Fire Over Light

Hard Science-Fiction that uses narrative to explore the intersection of technology, conflict, and society.

[Fire Over Light @FireOverLight]

#consumption which is the basis of #consumerism requires #disposable income. If you have massive labor displacement, especially the Middle Class, because of #AI, then one of the largest portions that underpins society and wealth, will not be able to purchase.

[Scott Santens @scottsantens]

"Money and our psychological attitude to money is a major obstacle to a proper development of technology enabling it to do what it is supposed to do - that is to save labor, and to produce goods, services, and so on..."

Think of UBI as a tech dividend.

https://t.co/aGSumN4Cnq

[Scott Richards 🧍 @skotrds]

The problem with #AI marketing is they tend to use cliche calls to action that are #FOMO driven, they are general and don't speak in language for the target demographic, and they'll create exhaustion with their same-ish emotional triggers quickly; I.E diminishing returns.

[Fire Over Light @FireOverLight]

It's interesting watching ideas that were early become a part of political reality, @scottsantens has been tirelessly talking about #UBI for years. We likely don't have another option, the scale of displacement coming if not managed will be extremely volatile for the world.

[Fire Over Light @FireOverLight]

#CommunityNotes are one of the most invaluable features of twitter.

[Fire Over Light @FireOverLight]

@tprstly Automan and his 90-degree turns would like a word.

[Scott Richards 🧍 @skotrds]

The single most important thing #blockchain didn't deliver was self-sovereign identity, I've peered behind the curtain of the next-generation of #AI, and an adopted #SSID should have been the foundation. But here we are, #clowncoins and #boredapes.

[Scott Richards 🧍 @skotrds]

A few days ago, I mentioned that I expected to see a ChatGPT version of Religious Texts, an artificial scholar, it's here: https://t.co/92UMcYzL9D Not yet played with a great deal, but this was inevitable. #AI @FireOverLight

[Fire Over Light @FireOverLight]

2. ... avoiding detection. For scams, it is the avoidance of detection by the victim until they have taken their monies, and then to be difficult to locate. For organized crime, it is avoiding discovery by law enforcement. Crime is incentivized to tech to avoid jail.

[Fire Over Light @FireOverLight]

1. There's truth that tech-innovation gets early adoption from #porn and not that #porn is synonymous with #crime, but #criminality also early adopts technologies. Porn is hidden or secretive because of perceived shame, #organized crime survives by...

https://t.co/b5Ps8Q4AxW

[Fire Over Light @FireOverLight]

In 2019, an energy firm was scammed out of US$243,000 when criminals simulated the voice of its parent company’s boss. In 2022, people were swindled out of an estimated $11 million by simulated voices, including of close, personal connections.

https://t.co/7w83s8ZgRr

[Fire Over Light @FireOverLight]

3. The things feel to us as consumers that they appear all of a sudden, but that's usually far from the case. Space X started in 2002 and started successfully launching and landing rockets in 2015. When we analyze things, it's important to understand where we are on the curve.

[Fire Over Light @FireOverLight]

1. When we think about the possibility, we tend to mistake the potential for the present. #Blockchain and #Metaverse suffered greatly from this. Building the #future is hard work. The symbol of revolutionary change that transformed how we live - the car.

[Fire Over Light @FireOverLight]

2. Karl Benz started working on cars in 1870 and released the first Motor Wagon in 1885. Henry Ford, the Model T in 1908. Computers are similar. Apple and Microsoft bought them from universities into the home en-masse.

[Fire Over Light @FireOverLight]

@tprstly I saw recently Sim Romantic Partners, I'd use the term AI loosely, are a thing. Though Tax Heaven 3000, where your Waifu-esque digital partner helps you do your taxes, did catch me eye.

[EFF @EFF]

Your donations to EFF make a difference. By supporting our work, you allow EFF's staff to write code for Certbot and Privacy Badger, educate and conect with policy makers, and protect free speech in the courts. Show your support for EFF today! https://t.co/a5MQPJhJc0

[Fire Over Light @FireOverLight]

In the process of experimentation, #midjourney occasionally throws out some great images that don't fit but are beautiful.

[Fire Over Light @FireOverLight]

Experiments in rendering a consistent character from FOL. #conceptart.

[Fire Over Light @FireOverLight]

These guides https://t.co/7uUJUCCsU1 by @ChrisHeidorn are excellent on learning how to create consistent characters in #midjourney and place them into scenes.

[Scott Richards 🧍 @skotrds]

If there is any sector to invest in now in developing countries is education.

When the Internet first came out, it had greater potential than we see now, there was some wisdom in those early days to protect it -- but I also personally know engineers who developed part of its protocol and infrastructure who said, 'if they knew what they know now, would have done things differently".

We are being herded toward a multi-polar world, and at the same time we will see increased domestic production, this will be exacerbated by climate change which will provoke more violence. Technological advantages, such as chips and #AI will be protectively shrouded; indicators to that end are already here with the U.S. pushing to maintain technical superiority for the military.

This period of openness and enthusiasm we have for #OpenAI will be followed by closure, corporate dominance, and exploitation, the same issues with saw with Facebook and genocide will be repeated.

Realistically, #AI generated material and copyright will likely be bad, if it can be copyrighted (movements toward that have happened). That means advancements won't be open.

If countries don't adapt in the next few years, there won't be a possibility of skip generations and catch-up. This is where issues such as education in #Afghanistan are hugely alarming, the combination of pressures will block-potential for economic advancement.

With increased domestic production, the potential to pull minerals from seawater will reduce the demand for things like lithium; essentially scarce minerals will have less value. If the West cracks fusion, and has free energy, then bring in robotics, production costs go down and import dependency drops. The likelihood of developing countries particularly if they form a counter-block to the West establishing fusion generate power is low, or at least in a similar time frame.

#COVID showed the world the vulnerability in supply chains, in climate change or conflict, like with #Ukraine, we saw it again - expand that out. #NationalSecurity going forward requires an increase in the capacity of independent production.

[New Scientist @newscientist]

Google’s latest robot can fetch you a snack from a drawer, process image information and answer your questions like a chatbot https://t.co/j3y2C6OdiN