Notices by tante (tante@tldr.nettime.org), page 2

All the energy used, all the carbon emitted, all the e-waste created and still every chatbot has the "anything this thing says might be false, you still need to check" label all over it.
I cannot believe the resources we are spending on this bullshit instead of doing literally anything else.
https://mastodon.social/@dw_innovation/113463890083280062

If Europe and the EU would not themselves experiment with fascism right now, with the way that the US will probably act in the next years there's a huge window to actually change the web and tech if one had some will to actually do something.
(And I am not talking about "EU Unicorns" or a "European Palantir". I mean something that actually puts the common good and the people using technology to structure parts of their lives front and center.)

Many joked when Crypto bros started pouring money into the US election but they seemed to have bought themselves a very friendly future environment. Which will mean that many people who are definitely not super well-off will lose their savings because grifters are gonna sell them bullshit tokens.

"There’s something darkly fitting about these two forces, Silicon Valley and Trump, conjoining so amicably right now. The tech industry has never been bigger, or richer, or piloted by wealthier or more influential billionaires. Crypto, as close to a purely speculative instrument of capital as exists, is being hyper-charged. Trump, of course, has no regard for rules or standards; he respects only the accrual of power and wealth. The digital casino is open, there are no house rules apart from ‘don't insult the boss’, and there are certainly no guarantees. Anyone who gets screwed is either a loser or a sucker or shouldn’t have been there in the first place. "

(Original title: Silicon Valley got what it wanted)

https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/silicon-valley-got-what-it-wanted

The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters.

Antonio Gramsci

Wissing bleibt doch nur, damit nicht noch jemand in der Zwischenzeit bis zu den Neuwahlen irgendwo fies zu Autos ist oder ne Bahnstrecke beauftragt oder doch das Deutchlandticket günstig macht.

I guested on a podcast and we talked about why "Open Source" no longer cuts it for our digital infrastructures.

(Original title: Podcast: “Digital Infrastructure and Why Open Source Is Not Enough Anymore”)

https://tante.cc/2024/11/06/podcast-digital-infrastructure-and-why-open-source-is-not-enough-anymore/

For those who don't know: This is the CEO of Vercel, a major player in the JavaScript ecosystem. https://hachyderm.io/@joelanman/113437102479692781

Today more than on most days remember:

When people show you who they are, believe them.

Those who lick fascist boot today will never support you.

My main point is that "Open Source" no longer cuts it.

I was a guest on two podcasts this week. And while they both are very tech related and the current issue is way bigger than that I still think both got more important given the election results.

A lot the infrastructures we depend on depend on the goodwill and support of a bunch of people who just helped a fascist rapist become president again or at least did not have the guts to push back. Even a bit.

And as people interested in the commons we need to rethink our approach.

Silicon Valley and the other billionaires got their president.

Now realize that those guys are not, not ever, on your side.

Holy fucking shit.

It's cute that this software supply chain attack on NPM directly targets Ethereum users who are supposed to check every smart contract they want to interact with to protect themselves but don't seem to use the same rigour when checking code they include.

(Original title: Hundreds of code libraries posted to NPM try to install malware on dev machines)

https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/11/javascript-developers-targeted-by-hundreds-of-malicious-code-libraries/

"Disposable vapes are indefensible. Many, or maybe most, of them contain rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, but manufacturers prefer to sell new ones. More than 260 million vape batteries are estimated to enter the trash stream every year in the UK alone. Vapers and vape makers are simply leaving an e-waste epidemic to the planet's future residents to sort out."

(Original title: Guy makes “dodgy e-bike” from 130 used vapes to make point about e-waste)

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/disposable-vapes-from-a-music-festival-can-power-a-beefy-e-bike-20-miles/

The worst thing is that car manufacturers will make a lot of money replacing those cars (probably with ICE cars as well)
https://goblin.band/notes/a074puyna25yduic

Academic publishing is basically fucked up beyond all repair but this is really gonna push down the quality.
https://hachyderm.io/@ethanwhite/113425751885998744

Perplexity are not just pushing their stochastic parrots into newsrooms, they are scabs helping publishers to disenfranchise their workers.

If you are not a multi-millionaire, they are not on your side and you are a sucker for using their product and paying for it.

(Original title: Perplexity AI Offers to Help New York Times With Tech Union Strike)

https://www.404media.co/perplexity-ai-offers-to-help-new-york-times-with-tech-union-strike/

"The "growth mindset" is Microsoft's cult — a vaguely-defined, scientifically-questionable, abusively-wielded workplace culture monstrosity, peddled by a Chief Executive obsessed with framing himself as a messianic figure with divine knowledge of how businesses should work."

(Original title: The Cult of Microsoft)

https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-cult-of-microsoft/

With Universities now rolling out "Vice Chancellor of AI" roles I wonder who's left to keep the #AI industry in check and who's supposed to build a new scientific system after the current crop of academics have outsourced their thinking and writing to stochastic parrots?

Should especially Universities have a different standard? The assumption that students "will use AI in their jobs" and therefore they should get to acquire the actual skills themselves is such a bleak case of epistemic injustice.

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/first-pro-vice-chancellor-artificial-intelligence-appointed