brennen @brennen@federation.p1k3.com

young me: i wonder if this new technical thing is cool

middle-aged me: i wonder if i can avoid knowing about this new technical thing until it goes away

Massimo@Rainmaker1973
«If it wasn’t for C, we’d be writing programs in BASI, PASAL, and OBOL»
– Unknown #SundayFunday
Tweet 8:24 AM · 14 mai 2023·152,4 k vues

A number of seniors at Texas A&M University–Commerce who already walked the stage at graduation this year have been temporarily denied their diplomas after a professor ineptly used AI software to assess their final assignments, the partner of a student in his class — known as DearKick on Reddit — claims to Rolling Stone.

Dr. Jared Mumm, a campus rodeo instructor who also teaches agricultural classes, sent an email on Monday to a group of students informing them that he had submitted grades for their last three essay assignments of the semester. Everyone would be receiving an “X” in the course, Mumm explained, because he had used “Chat GTP” (the OpenAI chatbot is actually called “ChatGPT”) to test whether they’d used the software to write the papers — and the bot claimed to have authored every single one.

“I copy and paste your responses in [ChatGPT] and [it] will tell me if the program generated the content,” he wrote, saying he had tested each paper twice. He offered the class a makeup assignment to avoid the failing grade — which could otherwise, in theory, threaten their graduation status.

Texas A&M commerce professor fails entire class of seniors blocking them from graduating- claiming they all use “Chat GTP”
by u/DearKick in ChatGPT

There’s just one problem: ChatGPT doesn’t work that way. The bot isn’t made to detect material composed by AI — or even material produced by itself — and is known to sometimes emit damaging misinformation. With very little prodding, ChatGPT will even claim to have written passages from famous novels such as Crime and Punishment.

La CJUE vient de publier un arrêt sur le cas d’un citoyen autrichien qui n’avait pas consenti au traitement de ses données à caractère personnel, mais pour qui Österreichische Post avait quand même déterminé «une affinité élevée avec un certain parti politique autrichien».

Le citoyen affirme de son côté « avoir ressenti une grave contrariété, une perte de confiance, ainsi qu’un sentiment d’humiliation, en raison de l’établissement d’une affinité particulière avec le parti en question. C’est au titre de la réparation du préjudice moral qu’il estime avoir subi qu’il réclame devant les juridictions autrichiennes un montant de 1 000 euros ».

La Cour suprême autrichienne avait exprimé des doutes sur ce dernier point et avait demandé à la Cour de Justice de l’Union européenne de se prononcer. La CJUE rappelle que le droit à réparation est subordonné de manière univoque à trois conditions cumulatives : « une violation du RGPD, un dommage matériel ou moral résultant de cette violation et un lien de causalité entre le dommage et la violation ». « Partant, toute violation du RGPD n’ouvre pas, à elle seule, le droit à réparation », ajoute-t-elle.

La Cour constate aussi que « le droit à réparation n’est pas réservé aux dommages moraux atteignant un certain seuil de gravité ». Enfin, le RGPD ne contient pas de dispositions sur des « règles relatives à l’évaluation des dommages-intérêts ».

Il existe dans les greniers de la langue tout un arsenal de mots, comme ce « événements », dont la principale fonction est d’éviter d’avoir à nommer. Plutôt que de violences policières, terme trop « connoté », BFM parle désormais de « dérapages ». Ainsi le Monde, hier, à propos de la répression du mouvement de protestation contre la réforme des retraites, a-t-il remplacé un titre sur « L’escalade sécuritaire d’Emmanuel Macron » par un autre : « Police et préfets en première ligne » (Pauline Bock le raconte en détail ici).  Dans le sous-titre a aussi été supprimée la phrase : « Le pouvoir exécutif multiplie les décisions à la frontière de la légalité, quand elles ne sont pas illégales ». Sans doute le mot « illégal » est-il, lui aussi, « trop connoté ».

Speed of Sound (songs at the link) was much derided upon its release in 1976, and more recently one scathing reviewer gave it a “1” score out of 10.  Yet I find this an entertaining and also compelling work.  At least Eoghan Lyng had the sense to call it “definitely infectious and decidedly hummable.”  But it’s better than that, and I would stress the following:

1. The album very definitely has its own “sound.”  Super clean production, a limpid clarity in the mix, and sparing deployment of guitar.  Not all of that works all the time, but there is a coherence to a production often described as a mish-mash.  The sound of the whole is best reflected by “The Note You Never Wrote,” a McCartney song sung by Denny Laine, placed wisely in the number two slot.  Nothing on either the disc or the original album sounds compressed, rather it all comes to life.  It’s better than the sluggish, overproduced, horn-heavy Venus and Mars.

2. The unapologetic presentation has held up fine, rejecting its own era of albums that were overloaded with ideas, overproduced, and too self-consciously parading their messages.  Speed of Sound is so deliberately unhip you can hardly believe it — who else in 1976 would pay tribute to “Phil and Don” of the Everly Brothers?  And Paul was thanking MLK (“Martin Luther”) when others were still flirting with the Black Panthers.  Surely he was right that “Silly Love Songs” would persist, so maybe people were hating on how on the mark he was.

[3]. At exactly the same time Wings was evolving into one of the very best live acts of the 1970s, far better than the Beatles ever were.  (Yes, I know it is hard to admit that.)  Their live act sizzled, and yes I did see it back then and I have listened to it many times since.  Check out the YouTube channel of jimmymccullochfan, for instance “Beware My Love” or “Soily,” or how about “Call Me Back Again“?  For Macca, Wings at this time was essentially a live band, and it proved to be his greatest live band achievement of all time (with some competition from his early 1990s shows), most of all pinned down by Jimmy McCulloch on guitar and Paul on bass.

You should have a personal website not because you need to grow an audience, and turn your hobbyist writing into a profession.

You should have a personal website not because you’re an expert on some subject, and it would be cruel to deny the world your wisdom.

You should have a personal website not because you think you’re important.

You should have a personal website not because the world is in need of your highlight reel.

You should have a personal website because I think the online world is as real as the offline world. You have a presence in one, and you should have a presence in the other.

 

Stock images strongly influence the ways in which non-expert audiences think about and understand the topics they illustrate. This is why it is worrying that research has repeatedly shown that many images of artificial intelligence are misleading and unhelpful.

This guide presents the results of a year-long study into alternative ways of creating images of AI, involving roundtable and workshop conversations with over 100 experts from fields including the tech sector, media, education, research, policy and the arts. Its aim is to advise people who work with images of AI – from journalists to communications officers, from educators to activists – on sourcing and creating the best images for communicating accurately and compellingly.