMG partners.
MindSift boasted about targeting advertisements by listening to peoples’ everyday conversations through microphones in their smart speakers.
Here's the deck, read it for yourself: https://www.404media.co/heres-the-pitch-deck-for-active-listening-ad-targeting/
(free signup may be required, iirc, but if you've got spare change, consider subscribing too. They're doing yeoman's work out here on the data front.)
#Enshittification
404 Media previously reported Cox Media Group (CMG) was advertising a service that claimed to target ads based on what potential customers said near device microphones. Now, here is the pitch deck CMG sent to prospective companies.Joseph Cox (404 Media)
Last repost: the city of Amsterdam has asked renowned graphic designer Karel Martens to come up with a pattern to paint on streets with a 30km/h speed limit so they would visually appear smaller and thus reduce speed.
Article in Dutch https://www.amsterdam.nl/ingenieursbureau/nieuws/nieuwsberichten/nieuws/2024-jul-dec/karel-martens-ontdekken/
PSA: how to not get tricked regarding quantum computing
when the quantum-computing hype train says "we only need x qubits to do terrifying thing" they're talking stable, error-free qubits, sometimes called "logical qubits"
when the quantum-computing hype train says "we just built a computer with y qubits" they're talking about physical qubits, which today are not stable, error-free qubits.
we're not even sure how many physical qubits it takes, on average, to get a logical qubit. some experts think dozens. others estimate in the thousands. some people think we can reduce that number using AI or other tricks.
"I have five cars" does not necessarily mean that all five work. "I have a thousand qubits" does not necessarily mean I can run a thousand qubits' worth of processing.
This is why quantum computing news always makes it sound like we're around the corner from world-altering capabilities, but quantum computers have so far not altered the world very much.
Regex isn't hard enough, so I present you with a crossword where all hints are regular expressions!
I confess at first it looked like the hints don't contain enough information to solve the puzzle but after some slow but steady progress I can confirm that they do 🤣
The original puzzle is from https://puzzles.mit.edu/2013/coinheist.com/rubik/a_regular_crossword/
I shared this on my blog: https://mathspp.com/blog/problems/regex-crossword
Can you solve this crossword where all hints are regular expressions?mathspp.com
Not "hallucination", just bullshit !
"The machines are not trying to communicate something they believe or perceive. Their inaccuracy is not due to misperception or hallucination. As we have pointed out, they are not trying to convey information at all. They are bullshitting."
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10676-024-09775-5
Recently, there has been considerable interest in large language models: machine learning systems which produce human-like text and dialogue.SpringerLink
I need this machine really badly.
#books #reading #comics #humour
Checks and balances …Tom Gauld (The Guardian)
I don't know if you're allowed to be attracted to an artist's interpretation of your own sona...and yet, here we are... 
Super cool 5min comm painted on a NYC parking ticket envelope by the phenomenally talented @fexazaur during the AAC Barking Lot pop-up last night!
I will always boost this quote; that’s just the rules. But the image doesn’t have alt, so here’s the key text:
“Sometimes people use ‘respect’ to mean ‘treating someone like a person’ and sometimes they use ‘respect’ to mean ‘treating someone like an authority’
“and sometimes people who are used to being treated like an authority say ‘if you won't respect me I won't respect you’ and they mean ‘if you won't treat me like an authority I won't treat you like a person.’” https://mstdn.ca/@Schteve/113023778195165583
Attached: 1 image @Jorsh@beige.party @mmiasma@mastodon.sdf.orgMastodon Canada
Happy Fursuit Friday! At TFS last weekend, I tried doing a little photoshoot with help from a couple friends! 💙
The rest will be uploaded later, but here's one of my favorites.
📸 @kalysta.bsky.social
🧵 @poeproductions
#FursuitFriday #Fursuit #Furry #Otter #TFS #TFS2024 #FurrySiesta
Cirba Solutions officially opened its expanded lithium-ion battery processing plant, using funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.Canary Media
Apparently it’s International Dog Day 🐺
How would you caption this photo of me? Wrong answers only
📸 @chadthegryph.bsky.social
I'm not sure what bit of my brain is responsible for this, but I just have a habit of accumulating *stuff*.
Things that seem interesting, or are cheap, or look like they might be useful.
The problem is that when I realise "oh I've got too much stuff", I absolutely fail at getting rid of things.
It's the sort of "this is just a bit too nice to straight up throw away, but finding someone who might use it is a bit of a stretch"
PSA: Twitter* links are almost completely useless if you don't have an account.
Links to tweets will give you that one tweet, none of the replies or other parts of the same thread. Links to profiles will just redirect to a login screen.
If you post a twitter link, it is useless to a lot of people. Add a screenshot or copy the text you want people to see.
(before you reply that you already know: I know that you, dear reader, know. you are awesome that way, after all. but people who still have a twitter* account don't, because they don't see this)
* Allegedly known as "X"
The problem with humans is that we think we’re separate from nature, when in fact, we are nature.
When we destroy this planet, we destroy ourselves.
When we protect this planet, we protect ourselves.
We have a lot of growing up to do.
It’s time to evolve.
If you've ever dreamed of being a sweet and sultry coyote, now is your chance! Sunset Coyote is officially available on TheDealersDen until Sunday evening!
💛🧡🩷💜 https://www.thedealersden.com/listing/sunset-coyote-fullsuit/286480
#fursuit #fullsuit #forsale #auction #coyote
This fursuit features:-Head built on a 3d printed flexible foam headbase (printing done by Dattas), following eyes, hair poof, a USB powered muzzle fan, lined with a balaclava.www.thedealersden.com
Jamage at FWA24
🐕: JamageArts
📌: FurryWeekend
#Furry #Furries #Fursuit #FursuitFriday #Photography #Anthro #FurryArt #FurryArtist #FWA #FWA24
So putting an air purifier in a day care cuts kids sick days by a third.
Man, someone from Waterloo public health should just grab their credit card, order 220 air purifiers, and give two to every child care center in the city.
The results of the study at two Helsinki daycare centres are still preliminary but promising, a researcher says.Yle News
