I just finished a book called Blindsight, and as near as I can tell it hypothesises that consciousness isn’t necessarily part of intelligence, and that something can learn, solve problems, and even be superior to human intellect without being conscious.

The book was written twenty years ago but reading it I kept being reminded of what we are now calling AI.

Great book btw, highly recommended.

I’m my day that wasn’t far from the truth. We don’t need quality games machines but they’re a very nice luxury.

I’m thinking hyaenas.

IMO the score for the good the bad and the ugly is one of the all time classics and Ecstasy of Gold is incredible.

I love seeing how much influence William Gibson had on cyberpunk.

Yeah I feel the same way. I grew up with 8 bit graphics and every time I pick up my steam deck I’m amazed at how things look today, how far we’ve come. I have no desire to go back to the way things were. I know this means I may miss out on some cool experiences, but there’s so much other stuff to play and so little time. It’s great that people enjoy the retro look but it’s not for me.

If you don’t care, don’t comment.

I don’t need chatGPT etc for work, but I’ve used it a few times. It is indeed a very useful product. But most of the time I can get by without it and I kinda try to avoid using it for environmental reasons. We’re boiling the oceans fast enough as it is.

Yeah I think a lot of people don’t realise how significant these changes are going to be. It’s a big increment of the surveillance state. The fuckin Labour party are making a big lurch to the right, the Palestine Action thing is another sign of the times.

Yeah, for a long while now it’s been the case that the US exports its culture. Trends in America don’t always reach us here in Europe - gun ownership and military fetishisation being the first examples I can think of that didn’t make it across the pond. But a lot of stuff that happens in America seems to kinda osmosis into our culture after a few years.

That’s why many of us have been watching America with growing horror. Yeah, some people over here felt a bit superior, like we’d never fall for populist, nationalism, fascism. But brexit proved just how fuckin dumb our electorate can be, and that people who think they’re not vulnerable to propaganda are very vulnerable to propaganda.

More recently we have the online safety bill in the UK, which is an abomination. It’s not fully come into effect yet but when it does just one consequence is that we’ll need to identify ourselves before using social media. And, so far, people are swallowing it. Likewise the designation of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation (They’re not at all, a non violent direct action group).

Elsewhere in Europe we’re seeing similar trends towards right wing authoritarianism. It’s difficult to discuss overall trends in Europe because we’re a bunch of different countries - but the general trend in seeing is fuckin scary.

I don’t like to be a conspiracy shouter, but it almost seems like a conspiracy, this global lurch to the right. The only thing that makes me doubt conspiracy is the incompetence of our political leaders. That said, there’s plenty of competent people at the top of the capitalism tree, and politicians do what lobbyists pay them to.

You’re right, they are getting stronger and their program is accelerating. By the time we realise what’s happening it may already be too late.

Yeah, we’ve seen it coming for a while but now it seems to be accelerating.

Yep, straight to jail.

It’s probably all the pesticides and habitat erosion.

Yeah Judas looks interesting.

It’s not a serious income. Why penalise the ppl at the bottom?

Pete Hegseth blows goats. He’s banned from every petting zoo in the state.

Seems like someone is worried about tariffs on iPhones. Sadly, this will probably work too.

It may be natural to eat animals, but in modern society it is definitely not necessary. I eat some meat, but I respect those who don’t.

Imo vegan shouldn’t be seen as derogatory. I’m not one, but got a lot of respect for most of em.

Cameras are cheaper than people.

They did this here in the UK with CCTV cameras. Put the fucking things up everywhere, while cutting police funding. Result - the muggers, dealers, etc know where the blind spots are or wear masks. And if something happens and you need to call the police you are screwed for anything less than murder. And we are under constant surveillance.