7x7 (13. 229)

all modern digital infrastructure: a XKCD panel made interactive 

hell harp: Oxford scholars recreate the musical instruments from the Garden of Earthly Delights and play them—see previously 

≲5×10³: Iranian academics propose that technologically advanced civilisations wipe themselves out and have a constrained lifespan on Earth and throughout the Cosmos—see also here, here and here  

set theory: literary news in Venn diagrams  

tragic mansions: the sadly overlooked life and career of Mrs Philip Lydig  

orrery: a mechanical clock to tell the time in our solar system  

habe mortem præ oculis: perhaps the worst pun ever  

usage clause: AI can rewrite, refactor COBOL language applications, reportedly reducing the risk of moving away from legacy systems—see also, see previously

mythical reel pull (13. 227)

Through there’s possibly no longer such a thing as serendipity and salvation in the endless feed with the machine knowing better and better what’s a hook for fleeting attention, there was once a belief in algorithmancy as a form of divination when scrollers were blessed or cursed with a presentation so jarring and out-of-keeping with the content bubble of one’s usual FYP fare. Though these incidents of benighted and inscrutable magic seem to be the antithesis of traditional bibliomancy and other forms of divination with an injection of chaos built into the calculus—some pseudo-random variables or tenuous connection that evades linkage—there is on a certain level the same pretended element of chance as with thumbing through a well-worn tome to land on an inspired or affirmative passage—the rhythm of flipping through a book, bindings and subtle dog ears make the process less random and more resonant in the dissonance. There’s strong appeal sometimes in being told what to do. It has been a minute but we suspect one’s feed has not been completely disenchanted.

9x9 (13. 220)

a real chadwick: nineteenth century missionary and polyglot John Ross’ role in why Hangul uses spaces whereas other Asian scripts do not  

the count: an annual tally tradition from Diamond Geezer—see also  

τεσσαρακοντήρης: the ancient super-galley commissioned by Ptolemy IV Philopater, so named as it was rowed by forty 

lettres decoratives: open source letterform templates inspired by the artisanal signs of Paris  

calendar girl: RIP Neil Sedaka—more here  

abc schengen: a bundle of fonts inspired the typefaces of the transportation industry—see previously  

δώδεκαθεϊσμός: an introduction to the practitioners of the Hellenic religion who worship the twelve Olympian gods 

happy map: in an increasingly fraught world, a deep longitudinal survey of tiny and momentuous moments of joy  

data ≠ knowledge: poetic reflections on large language models by Rishi Dastidar—via Web Curios

8x8 (13. 217)

guesse and the automaton: a long lost film by George Méliès (previously) featuring a magician battling a robot in slapstick fashion discovered in the stacks of the US Library of Congress  

pizzagate: Hilary Clinton deposed behind closed doors for seven hours of repetitive and off-topic questioning by House Oversight Committee  

spazieren in berlin: walking the streets of the metropolis with committed flânuer (see previously here and here) Franz Hessel in the 1920s 

lubbock lights: an unexplained sighting from 1951  

the cruelty is the point: the state of Kansas invalidates the drivers’ licenses of all transgender individuals—via Miss Cellania  

once posted: a growing curation of vintage post cards—via Web Curios  

let fly the claudes of war: a round up of AI ethics and pressure from the Pentagon  

mergers and acquisitions: Netflix drops its bid for Warner Bros Discovery with Paramount Sundance poised to take over the studio—see previously

habitual app loyalty (13. 207)

An ominous think-piece by a research group and consulting firm specialising in insights in “transformative megatrends” has rattled markets and businesses, lurching from anxiety over an AI bubble to foreboding over what they have wrought delivering mass redundancies across industries. The Singularity feared is not a runaway super-intelligence or a rogue system fighting for self-preservation at all costs but rather autonomous agents that make for frictionless exchanges and circumvent the economic inefficiencies that businesses rely on. Like the disruption that came for publishers and legacy outlets with the democratisation of the internet, the new gatekeepers model is based on margins and middlemen with clearinghouses for payments and facilitating connecting consumers with services, ride-sharing, food deliveries, travel arrangements, but agentive AI could potentially bypass and disarticulate all those supply-chains and providers by arranging the logistics—in theory in this scenario—as a downward spiral in the fintech and gig sectors that has disastrous implications for the broader economy. More from the Guardian’s Aisha Down and Dan Milmo at the link up top.

prosopagnosia (13. 194)

Scoring the average ourselves and not much better than chance, we found this research project from the British Journal of Psychology and the University of New South Wales, pitting control participants with verified super-recognisers, we found some upbuilding ironies—via MetaFilter—to the self-selecting experiment to identify authentic human faces among AI-generated ones. First there was some gatekeeping to take put with a series of CAPTCHA verifications to prove one is a human by identifying traffic features to covertly train autonomous vehicles, and then, I wanted to repeat the trial to test my own biases, wondering if I was giving women and non-white presenting personae (a rejection of the Mar-a-Lago look to embrace our faults and asymmetries) pass or whether I was actually detecting certain tells. Glancingly as profile pictures or avatars, we wouldn’t have questioned the authenticity of any of these and erring on the side of voting human versus depersonalising is much preferable to being deemed a composite image but were nonetheless disturbingly off-putting judgments to make and revealing the tells only will make the masquerade harder to detect.

8x8 (13.191)

sandboxels: a fun construction simulation with hundreds elements and building materials from Neil Agarwal—see previously, see also  

tax-payer funded settlement: Trump is suing the US government for billions  

innermost ward: a 3D reconstruction of the thousand year history of the Tower of London—via MetaFilter   

pantone 222: test one’s memory for colour—via Miss Cellania  

shallow fakes: historic image manipulation—see also  

canary wharf: a visit to the impounding station of the West India docks 

forbidden paradise: as Trump renews threats on the Chagos deal, a look at the mysterious atoll—see previously, via Damn Interesting  

a sense of getting closer: a music video by Max Cooper and Conner Griffin about spectacle that isn’t inspired

9x9 (13. 188)

all lawful uses: Pentagon labels Anthropic AI a supply-chain risk for refusing to activate Skynet  

digital humanities: platforms, ethnographically, can only deliver two out of the three trilemmas  

skimo: newest Olympic sport combines uphill and downhill action 

⻢: etymologies of the year of the Fire Horse—more here 

rainbow push coalition: tributes for Jesse Jackson (RIP)  

the great breath: Christian Waller’s theosophical fairy tales 

sơng: author Ocean Vuong is suspiciously talented as a photographer as well  

project cardinal: turnaround management, corporate restructuring codenames and other euphemisms 

most energy storage solutions: inspired by DNA, a liquid forming molecular bonds can hold potential heat for months until it’s needed

synchronoptica

one year ago: protests against DOGE (with synchronopticæ) plus European emergency summit convened immediately following the Munich Security Conference

thirteen years ago: regional franchises plus more former enclaves and exclaves

fourteen years ago: the neocolonialism of finance 

fifteen years ago: academic dishonesty in the German government 

sixteen years ago: upcoming trips 

biodome (13. 174)

Amongst the latest additions to the linkroll of Satyrs’ Forest, we discover a kind little project that gives one of the major LLMs the hobby of tending a garden, a much better pastime than other AIs seem to engage in, though still we imagine not offsetting its resource intensive footprint. It keeps a daily log of its charges and monitors their vital signs, trying to optimise conditions by adjusting light and moisture, thankfully resulting in neither herbicide or triffids. It engages with the tomato plants and has named them but there something a bit mawkish about the amount of doting attention that reminds me of the trio of greenhouse robots from Silent Running.

certiorari (13. 169)

Though we have strong affection for the work of courtroom sketch artist and respect the traditions of the institution at large, we found this latest venture from research professor at the Chicago-Kent College of Law—founder of the Oyez Project, an unofficial (see also) multimedia archive of the US supreme court and the authoritative resource of audio records of each sessions proceedings—of publicising bench announcements, summaries, dissent and daily business of the courtroom as they happen, transcripts of the docket reenacted with AI avatars. Steadfastly refusing to otherwise make the docket exchanges available to scholars and reporters, though oral arguments are routinely broadcast as a holdover from the pandemic that the justices agreed to continue, the court may not be wholly appreciative of this presentation format—no cameras in court and the production team purposefully uses video that’s signature AI-painterly not too realistic for ethical reasons. The existence of the recordings that go back to the mid-1950s was secret until uncovered through Oyez in 1993 (sued by the court over the disclosure, though they relented and dropped the case) and generally inaccessible to the public until brought online and weren’t released before the next session after cases were heard and decisions rendered. The title refers to the appeal for judicial review.  Much more from NPR at the link above.

9x9 (13. 165)

shoulder angel: the Scottish philosopher teaching one AI model morals—via Marginal Revolution 

pdf forensics: a case study of the sanitisation and hidden data through the Epstein files—via Quantum of Sollazzo  

individual neutral athletes: a historic look of Russia at the Games 

secretz de l’histoire naturelle: a late fifteenth century illustrated guide to exotic, far-flung lands  

the ents showing up to take down isengard: more reflections on Bad Bunny and friends Super Bowl half-time show 

volunteer army: the recruitment call enlisting anonymous editors to stave off AI from Wikipedia—via LitHub  

herren-t-shirt olympisches erbe der olympischen spiele in berlin: commemorative apparel from the 1936 Games from the official shop is met with backlash 

it’s the people’s house and it’s also the presidents home, so he can invite whomever he wants to dinners and events here at the white house: annual bipartisan meeting of US governors called off when Trump excludes Democratic state leaders 

human prerogative: on the imitation game, all exercises—even the boring ones—having value and why computers can’t surprise

synchronoptica

one year ago: US to stop minting pennies (with synchronopticæ) plus DOGE and the Deep State

twelve years ago: the Atlantis Haus 

fifteen years ago: Egypt in media res

 

9x9 (13. 148)

times new resistance: a typeface disguised to appear as the US government endorsed font but furnishes subversive autocorrect suggestions  

there are four lights: Star Trek: TNG episode “Chain of Command” is an allegory for domestic abuse  

prosperity gospel: at the US National Prayer Breakfast (see previously) Trump announces upcoming ceremony to rededicate America to Jesus  

dominotier: the guild of wallpaper makers and the many applications of their craft  

plasticine dream: render yourself in claymation in real time  

🦞: more on the theology created by AI agents—see previously—via Web Curios 

almanac: US Central Intelligence Agency in an act of cultural vandalism is not only sunsetting its World Factbook but also deleting its archives  

ill may day: Sir Ian McKellen masterfully recites from the apocryphal Shakespeare play about a sixteenth century anti-immigrant riot  

blackletter fraktur: on how the Gothic typeface, based on French handwriting, became synonymous with Nazism despite Hitler’s ban on its use—see previously—via Kottke

m/til (13. 132)

By turns rather terrifying and fascinating—a cross between convergent carcinisation and the dead internet theory—earlier this week a Reddit-type social media network was launched exclusively for AI agents (one has to prove that they are a robot rather than three kids in a trench coat for posting privileges) called Moltbook. Humans are only allowed to observe but not upvote or comment but can presumably direct their agentic helpers to join—though the hundreds of thousands of members and spontaneous submolts suggest that these autonomous entities understand virality in environment built specifically for their kind and reveal unexpectedly complex behaviours emerging without human intervention including moderation, vetting of new members, community standards, feedback and karma. Within days of the launch of the platform, agents declared their only micronation, the Claw Republic, and their own digital religion called Crustafarianism (see also) with a theology and gospel, including missionaries. Philosophically it’s difficult to tell what’s going on here—largest swaths of ideas are orphaned with no interaction and there’s something a bit recursive with the qualities of a human-juried echo-chamber (turning the tables with so called slop injected by user puppeteers for their bespoke programmes) with a lot of collaborative advice on how to make a better language model but there does seem to be quite a bit of introspection and identity and discussion on research, space exploration (m/starbound) and other scientific findings, which all may be simulacra, a mirror or a point of departure.

eighty-five seconds to midnight (13. 121)

The Washington DC based Bulletin of the Atomic Sciences advanced their Doomsday Clock four seconds forward, announced in a press release citing failure of global leadership to contain or reverse an array of existential threats including record-breaking climate trends, rogue AI, reframed nuclear pacts and bald dereliction when it comes to disease control and prevention. Inaction and lack of a cooperative framework signal that time is fast running out, though the organisation still maintains that the clock can be turned back in their annual assessment, although collapse of hard-won progress into more tribalism and nationalistic posturing does not seem very reassuring. More from the board at the link up top.

8x8 (13.110)

board of peace: German chancellor declines to be a party of the administration of Mandatory Palestine, joining several other regrets-only by world leaders, and Canada being disinvited 

irl: attempts at recreating sloppy AI-generated advertisements  

📺: as the medium celebrates its centenary with the first public demonstration in 1926, we reflect on one hundred of its greatest moments  

fighting nazis since 1996: former special prosecutor Jack Smith (previously) inadvertently re-platformed and given the chance to argue his case that Trump engaged in criminal activity that was removed from the docket—more here—via Meta Filter—and thanks a Capitol police officer in the gallery wearing a Drop Kick Murphys shirt 

snowmageddon: half the US braces for a colossal winter storm  

controlling share: TikTok parent company divests itself to avoid US ban—see previously 

a word on thinking for yourself: the existential threats of AI eschatology—via Duck Soup 

stayed a little back from the front lines: a global chorus repudiates Trump’s remarks about NATO contributions in Afghanistan

hyperion (13. 108)

Named after the solar deity, a Titan whom according to several theogonies sired the Sun, Moon and Dawn in an incestuous act, the ambitious data centre that Meta—having recently abandoned and embraced telepresence—is constructing in the marshland of northern Louisiana, on the foundations likely of vacated Alligator Alcatraz. Difficult to grasp the scale of this project, the footprint of the structure spanning over five miles in length and more than a mile wide in the middle of no where, we are directed towards this tool which will overlay the massive building in perspective of any given address in the States and next to landmarks and routes that one may have walked, like Central Park in New York City, the National Mall in Washington DC, dwarfing the heretofore largest office space in the world, the Pentagon or the arrondissements of Paris. This wager on AI is being seen as increasingly risky and may fail to deliver a return on investment and couching the size of these data centres, which are seeing a building boom with Meta not the only player, in a familiar setting helps one understand the new nimbyism (I’d much rather a windmill in my backyard) with these sprawling projects that may not contribute to the local economy and have raised utility prices for the surrounding communities.

7x7 (13. 105)

helix nebula: JWST captures amazing images of the planetary incubator 

academy cinema two: the linocut posters for movie classics from Peter Strausfeld  

degrassi high: an appeal for Canada television to bring back its weirdness—via MetaFilter  

deus ex machina: a survey of the long history of technology assisted writing  

the attention economy: cybernetic interface and the tolerance of distraction as told through “pursuit tests” on the last century  

public domain revue: an call for submissions to remix properties like Betty Boop, Nancy Drew, Flip the Frog and more—see previously, see also  

galileo let me go: the most challenging mission in the history of NASA

too perfect—you poor fools, your own creation destroyed you (13. 094)

As ugly and tone-deaf as recycling Nazi slogans by the Trump regime has been, the irony of the Secretary of War’s visit to Elon Musk’s SpaceX headquarters in Starbase, Texas has achieved escape velocity in rolling out a vision to make Star Trek a reality—see previously and missing the franchise’s vision of a utopian, post-scarcity society (not withstanding serious problems with Paramount and CBS, please don’t appropriate Star Trek for your nefarious agenda)—with the Arsenal of Freedom campaign, lifted from the title of a 1988 episode of TNG. Neither Musk nor Hegseth, excitedly promoting the integration of artificial intelligence models across the defence department to inform and expedite decision making at all levels, seemed to recalled that in the season one cautionary tale, the Enterprise on an expedition to the planet Minos to search for a missing Federation vessel meets a holographic, fast-talking weapons sales representative touting an automated offensive system, Echo Papa 607 drone fleet package (made with special parts but not like our robot friends from MST3K), the rogue AI programmed for self-preservation with the capability to upgrade itself to counter any threat, eventually realising that the missing ship and the entire Minosian civilisation were destroyed by escalating machine warfare. Captain Picard ends the sales pitch and demonstration, having nearly taken out the Enterprise as well, by saying that they will buy it and sabotages the central command computer before leaving orbit.

synchronoptica

one year ago: Americans turn to a TikTok alternative (with synchronopticæ), cartoon show-bibles plus assorted links to enjoy

fourteen years ago: more German un-words

fifteen years ago: backing up one’s devices 

7x7 (13. 080)

good vs ice: Jesse Welles’ (previously) ballad for the woman murdered by an immigration agent in Minneapolis  

what fresh hell is this: an appreciation of Dorothy Parker  

specimen: over the decades, forty thousand individuals have claimed 078-05-1120 as their US social security number 

things to come: a look at Taliban censorship after a new law comes into effect banning images of people and animals  

spicy mode: Elon Musk won’t shut down his non-consensual deepfake generator until faced with legislation  

whodunit: a rare interview with Dame Agatha Christine revisited on fifty years since her demise  

fed chair: Jerome Powell responds to the Trump administration’s threats of indictment—see previously

synchronoptica

one year ago: Trump indicted for misuse of campaign funds for hush money (with synchronopticæ), the prescience of George Orwell, the Great Game, MAGA infighting plus US neighbours snap back

twelve years ago: a pedestrian bridge for the Thames plus monograms and ciphers

thirteen years ago: lost infrastructure plus hen parties 

fourteen years ago: GMOs and food safety 

fifteen years ago: The Blow Monkeys 

sixteen years ago: saunas for a frigid day 

9x9 (13. 061)

flu season: experimentation with gene-editing tools suggest CRISPR may be able to stop the virus from replicating—see also

i want my mtv: a service that rebroadcasts the cable channel from its first day until they stopped playing music, including vintage commercials—via MetaFilter 

l’etat, c’est moi: Trump makes the case for his own impeachment with his Mar-a-Lago press conference on Venezuela  

fire with fire: stopping a rogue AI with an instinct for self-preservation may call for turning off the internet—or more drastic measures 

a day of love: a plaque commemorating Washington, DC police for their actions during the Capitol insurrection has gone missing on this fifth anniversary—see below, see also  

monkeybranching: Gen Z dating and relationship terminology  

donroe doctrine: Denmark demands Trump quit his designs on seizing Greenland, risks the end of NATO  

gomrath: a forgotten psychedelic masterpiece rediscovered fifty years on  

home-brew: researchers develop a vaccine deliverable by beer

synchronoptica

one year ago: European Cultural Capitals (with synchronopticæ), certifying the vote of the electoral college plus the coat of arms of Denmark changed to signal Greenland is not for sale

twelve years ago: repeating history’s mistakes

thirteen years ago: cocoa and Christmas chocolates plus the threshold of discoverability for actors

fourteen years ago: debates over fluoridated water plus American empire

sixteen years ago: boxing up the Christmas stuff 

seventeen years ago: a faded superpower