Taran Rampersad

Author, Writer, Software Engineer. Eclectic Interests... centered around technology and humanity. A neo-generalist who has a depth of knowledge on many topics, but not enough. It's never enough.

I like being wrong because I learn something.

Privacy advocate, human rights advocate, *sensible technology* advocate.

KnowProSE.com (Tech): https://www.knowprose.com
RealityFragments.com (non-tech): https://www.realityfragments.com

Public Key

npub1j33kuu9hrg2ukwtnnpyy4hgs70hhlvl5pf3vgv9l68y8spe8cdxqsj55x2

NIP-05 Address

knowprose_at_mastodon.social@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsfgcmwwzm359wt89eesjz2m5g08mmlk06q5ckyxzlarjrcqunuxnqr84yrf

Author Public Key

npub1j33kuu9hrg2ukwtnnpyy4hgs70hhlvl5pf3vgv9l68y8spe8cdxqsj55x2

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Last Notes

2024-11-24 23:48:24

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Somewhere, someone is gonna try to compete with your post. 👀 😂

2024-10-21 10:45:32

#Israel and #lebanon: the geography has changed, the tactics the same.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz7jx575pg7o
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/345/005/305/283/333/original/ac0349b97f28d44f.jpg

2024-10-21 10:28:00

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there are no good sides, just lots of dead civilians.

2024-10-21 10:25:18

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true. Just as fantasy football is d&d for jocks.
Shamelessly, I liked Yellowstone and all it's spinoffs and I lean more left than right. Why?
It manages a group of anti-heroes across the spectrum quite well.

2024-07-05 23:16:30

#life is too long to rewind,
Too short to fast forward.

2024-07-01 17:03:17

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been here a while.

2024-07-01 12:29:19

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most of them are getting their information from here anyway:
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
I'm in Trinidad, so I do a differential from local data and them when possible.
Trinidad seems fine so far. Nothing on Tobago yet.

2024-07-01 00:45:33

An ugly possibility. #Tobago #trinidadandtobago #Hurricaneberyl2024.
Whoever named this one didn't give a very threatening name. I don't know anyone who had their ass kicked by anyone named Beryl. Maybe I lead a sheltered life.
https://newsday.co.tt/2024/06/30/tema-tobago-may-need-international-help-after-beryl/

2024-06-30 23:34:03

#Hurricaneberyl2024 I'm pretty much in that yellow dot next to the 'M' 🤣
Trinidad always gets disrespect with graphics. 👀
https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2024-06-30-hurricane-beryl-forecast-caribbean
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/708/181/820/403/175/original/8257d6926bd3eb26.jpg

2024-06-30 23:29:37

#hurricaneberyl2024 will likely give us a nice storm in #trinidadandtobago, with #0ptobago most likely getting hit harder. Good to be so close to the equator, but infrastructure will likely be put to the test with flash flooding.
School is closed tomorrow. Beautiful weather today. Tomorrow might be interesting.

2024-06-27 16:55:22

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(3/x)
The point is both sides have extremism. As with most things these days.
The world, however, is moderate.

2024-06-27 16:45:03

(1/x) I've spent an inadvertent an unt of time reading about the issues of the #gazawar. Observations as an uninvolved atheist:
(1) none of the historians mention Cyric The Great, which was an olive branch.
(2) I haven't dug into the naming history, but people of #Israel were called Israelite... But not anymore?
(3) while we discuss that Gaza is one of, if not the most, population dense areas in the world as an ex/planation/cuse for civilian casualties there is no conversation about why.

2024-06-26 16:28:15

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https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/683/783/890/322/808/original/47170e4b06ae91f5.jpg

2024-06-26 16:03:41

#ai #deepfake
https://uk.pcmag.com/ai/152984/political-deepfakes-are-the-top-use-of-malicious-ai

2024-06-26 16:03:41

#ai #deepfake
https://uk.pcmag.com/ai/152984/political-deepfakes-are-the-top-use-of-malicious-ai

2024-06-26 15:58:28

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I'm saying you could solve it yourself for yourself.

2024-06-22 02:22:00

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maybe. Anxiety feels different ways for different people, in my experience...
For me, anxiety feels like confrontation with Bo one to confront. Definitely not the standard.

2024-06-21 21:09:59

#EUROCUP2024 I'm sorry, I think #netherlands should have won.

2024-06-21 19:36:52

#wtf
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/oklahoma-man-bigfoot-summoned-strangling-b2566709.html?utm_source=press.coop
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/656/292/432/416/082/original/b1503a0128b70e3a.jpg

2024-06-21 18:51:35

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great cover of the original, which also stood on its own.

2024-06-21 18:36:40

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of course it's a slur.
Really weird etymology linking even the kkk.
Polite folk don't use that word. Most don't even know about it.

2024-06-21 18:34:37

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seems like you two should either block each other or get a room.
I'm not sure which. 👀🤣

2024-06-21 18:33:07

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there doesn't need to be a rule where you can handle a situation yourself.
Look how much of your time you spent on this, and roped in the time of others. Take control.
That's a solid rule of #socialmedia.
He's taken too much of your head space. Plenty of things to talk about aside from rude people on the internet.
You could try having him drawn and quartered though.... But that might involve international law, human rights, and an inflatable doll.

2024-06-21 12:33:39

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there's no way that anyone but you can deal with toggling of blocking.
If you block, tada, he no longer exists.
Just block.
You're welcome.

2024-06-21 12:22:16

So highly annoyed with #paywall articles on Mastodon. Just gonna mute.
If you want to sell subscriptions, allow people a test drive at least.

2024-06-19 20:27:34

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just me. I don't trust others with my ideas these days. I got burned by journalists and others too many times.
This is completely offline and under my full control. I can even air gap the system at this point.
My #freedom depends partly on my #privacy.
I'm paranoid because I lost much being open. The link below wasa year before Twitter was created. 👀😉
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4149977.stm

2024-06-19 20:23:02

Two from #Russia showed up at the bar. I wasn't sure they were Russian, so I bided my time at the bar where everyone knows me.
They sat next to me and asked me where I was from when they got their beers.
I simply said quietly, under the sound of the Police singing "Every breath you take"... A poetic accident... So very quietly...
" #SlavaUkraini "
They downed their beers quickly and left.
Yup. Ruskies. 😉

2024-06-19 17:21:45

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what's most important to me... And you might appreciate this with your background... Is that I have tags for. Things I write, but more importantly, I have tags for contexts as a separate field, since much of what I do in my head requires lateral thinking, and as the body of what I write increases, and my age increases, my available memory decreases. 🤣👀
So contextual tagging is better than just tagging based on what is written, adding a tier of depth I enjoy.

2024-06-19 16:39:01

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I use a local #drupal instance for managing my #scrivener and #scrapple. Works quite well. No #ai required, though I sometimes use olla a to verify my content is original.
I am the framework.

2024-06-19 16:33:36

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well, this was completely predictable given #Russia using #northkorea weapons on #Ukraine.

2024-06-19 16:28:15

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I've used it a few times and not encountered this sort of stuff... But I relied on the citations. The actual text was generally an amalgamation of the citations, right and wrong.
The scraping and so forth is pretty damning.
Of course, @npub1ejm…4j05 and I went round and round when they used one of my non-commercial photos on their website some years ago, which they tried to argue wasn't commercial.
So I got a giggle from this. Poetic justice.

2024-06-19 16:17:18

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... And they find each other and algorithmic ally speak amongst themselves.

2024-06-19 16:16:04

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given the age of the universe, it's quite possible life showed up prior to present day and saw something noteworthy.
In the time scale of the universe, we are a blip, so thinking everything revolves around our relatively short time on the planet brings to mind when people thought the universe revolved around us, only this time in a temporal way.
Fermi's paradoxis built on that.

2024-06-18 22:25:00

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he's alive.

2024-06-18 21:08:25

#noamchomsky is alive, folks. #socialmedia
#bumscoop
https://www.telesurenglish.net/noam-chomskys-wife-denies-the-writers-death/?noamp=available

2024-06-18 21:06:23

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he's quite alive. The stroke was last year. A quick search showed his wife denying his death.
https://medyanews.net/renowned-linguist-noam-chomsky-recovers-in-brazilian-hospital/

2024-06-18 21:01:13

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sometimes you need a link.
#socialmedia #disinformation #covid
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jun/18/the-guardian-view-on-the-us-and-vaccine-disinformation-a-stupid-shocking-and-deadly-game

2024-06-18 20:56:19

#boeing
https://abcnews.go.com/US/boeing-whistleblower-steps-forward-ahead-ceos-testimony-washington/story?id=111206197

2024-06-18 20:53:50

#boeing boing.
https://www.newsweek.com/sam-mohawk-boeing-whistleblower-latest-1914166

2024-06-18 17:14:55

Oh ffs. #Russia
https://united24media.com/latest-news/russian-troops-behead-ukrainian-soldier-in-donetsk-region-801

2024-06-18 08:57:41

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"must be #NATO again!" - Putin

2024-06-18 08:54:25

Snowden ain't wrong. #openai #ai
https://futurism.com/the-byte/snowden-openai-calculated-betrayal

2024-06-18 08:51:45

#economics of ham and bacon.
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/06/17/business/ham-bacon-prices

2024-06-12 19:19:46

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The US has openly given Ukraine information on targets - but, to my knowledge, only within the borders of Ukraine.
And what we do not know is what is called 'plausible deniability'.
This is a war being waged on two fronts - the physical front, and the economic front. Everyone is watching the battles, the violence... .
Ukraine has been at a disadvantage because of that. Everyone wants Putin gone, but every 3 months or so, Putin remembers how to say 'nuc-le-ah'.

2024-06-12 15:05:50

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expand the image. Look again.

2024-06-12 14:55:56

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how many numbers are there in a phone number?

2024-06-12 14:53:19

I think one if the zeroes is silent, but I'm not sure which.
#humor #billboard
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/604/213/921/189/810/original/6756c016d6f433fa.jpg

2024-06-09 19:19:40

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That's good news for the #Ukraine navy. 😂

2024-06-09 17:46:11

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or counted on n oligarchs to spend more money on simple maintenance? 👀

2024-06-09 17:27:08

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my abacus couldn't do the last Microsoft update.
👀👀👀😂

2024-06-09 15:26:42

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the best thing to do with the same effect is stop using their platforms.

2024-06-09 14:58:39

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the only exposed ones in our body, and they're pretty crappy

2024-06-07 14:30:05

Fascinating read. Share should be pay wall free (let me know if it isn't, it claimed to be on the site). Back when the #gop was respectable.
Yeah, that long ago. 🤣
#ushistory #speech #freedom
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/07/opinion/civil-war-wide-awakes-free-speech.html?unlocked_article_code=1.x00.cH4i.OZKixI0LxxUR&smid=url-share
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/575/803/999/422/420/original/eb1da556d9e7f702.jpg

2024-06-07 14:17:29

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yup. #privacy hashtag note.

2024-06-05 17:13:51

Even though some of us thought this, we didn't have the research. Now cely done, @npub125a…unfq .
#Israel #socialmedia #GazaWar
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/05/technology/israel-campaign-gaza-social-media.html
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/565/128/130/280/602/original/2ff0dfec7bdec06f.jpg

2024-06-04 22:54:41

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"Do not read this content warning!"
All fixed.

2024-06-02 16:46:02

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and Maldives is known for keeping time with the #us.

2024-06-02 16:44:43

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I have to admit I didn't see it til you mentioned it. Lighting in the image and the phone... But someone will assume default settings and I cannot argue convincingly. 👀🤣

2024-06-02 14:59:32

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good catch on the feet!

2024-06-02 14:58:37

@npub125a…unfq #ai #google #lawsuit
A new angle now.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/01/technology/google-ai-search-publishers.html
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/547/614/963/674/683/original/96f8219a6554c5d2.jpg

2024-05-31 20:06:29

Sometimes a beer is necessary. Was feeling a bit down missing someone.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/537/499/867/795/360/original/1141a501cc041cad.jpg

2024-05-29 14:22:52

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It's going really slow - and not very well.
Out of the blue it comes up with, "The Alien Invasion". What?
Unimpressed. This is gonna get deep-sixed. Experiment: Failed.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/524/819/225/817/373/original/9e34c45546daa88f.png

2024-05-29 14:00:51

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These folks really don't understand the context - which is the kind way of looking at this - or are people we probably should not give any power to.
I'll go with both. #Nikkihaley #uspolitics #Rafah #Gaza
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/28/nikki-haley-finish-them-missile-israel

2024-05-29 13:39:29

Presently experimenting with the #llama3-70b #LLM for spitballing with while I write.
The standard #llama3 is pretty good for spitballing ideas, but it's experimentation.
Plot line twists, character generation - useful. Writing? Oh hell no.
#sciencefiction #writing

2024-05-28 15:37:04

"There are a lot of attacks, smoke and dust. It is death from God...The (Israelis) are hitting everywhere. We're tired," said Moayad Fusaifas, pushing along belongings on two bicycles.
#Israel continues in #Rafah.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-forces-press-rafah-offensive-despite-global-outcry-2024-05-28/

2024-05-28 15:27:40

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the answer is obviously more AI. 😂

2024-05-28 15:23:27

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"what could go wrong?", asked Scarlett, studying her 7 fingernails...
👀😂

2024-05-28 15:20:07

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having used llama3 for a bit locally on my machine, I can see why they are having so much trouble. It can be fickle without a certain consistency. If they are using a llama3 LLM derivative, they are in over their heads.

2024-05-28 11:26:09

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That's something I hadn't noticed - always being on the offensive. Interesting point.

2024-05-28 09:14:54

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apparently you.

2024-05-27 21:43:11

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I see what you're asking now. I have no help, sorry.

2024-05-27 21:30:37

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Perhaps throwing in some autodetection for markup/xml.
It would be nice if there were a standard, but if there were a standard the walled gardens wouldn't follow it. 😂

2024-05-27 21:28:15

Well, this is mildly disturbing. #AI #LLM
One would think that there would be a place to report such things. Someone else is eventually going to stumble across it.
https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/23/ai_untested_unstable/

2024-05-27 20:21:53

"...#Republicans have generally been supportive of #Israel 's attacks in #Gaza, which were launched in response to the surprise October 7 attack on Israel by #Hamas. However, a selection of Trump's most dedicated supporters have denounced the continuing assault by the IDF, with some joining leftists in characterizing the situation in Gaza as a "genocide."..."
well, you know you screwed up when #MAGA agrees with 'leftists'. 👀
https://www.newsweek.com/maga-response-israel-rafah-strike-1904976

2024-05-27 17:49:32

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well he was due. Every 2-3 months.

2024-05-27 13:01:53

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Absolutely none of the media has taken the side of #Hamas. Your attempt to conflate Palestinians with Hamas is silly.
#Israel has practically leveled #Gaza and killed tens of thousands of civilians, destroyed infrastructure from schools to hospitals, and is in indefensible position as an occupying power.
Hamas is guilty of war crimes. Had Israel pursued that path and taken that approach...
They didn't. Here we are.

2024-05-27 00:15:55

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There is a cutting edge technology that's available at bookstores everywhere.
Dictionaries. 😂

2024-05-26 23:25:10

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Yup. It was one of my favorite songs on road trips and I had no idea what it meant - but I knew the lyrics.
I sort of grew into them.

2024-05-26 23:18:08

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Actually, we do know because the DoD has said that no actual aid has gotten through - just delivered to the UN.
It's not a game. It's reading comprehension.

2024-05-26 23:15:34

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Now I can't get it out of my head. I remember this song playing on an 8 track. :P
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKQfxi8V5FA

2024-05-26 23:14:23

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Mouth, getting to the pier is not getting to Gaza. That's a world of difference.
Cite your sources that say that aid actually made it into Gaza instead of 'got to the pier and given to someone to get into Gaza when land routes open'.

2024-05-26 22:29:01

So weird. #Israel claims they've been holding #Rafah for over two weeks... 18 days I think.... But #Hamas launches missiles *from* Rafah at #telaviv earlier... What?
So... The IDF screwed up (seriously, if your enemy can launch 8 missiles from an area you say you secured, it ain't secured).
So then Israel retaliate against civilians in #Gaza.
Israel is running a real #shitshow.

2024-05-26 22:23:55

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sounds like insurrection to me.

2024-05-26 20:45:47

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Well, Israel's main export is diamonds.
They ain't got no diamonds.
So... 👀 😂

2024-05-26 20:41:11

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There is another ways to do it - the old computer that was outdated is always a classic, but -
Now you can run Linux off a USB stick, so getting a distribution on a stick and booting from it (even machines at work, generally speaking) can work.
And -
You can check around for a local Linux User Group (LUG) in the area to get help getting started. This is also a great way to meet people who will help. Find your local LUG. :)

2024-05-26 14:16:29

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#trinidadandtobago

2024-05-26 13:57:13

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I don't think it will turn out the way they think it will turn out...
I installed my own LLM locally to spitball with (it saves the necessity of having a dumb literal friend). Not hard to do.
Don't subscribe to their bullshit. 😂

2024-05-25 18:48:38

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admittedly, #microsoft is a blind spot for me. I'll look into it. 👀🙂

2024-05-25 18:37:28

Ahh, #theonion, well played. #ai #humor
https://www.theonion.com/jerky-7-fingered-scarlett-johansson-appears-in-video-t-1851496932

2024-05-25 16:10:10

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You're welcome! 👀 😂
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/502/597/480/684/383/original/fef624255a53551d.mp4

2024-05-25 16:08:40

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Their parents may.
Imagine an AI that has seen all your embarassing baby pictures, and knows anecdotes your parents shared.

2024-05-25 15:58:50

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What's sad is that people still do it.
I've been trolling LinkedIn with posts like this. Most people just don't get it. They're playing Web 2.0 in an age of Web LLM.
https://knowprose.com/2024/04/20/paying-to-whitewash-the-fence-of-ai/

2024-05-25 15:55:17

No, I will not train your #AI for you. 😂
#Linkedin #socialmedia
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/502/537/126/377/245/original/8219a1293a9e3639.png

2024-05-25 15:54:20

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I believe I caught one account responding as a LLM would.
It was hilarious.

2024-05-25 15:44:14

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It is. You can export data from wordpress, and all the major CMS can import and export to some degree.
If you do end up on wordpress.com and don't want your stuff to be used to train AI, some required reading is below. It's the reason I am leaving Wordpress.com.
They say I have trust issues, but they give me no reason to trust these days. lol
https://knowprose.com/2024/03/10/wordpress-com-tumblr-to-sell-information-for-ai-training-what-you-can-do/

2024-05-25 14:36:48

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I'm on Wordpress myself and you're right, the editor can be sluggish. I'll be moving to self-hosting soon, so I'm at a very different place.
I don't know what you should use. I do know that you should be sure that you can export the data eventually, so make sure that capacity is built in.

2024-05-25 02:24:23

"Stop telling the truth! I'll sue you!"
#Musk strikes again.
https://www.newsweek.com/under-legal-assault-elon-musk-others-media-matters-cuts-staff-1904305

2024-05-25 02:06:31

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Ahh, vendor lock-in and planned obsolescence always makes for a story. I've never used spotify. Sounds like the reverse of cleaning, really, but I empathize.
And.
Since you know what the company does, do you still want their service?

2024-05-24 23:01:31

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yup. Which is why I am doing my own fine tuning.

2024-05-24 22:49:48

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well, we have principles until they are inconvenient too. Our national character erodes, and all one has to do is share a truth and the follow it with bullshit.
Not that hard. We made it easy.