All this talk about Discord replacements plus my own experience attempting to host a Synapse has got me wondering why it seems so hard to implement voice chat.

Stupid idea: back in 2022 I got an Asterisk server working on a raspberry pi over AREDN without too much trouble. What's stopping people from just using a PBX like that for voice chat?

The plans - which are subject to a 12-week public consultation - seek to prevent smoking, vaping and the use of heated tobacco in these settings across England.

At Canada Computers in Toronto, circa 2009.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6si6GIKIg24

Rayman: 30th Anniversary Edition launches on February 13 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, PC via the Ubisoft Store and Steam, and with a Ubisoft+ subscription. Rediscover the magical world of Rayman as you rescue Electoons and save the world from Mr. Dark by punching and hair-coptering your way through memorable areas like the Dream Forest and the musical chaos of the Band Lands.

Developed by Digital Eclipse, with all their usual interactive documentary awesomeness.

I recently decided to try out Piefed.World, after using Lemmy.World for so long.

I'm a community mod, and, previously, when using my Lemmy account, the community information showed me this:

But when I access it via Piefed, it shows me this:

Is there an issue with federation, or......?

The community name is !okbuddyrosalyn@lemmy.world

Actual link to study: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(25)00257-8/fulltext

I'm sure Not-a-lie Bald-ass-ery is providing truthful and relevant information to the public about the activities of the Department of Justice.

In a sprawling aquarium complex in south-eastern France that once drew half a million visitors a year, only a few dozen people now move between pools that contain the last remaining marine mammals of Marineland Antibes. Weeds grow on walkways, the stands are empty and algae grows in the pools, giving the water a greenish hue.

It is here that Wikie and Keijo, a mother and son pair of orcas, are floating. They were born in these pools, and for decades they performed in shows for crowds. But since the park’s closure in January 2025, they no longer have an audience. When they are alone, they “log”, or float at the water’s surface, according to a court-ordered report released last April.

Marineland has long acknowledged that there is an urgent need to transfer the orcas. In a statement to the Guardian, it reiterates this: “Marineland has been saying for some time that the park cannot wait any longer.

In December 2025 the French minister delegate for ecological transition, Mathieu Lefèvre, announced that Wikie and Keijo would be sent to the Whale Sanctuary Project in Nova Scotia, Canada, calling it the “only ethical, credible, and legally compliant solution”. The 40-hectare (100-acre) outdoor site aims to recreate a seaside environment as close as possible to the natural habitat of whales and dolphins.

Lori Marino, a neuroscientist and founder of the Whale Sanctuary Project, says: “They [the orca pair] will have depth to dive, an interesting and vibrant underwater environment to explore, and conditioning and exercise routines with the trainers.”

On Monday, Marino will present her plan for the orcas at the meeting – but getting it through will not be straightforward. The decision by the French government to opt for the Whale Sanctuary Project has met strong resistance from other animal welfare organisations and Marineland’s owner.

“Nobody is actually working together, that is the problem,” says Marino.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/63638729

An AI safety researcher has quit US firm Anthropic with a cryptic warning that the "world is in peril".

In his resignation letter shared on X, Mrinank Sharma told the firm he was leaving amid concerns about AI, bioweapons and the state of the wider world.

He said he would instead look to pursue writing and studying poetry, and move back to the UK to "become invisible".

It comes in the same week that an OpenAI researcher said she had resigned, sharing concerns about the ChatGPT maker's decision to deploy adverts in its chatbot.

Anthropic, best known for its Claude chatbot, had released a series of commercials aimed at OpenAI, criticising the company's move to include adverts for some users.

The company, which was formed in 2021 by a breakaway team of early OpenAI employees, has positioned itself as having a more safety-orientated approach to AI research compared with its rivals.

Sharma led a team there which researched AI safeguards.

He said in his resignation letter his contributions included investigating why generative AI systems suck up to users, combatting AI-assisted bioterrorism risks and researching "how AI assistants could make us less human".

But he said despite enjoying his time at the company, it was clear "the time has come to move on".

****"The world is in peril. And not just from AI, or bioweapons, but from a whole series of interconnected crises unfolding in this very moment," Sharma wrote.

He said he had "repeatedly seen how hard it is to truly let our values govern our actions" - including at Anthropic which he said "constantly face pressures to set aside what matters most".

Sharma said he would instead look to pursue a poetry degree and writing.

He added in a reply: "I'll be moving back to the UK and letting myself become invisible for a period of time."****

Those departing AI firms which have loomed large in the latest generative AI boom - and sought to retain talent with huge salaries or compensation offers - often do so with plenty of shares and benefits intact. Eroding principles

Anthropic calls itself a "public benefit corporation dedicated to securing [AI's] benefits and mitigating its risks".

In particular, it has focused on preventing those it believes are posed by more advanced frontier systems, such as them becoming misaligned with human values, misused in areas such as conflict or too powerful.

It has released reports on the safety of its own products, including when it said its technology had been "weaponised" by hackers to carry out sophisticated cyber attacks.

But it has also come under scrutiny over its practices. In 2025, it agreed to pay $1.5bn (£1.1bn) to settle a class action lawsuit filed by authors who said the company stole their work to train its AI models.

Like OpenAI, the firm also seeks to seize on the technology's benefits, including through its own AI products such as its ChatGPT rival Claude.

It recently released a commercial that criticised OpenAI's move to start running ads in ChatGPT.

OpenAI boss Sam Altman had previously said he hated ads and would use them as a "last resort".

Last week, he hit back at the advert's description of this as a "betrayal" - but was mocked for his lengthy post criticising Anthropic.

Writing in the New York Times on Wednesday, former OpenAI researcher Zoe Hitzig said she had "deep reservations about OpenAI's strategy".

"People tell chatbots about their medical fears, their relationship problems, their beliefs about God and the afterlife," she wrote.

"Advertising built on that archive creates a potential for manipulating users in ways we don't have the tools to understand, let alone prevent."

Hitzig said a potential "erosion of OpenAI's own principles to maximise engagement" might already be underway at the firm.

She said she feared this may accelerate if the company's approach to advertising does not reflect its values to benefit humanity.

BBC News has approached OpenAI for a response.