Rynling R&D

Mamdani Shuts Down NYC’s Disastrous AI Chatbot
https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-chatbot-mamdani

In a press conference held last week, Mamdani made it a point to single out New York City’s large language model as a target for destruction. “The previous administration had an AI chatbot that was functionally unusable,” Mamdani said. “It was costing the administration around half a million dollars. That, in and of itself, is not something that can bridge the budget gap, but it’s an indication of the ways in which money has been spent while refusing to account for the actual costs of what these programs are.”

Indeed, the bot is now dead.

Good for him. Amazing how so many of these stupid problems are so easy to fix.

The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem
https://thewalrus.ca/the-publishing-industry-has-a-gambling-problem/

If buying the debut is a rollicking night at the craps table, then the sophomore project is the sober morning after. Gone is the clean slate. What publishers really want to see, McGrath says, is growth. “More than any particular number, they’re looking to see a track that is always on the rise.” This is impossible to prove after only one book, especially a book that loses the publisher money. Which is to say: almost all of them.

( Read more... )

Idk man. Fun times. I'm doing my best to write and publish reviews; and, despite everything, I think my own stories are worth the struggle and anxiety of the publication game. Still, I wish everything didn't have to be so difficult.

I finally finished a stupid two-panel comic (this one here) about my fantasy of taking direct action against oligarchs. The no-minimum tariffs bullshit absolutely wrecking the small businesses of indie artists was the straw that broke my back.

( Read more... )

But also, listen. In actual reality, hammers.

I'm putting together a slideshow about the contemporary glorification of Japanese wartime imperialism in otaku media, and.

Like obviously I don't think it was in any way good for Japan to commit genocide on the Asian continent, or that it was fun times for Japan to force its own citizens into a military that was, by all accounts, nothing less than hell on earth. Obviously. But listen. The aesthetic of that era was sick.

( Read more... )

I say with nothing but sincerity that I'm against authoritarianism in all forms, but also I'm starting to think that progressive movements need better propaganda.

Renewing calls for Tufts to adopt March 4 TCU Senate resolutions
https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2024/03/4ftk27sm6jkj

The great author and civil rights champion James Baldwin once wrote: “The paradox of education is precisely this: that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which [they are] being educated.” As an educator, President Kumar should embrace efforts by students to evaluate “diverse and sometimes contradictory ideas and opinions.” We urge President Kumar and the Tufts administration to meaningfully engage with and actualize the resolutions passed by the Senate.

So you're telling me that half a dozen plain-clothes ICE agents gestapoed some poor study abroad student off the street in broad daylight for being one of the four co-authors of this toothless student paper op-ed? Cool. Great. Awesome. I need to lie down.

German media: We know exactly what the fuck that meant
https://bsky.app/profile/bubbaprog.lol/post/3lg7gdv7wbk2f

To be fair, it's just the headlines that are "unclear." The text in the American articles I've seen has no ambiguity. But still.

( Read more... )