fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:

Big tech, and just mega corporations in general, from streaming to healthcare, are a more consequential and longterm threat than Donald Trump.

jscalzi@threads.net ("John Scalzi") wrote:

FIFA inaugurates the peace bribe

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6854845/2025/12/05/fifa-peace-prize-trump-infantino/?source=athletic%5Fuser%5Fshared%5Farticle%5Fcopylink&smid=url-share-ta

Boosted by fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻"):
downey@floss.social ("Michael Downey 🧢") wrote:

@fromjason

https://buttondown.com/maiht3k/archive/bernie-sanders-falls-for-mathy-maths/

fribbledom ("muesli") wrote:

This is so on-brand for FIFA, Gianni Infantino could tattoo 'corrupt clown' on his forehead (believe me, there's plenty of space) and it would still be subtler messaging.

pzmyers@freethought.online ("pzmyers 🕷") wrote:

Teaching cell biology is going to be fun.

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/12/05/mildly-concerned-about-the-trajectory-of-the-education-profession/

fribbledom ("muesli") wrote:

FIFA giving Trump a peace prize is the most FIFA thing FIFA has ever FIFA’d.

jscalzi@threads.net ("John Scalzi") wrote:

Reminder that RFK, jr. wants your kids to just fucking die, already

https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/09/16/nx-s1-5542405/rfk-jr-acip-vaccine-advisory-panel-vote-delay-hepatitis-b-shot-in-infants

Boosted by ChrisWere@toot.wales ("Chris Were ⁂🐧🌱☕"):
cmconseils ("Laura Manach :bongoCat:") wrote:

In a parallel universe, Mariah Carey is doing her shopping and is sick of hearing me on every store's speaker system.

pzmyers@freethought.online ("pzmyers 🕷") wrote:

I've known that spiders are brilliant goin' on fifty year, sonny.

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/12/05/you-need-some-more-spider-information/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwPryksCmIo

db@social.lol ("David Bushell ☕") wrote:

new Cloudflare weekly outage recap just dropped

https://blog.cloudflare.com/5-december-2025-outage/

Boosted by adam@social.lol ("Adam :prami:"):
vzq@social.lol ("Jose") wrote:

VZQ holo pack is live!

a small run of die-cut holographic stickers. bright, sharp, and stupidly reflective

includes 2 stickers: one vzq wordmark and one vzq seedling

$10 — ships worldwide
https://vzq.studio/store

Attachments:

• gifv: VZQ wordmark and seedling holographic sticker on a teal background

Boosted by fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻"):
Hawaii@mastodon.world ("Tofu Musubi") wrote:

@fromjason
No surprise detected: "an escalation critics see as a well-funded smokescreen to head off regulation and competition."

fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:

I have a growing collection of articles, studies, and other interesting reads on the sophisticated regulatory capture strategy orchestrated by #OpenAI, #Anthropic, #Google and others. Happening right now.

If you have sources to include, comment below.

https://raindrop.io/fromjason/hank-green-and-the-fantastical-tales-of-god-ais-63491581

fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:

Researchers question Anthropic claim that AI-assisted attack was 90% autonomous - Ars Technica:

"“Why do the models give these attackers what they want 90% of the time but the rest of us have to deal with ass-kissing, stonewalling, and acid trips?”" https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/11/researchers-question-anthropic-claim-that-ai-assisted-attack-was-90-autonomous/

fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:

"Each nonprofit spent close to $100,000 on lobbying in the last three months of the year. The groups draw money from organizations with close ties to the AI industry like Open Philanthropy, financed by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, and Lightspeed Grants, backed by Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn."

fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:

AI doomsayers funded by billionaires ramp up lobbying - POLITICO:

"The similarly named Center for AI Policy and Center for AI Safety both registered their first lobbyists in late 2023, raising the profile of a sprawling influence battle that’s so far been fought largely through think tanks and congressional fellowships." https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/23/ai-safety-washington-lobbying-00142783

fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:

AI and the threat of “human extinction”: What are the tech-bros worried about? It’s not you and me - Salon.com:

"TESCREALism — meaning the worldview that arises from this bundle — is simple enough: at its heart is a techno-utopian vision of the future in which we re-engineer humanity, colonize space, plunder the cosmos, and establish a sprawling intergalactic civilization full of trillions and trillions of “happy” people, ... https://micro.fromjason.xyz/2025/12/05/ai-and-the-threat-of.html

fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:

Regulatory Capture in AI: How Fear of Competition Drives Policy - Blog | Pragmatic AI Labs:

"Leading AI companies are increasingly advocating for government regulation that would constrain their competitors while preserving their market advantages. Recent statements by OpenAI and Anthropic reveal a pattern of using national security concerns to push for regulatory barriers that would primarily benefit established players." https://paiml.com/blog/2025-03-14-regulatory-capture-ai-competition/

fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:

Fear, uncertainty, and doubt

"Fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) is a manipulative propaganda tactic used in technology sales, marketing, public relations, politics, polling, and cults. FUD is generally a strategy to influence perception by disseminating negative and dubious or false information and is a manifestation of the appeal to fear."

#Microsoft used the FUD strategy against #opensource to help build its software monopoly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear,%5Funcertainty,%5Fand%5Fdoubt

Boosted by baldur@toot.cafe ("Baldur Bjarnason"):
cbarbermd@med-mastodon.com ("Carolyn Barber, MD") wrote:

67 students. 6 weeks. 87 infections.

A new study finds the real driver of school virus spread isn’t close contact — it’s air.

Poor ventilation (CO₂ >1000 ppm) nearly doubles transmission risk. Hours in shared classrooms (RR 3.17) matter far more than minutes spent near someone (RR 1.16).

It’s the air we share. Fix ventilation.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-66719-3 #press

Boosted by fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻"):
pluralistic@mamot.fr ("Cory Doctorow") wrote:

I'm not saying that tech bosses are making bets they don't plan on winning. But I am saying that winning the bet - creating a viable metaverse - is the secondary goal. The primary goal is to keep the market convinced that your company will continue to grow, and to remain convinced until the next bubble comes along.

So this is *why* they're hyping AI: the material basis for the hundreds of billions in AI investment.

26/

pzmyers@freethought.online ("pzmyers 🕷") wrote:

It's Krampusnacht at my house.

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/12/05/krampus-lives-here/

Boosted by fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻"):
pluralistic@mamot.fr ("Cory Doctorow") wrote:

The fact that these guys can't shut up about the day that their spicy autocomplete machine will wake up and turn us all into paperclips has led many confused journalists and conference organizers to try to get me to comment on the future of AI.

6/

Boosted by fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻"):
zachleat@zachleat.com ("Zach Leatherman :11ty:") wrote:

It’s decorative season, friends: https://www.zachleat.com/web/snow-fall/

Boosted by baldur@toot.cafe ("Baldur Bjarnason"):
cbarbermd@med-mastodon.com ("Carolyn Barber, MD") wrote:

🚨 NEW: One of the largest COVID-19 vaccine studies ever (28 MILLION people in France) just dropped.

Results?
• 74% lower risk of death from severe COVID-19
• 25% lower risk of all-cause mortality
• No increase in 4-year mortality
• Vaccinated people had lower risk of death from any cause.
In short: mRNA vaccines weren’t just safe — they were protective across the board. 🔥📉 https://shorturl.at/GcZeK

baldur@toot.cafe ("Baldur Bjarnason") wrote:

In my experience, Amazon has never sold books in my field (professional non-fiction). Almost every sale I get has been driven by my social media or website. If anything, when I've pointed them to an Amazon page instead, the conversion rates have been lower, on top of me getting a smaller cut.

baldur@toot.cafe ("Baldur Bjarnason") wrote:

Decided to unpublish the ebooks I had on Amazon. They were only selling 2-3 copies a month over there at best, anyway.

pzmyers@freethought.online ("pzmyers 🕷") wrote:

I saved myself many wasted hours by not getting at all invested in another bad streaming series.

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/12/05/streaming-series-belong-in-the-upside-down/

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
aphclarkson.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy ("Alexander Clarkson") wrote:

The hysteria over the civilisationalist guff in the Trump Security Strategy is as ridiculous as the document itself But if there is one aspect worth monitoring it is in how its framing of economic policy would destabilise aspects of globalisation that are foundations of US power

Boosted by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
BrianJopek@mastodon.world ("Brian Jopek") wrote:

Yes!