Doomsday Clock

[Thumpalumpacus]

I was actually going to read the article until I read this snide little passage; at that point I decided you're being a cunt and don't deserve my attention.

Maybe next time you'll remember your manners, but I won't be holding my breath.

Yeah, that was a tough call. People clearly get triggered. You did pretty easily. If I hadn't said anything about that, then others would have complained about me being secretive. There's no win here.

I'm not "triggered", you dildo. I simply don't appreciate someone online asshole who doesn't know me at all assuming I'm so sensitive that a Catholic website will harm me emotionally. My calling you out on this is not me being "triggered", it's me refusing to take your rude shittiness silently. Of course you don't like it, because I'm making sure all readers here know exactly what sort of cunt you are. Unlike you, I have the balls to call you out directly, instead of being a passive-aggressive bitch.

I apologize for offending you.

Fuck off. Any apology you make should be made for being a dickweed. Own your behavior.

You had an opportunity to be courteous, and you blew it.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

I think it’s the people who don’t understand what the Doomsday Clock means are the ones most likely to get triggered. Like you were.

Boru

So you disagree with the points in the article?

Like Thump, I won’t give you the satisfaction of reading it.

Boru

[The Grand Nudger]

I think the author chose poor hypotheticals to discuss the misuse of ai. Racists already believe that kamala is in charge of sleepy joes government. The donald routinely issues calls to arms. The russia thing is so mired in fantasy it's absurd. As if russia is holding something back or putin would need a deepfake to justify doing horrid shit in ukraine. How ai is actually going to be misued is, likewise, how it's already being used. To spy on us, to reach into our pockets and rifle around for change while shitting on labor.

[Ravenshire]

Hey All,

Hope you’re having a good day. I read this article this morning and found it worthy of discussion.

It comes from a Catholic newsletter with very high quality journalism. I have included it here entirely so that you don’t have to go to the site and accidently get triggered.

I have hidden the article, for those who wouldn’t be able to read it in a way that gets them past the blinding rage. For those who can, I’d be interested in your thoughts.

---

Happy Friday friends,

I’m feeling pretty much like the world could end at any time. That might seem a little bit dramatic, I’ll concede that up front.

And where I’m going with this is going to strike some of you as silly and overwrought.

But I’m mostly serious. Just hear me out.

I started the week ranting to the Mrs. about this shiny new breed of AI software that allowed a speech at Davos, delivered in Spanish by the Argentine president, to be seamlessly and simultaneously rendered into English, in his own voice and accent, with his mouth augmented to fluently fit the translation.

Argentine president Javier Milei, sans chainsaw.

If we can do this, I said, we can never know what’s real again unless we see it with our own eyes.
Right on queue, a story out of New Hampshire detailed how an AI prank call had gone out on polling day, with the voice of Joe Biden telling voters that it was all a bunch of malarkey and they should stay home.

Harmless enough in the grand scheme of things, but I think this is just the beginning.

Imagine that shortly after Election Day in November the result is in dispute, subject to recounts and court cases.

Now imagine a fake “leaked” video emerges, appearing to show Donald Trump saying he wants his supporters to march on Washington to storm the Supreme Court, or seize the White House. Or one appearing to show Kamala Harris discussing Biden’s mental state and her intention to invoke the 25th Amendment in the first weeks of a new term.

How many minutes on TikTok would it take for any of that to go viral, and at what consequence?
Would any denial or any debunking be enough to convince even half the country that something like that was fake — and which half? What are the odds it would occasion an actual riot, and then counterriots?

Let’s dial the stakes up higher.

Let’s say the deepfake is of the Ukrainian president saying something truly outrageous, like his special forces are smuggling a suitcase nuke into Moscow — what do you suppose the Russians would justify doing with that? And what response could or would the West deploy?

The people who do the Doomsday Clock [url= https://substack.com/redirect/66e96e8a-6...H7fAP0]set the time at 90 seconds to annihilation this week.[/url] It’s an alarmist PR stunt, to be sure. But even a fake clock can tell the right time once in a while.

I don’t have a plan to mitigate any of this, by the way. But neither does anyone else — and there doesn’t seem to be any sense of urgency around it either. That’s what I find really frightening.

---

The article ends with an apology and a link. I posted that part of it in the Humor section. I’m still laughing.

You really are quite the passive aggressive little twat, aren't you?

[arewethereyet]

Hey All,

Hope you’re having a good day. I read this article this morning and found it worthy of discussion.

It comes from a Catholic newsletter with very high quality journalism. I have included it here entirely so that you don’t have to go to the site and accidently get triggered.

I have hidden the article, for those who wouldn’t be able to read it in a way that gets them past the blinding rage. For those who can, I’d be interested in your thoughts.

---

Happy Friday friends,

I’m feeling pretty much like the world could end at any time. That might seem a little bit dramatic, I’ll concede that up front.

And where I’m going with this is going to strike some of you as silly and overwrought.

But I’m mostly serious. Just hear me out.

I started the week ranting to the Mrs. about this shiny new breed of AI software that allowed a speech at Davos, delivered in Spanish by the Argentine president, to be seamlessly and simultaneously rendered into English, in his own voice and accent, with his mouth augmented to fluently fit the translation.

Argentine president Javier Milei, sans chainsaw.

If we can do this, I said, we can never know what’s real again unless we see it with our own eyes.
Right on queue, a story out of New Hampshire detailed how an AI prank call had gone out on polling day, with the voice of Joe Biden telling voters that it was all a bunch of malarkey and they should stay home.

Harmless enough in the grand scheme of things, but I think this is just the beginning.

Imagine that shortly after Election Day in November the result is in dispute, subject to recounts and court cases.

Now imagine a fake “leaked” video emerges, appearing to show Donald Trump saying he wants his supporters to march on Washington to storm the Supreme Court, or seize the White House. Or one appearing to show Kamala Harris discussing Biden’s mental state and her intention to invoke the 25th Amendment in the first weeks of a new term.

How many minutes on TikTok would it take for any of that to go viral, and at what consequence?
Would any denial or any debunking be enough to convince even half the country that something like that was fake — and which half? What are the odds it would occasion an actual riot, and then counterriots?

Let’s dial the stakes up higher.

Let’s say the deepfake is of the Ukrainian president saying something truly outrageous, like his special forces are smuggling a suitcase nuke into Moscow — what do you suppose the Russians would justify doing with that? And what response could or would the West deploy?

The people who do the Doomsday Clock [url= https://substack.com/redirect/66e96e8a-6...H7fAP0]set the time at 90 seconds to annihilation this week.[/url] It’s an alarmist PR stunt, to be sure. But even a fake clock can tell the right time once in a while.

I don’t have a plan to mitigate any of this, by the way. But neither does anyone else — and there doesn’t seem to be any sense of urgency around it either. That’s what I find really frightening.

---

The article ends with an apology and a link. I posted that part of it in the Humor section. I’m still laughing.

Snark really makes people want to continue reading your posts....yep, sure does...oh, look, a squirrel.

[SimpleCaveman]

I'm not "triggered", you dildo. I simply don't appreciate someone online asshole who doesn't know me at all assuming I'm so sensitive that a Catholic website will harm me emotionally.

Ah, but you are egotistical enough to think that I was talking about you.

You had an opportunity to be courteous, and you blew it.

Courteous doesn’t get people anywhere on this forum.

[SimpleCaveman]

Hi TGN,

Thanks for the thoughts.

I think the author chose poor hypotheticals to discuss the misuse of ai.  

That seems true. They are probably the ones that he feels most concerned about. Would those uses actually cause outbreaks of violence? I would hope not. Likely, my hope, is that there will be some initial instances, like we’ve been seeing, they will be debunked and rational people will be on the alert going forward. I could certainly see some, more irrational, people buying into these kinds of deep fakes. They already buy into silly stuff without deep fakes.

I saw that there are governments trying to outlaw the use of AI in political campaigns. Maybe that will help.

How ai is actually going to be misued is, likewise, how it's already being used.  To spy on us, to reach into our pockets and rifle around for change while shitting on labor.

Totally agree. This is the more insidious kind of misuse that could be more detrimental. We probably wouldn’t even realize it’s happening if it does.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

I'm not "triggered", you dildo. I simply don't appreciate someone online asshole who doesn't know me at all assuming I'm so sensitive that a Catholic website will harm me emotionally.

Ah, but you are egotistical enough to think that I was talking about you.

You had an opportunity to be courteous, and you blew it.

Courteous doesn’t get people anywhere on this forum.

You do realize that you aren’t required to be here, don’t you?

Boru

[SimpleCaveman]

Ah, but you are egotistical enough to think that I was talking about you.

Courteous doesn’t get people anywhere on this forum.

You do realize that you aren’t required to be here, don’t you?

Boru

Thank you. Yes, I do. I also realize that some posters are doing their best to kick me out. At the same time, there are other people who are willing to have good discussions. That's what I look for.

When I posted the quote about will and the web, I was flamed because I tried to "hide" the source. And people got all caught up in that. Whatever. There was still bits of good discussion here and there.

I tried to be more transparent here, yes, with some snark (mild, relevant to the standards of the forum) but also intended to be humorous to those who can see themselves that way. I do not take myself too seriously and give others the benefit of the doubt that they don't either.

At the same time, I have no problem complaining to snowflake assholes who think I'm a passive agressive cunt. I try to give people breaks, and Thumper isn't always an asshole, so he deserves a break. (Although he might yell at me because that sounds condescending. Whatever.)

[arewethereyet]

You do realize that you aren’t required to be here, don’t you?

Boru

Thank you. Yes, I do. I also realize that some posters are doing their best to kick me out. At the same time, there are other people who are willing to have good discussions. That's what I look for.

When I posted the quote about will and the web, I was flamed because I tried to "hide" the source. And people got all caught up in that. Whatever. There was still bits of good discussion here and there.

I tried to be more transparent here, yes, with some snark (mild, relevant to the standards of the forum) but also intended to be humorous to those who can see themselves that way. I do not take myself too seriously and give others the benefit of the doubt that they don't either.

At the same time, I have no problem complaining to snowflake assholes who think I'm a passive agressive cunt. I try to give people breaks, and Thumper isn't always an asshole, so he deserves a break. (Although he might yell at me because that sounds condescending. Whatever.)

I am pretty sure you were called a twat, not a cunt.  Get your labels correct.