Notices by Nitin Pai (nitin@thinktanki.social), page 11

Like theodicy, we need demodicy. Why do bad things happen in democracies.

“Instead of boldly going where no writer has gone before, book after book treads the beaten path to a dystopia.”

Science fiction must escape from the dystopias it has trapped itself in.

We create the future we imagine, so it’s important to imagine what we desire.

https://www.nitinpai.in/2024/02/12/science-fiction-must-escape-the-dystopia-it-has-trapped-itself-in

#Literature #ScienceFiction #SciFi #Hugos #SocialConstruct

I have reached the #wow moment in this Greg Egan novel.

What I worry about?
That the aspirations for growth and development of more than half the population of the world will be deprecated in order to assuage the anxieties of the rich world.

First use of AI in a major election campaign: generating a deepfake of yourself because you are in prison and can’t campaign

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/10/world/asia/pakistan-election-imran-kahn.html

Yeh bazar hai, sab bikta hai
Iska gham nahi, magar
Itne saste mei bikta hai
Yeh dekh ke hairan!

I am sure the countries who cut funding to the UNRWA are arranging for other ways to distribute humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza…

…oh, wait!

There are no angels. So it’s best to call out people when they do bad things.

I have thoroughly enjoyed C K McDonnell’s The Stranger Times series…now into its fourth book. The audiobook versions, performed by Brendan McDonald are simply brilliant.

#Recommended #Levity #Humour

Admissions open for Takshashila’s postgraduate programme in public policy. 48 weeks. Mostly online. Awesome.

That cool circular sequencer idea you were thinking of implementing was already built over 500 years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaeOWdXM4Pg

@smurthys Item 1 refers to other groups, item 2 to members of the same group

@carlmalamud The list of Churchill’s crimes in India runs from unpaid bills to creating a famine.

I thought I was the only one facing this weird issue, but it turns out to be an unresolved Apple CarPlay bug!

GPS becomes unreliable with CarPlay connected. What a shame.

https://9to5mac.com/2023/10/16/carplay-apple-maps-gps-bugs/

All politics is variation of the two fundamental problems:

1. What do “we” about “them”?
2. How do we deal with those within our group who want to deviate from our norms?

30,000 years later, human social groups still haven’t learnt how to live together with others.

How long does this bloody evolution thing take?

Rogue state.
Terrorist.

I wish these words were used objectively so that they could be used objectively.

Just published

In this policy brief, Nitin Pai writes:
Cognitive autonomy has become a national security objective. https://www.cigionline.org/publications/narrative-dominance-information-warfare-and-the-freedom-to-think/

#InformationAge #InformationWarfare #Cognitive

Refreshing to see an analyst saying “just chill a little”

Chris Giles on the Houthi threat: “officials should also identify moments when risks are lower than usual and a little complacency would lighten the mood. Now might be that time.” https://www.ft.com/content/b1f97f5e-3fa4-47d3-baea-7532c687d02a