... in the United States, public investment in science seems to be redirected and concentrated on AI at the expense of other disciplines. And Big Tech companies are consolidating their control over the AI ecosystem. In these ways and others, AI seems to be making everything worse.

This is not the whole story. We should not resign ourselves to AI being harmful to humanity. None of us should accept this as inevitable, especially those in a position to influence science, government, and society. Scientists and engineers can push AI towards a beneficial path. Here’s how.

The essential point is that, like with the climate crisis, a vision of what positive future outcomes look like is necessary to actually get things done. Things with the technology that would make life better. They give a handful of examples and provide broad categories if activities that can help steer what is done.

Archived

The head of [Argentina's retail company] MercadoLibre Inc.’s business in Argentina called for tougher regulations on fast-growing Chinese e-commerce platforms in Latin America, warning that an uneven playing field threatens local businesses and jobs.

“It’s important to have a good regulatory framework that’s equal for everyone competing,” Juan Martin de la Serna said at the ABECEB conference Tuesday in Buenos Aires, when asked about the growing presence of platforms like Temu and Shein in the region. “Regulations are very important, just as much in finance as in commerce.”

It’s some of the clearest criticism yet from MercadoLibre executives regarding the rapid growth of Temu, Shein and other Asian e-commerce rivals in the region. Latin American governments are also taking notice. Mexico, Chile and Uruguay have all moved this year to tighten tax and import rules on low-cost goods from China to protect domestic retailers.

[...]

I volunteer with a small local org. They use Google Workspace. I want to ask them to switch to NextCloud. But despite looking pretty throughly, I can't find anyone that offers managed hosting/support. I don't want to be the sysadmin. The org already pays a hefty fee for Google so they should't have a problem paying for NextCloud.

NC recommends a bunch of providers on their site, but they all look like VPS's, and don't seem to mention NC at all, much less anything about support. They also all look like they're non-US, which I understand many would consider a good thing but I really don't want to be dealing with slow connections. Not sure if that's a realistic concern.

Bonus points if they offer discounts for non-profits.

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/9665212

No clear morality too.

Even the bad guys are stand-ins now for "losers" of society and usually their backstory is that they were someone "down on their luck" and rejected by society and I guess that makes them evil later on.

I realize that I have dark thoughts or pessimistic or cynical attitudes at time, maybe to an extreme degree in some instances.

I need something with more hope and less "moral greyness" at this point; it just seems that it's clouding my mind and I'm trying to recover from a depression and disthymia.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5471701

Archived version

A safety issue has been identified with a children's fancy-dress costume sold on SHEIN marketplace which has resulted in the item being recalled across Ireland.

The costume has inflammable material (light blue fabric) and may catch fire if worn close to an ignition source, resulting in burns.

...

The model number is 4097369. The batch number is M7431. The unique identification number is sk2412254123997662.

There are approximately 66 affected products in the Republic of Ireland.

...

Archived version

A safety issue has been identified with a children's fancy-dress costume sold on SHEIN marketplace which has resulted in the item being recalled across Ireland.

The costume has inflammable material (light blue fabric) and may catch fire if worn close to an ignition source, resulting in burns.

...

The model number is 4097369. The batch number is M7431. The unique identification number is sk2412254123997662.

There are approximately 66 affected products in the Republic of Ireland.

...

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5471537

Archived version

Moldova on Wednesday approved a bill to cancel a 1998 agreement with Russia on cultural centers, as ties continue to deteriorate over Moscow’s full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

In February, Moldova’s Foreign Ministry said it would begin the process of shutting down the Russian Center of Science and Culture, which opened in Chișinău in 2009, over a drone incursion.

Moldova’s cabinet of ministers said in a statement that the center was funded by Rossotrudnichestvo, a Russian state-funded cultural diplomacy agency under EU sanctions.

The cabinet stressed that Moldova does not have a cultural center of its own in Russia.

“The Russian Cultural Center was not cultural at all, it operated to undermine Moldova’s sovereignty,” Moldovan Culture Minister Cristian Jardan said.

Moldova has repeatedly accused Russia of trying to destabilize the country of 2.6 million under pro-EU President Maia Sandu.

Both Kyiv and Chișinău lodged bids to join the European Union after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

The bill to cancel the agreement will now be submitted to Moldova’s parliament.

...

Archived version

Moldova on Wednesday approved a bill to cancel a 1998 agreement with Russia on cultural centers, as ties continue to deteriorate over Moscow’s full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

In February, Moldova’s Foreign Ministry said it would begin the process of shutting down the Russian Center of Science and Culture, which opened in Chișinău in 2009, over a drone incursion.

Moldova’s cabinet of ministers said in a statement that the center was funded by Rossotrudnichestvo, a Russian state-funded cultural diplomacy agency under EU sanctions.

The cabinet stressed that Moldova does not have a cultural center of its own in Russia.

“The Russian Cultural Center was not cultural at all, it operated to undermine Moldova’s sovereignty,” Moldovan Culture Minister Cristian Jardan said.

Moldova has repeatedly accused Russia of trying to destabilize the country of 2.6 million under pro-EU President Maia Sandu.

Both Kyiv and Chișinău lodged bids to join the European Union after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

The bill to cancel the agreement will now be submitted to Moldova’s parliament.

...

Hello all,

For a few days now I have been reading about the shiny new opencloud alternative to nextcloud. Has anyone tried to migrate from nextcloud to opencloud?

I have not found a guide about how to move the files from one to the other. I want to try it out and if I like it enough, move. But how does one do that?

The army began operating in Akita prefecture following a wave of deadly bear attacks. Twelve people have been killed and more than 100 attacks have been reported across Japan since April.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5471331

Archived version

The first underground school has been put into operation in Sumy, and more than 170 similar facilities are already being opened throughout Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, has said.

...

According to him, more than 170 such facilities are currently being implemented in the frontline and border regions.

...

Another eight schools are planned to be built in five communities: seven of them will be opened by the end of 2025, and one in 2026," the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine reported.

He added that over two years the state has invested over UAH 13 billion in creating safe schools.

...

Archived version

The first underground school has been put into operation in Sumy, and more than 170 similar facilities are already being opened throughout Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, has said.

...

According to him, more than 170 such facilities are currently being implemented in the frontline and border regions.

...

Another eight schools are planned to be built in five communities: seven of them will be opened by the end of 2025, and one in 2026," the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine reported.

He added that over two years the state has invested over UAH 13 billion in creating safe schools.

...

So that you can be professionally told to log off, get some sun on your skin and some grass on your hands

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5470907

Experts have urged that the United Kingdom’s Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) receive full and sustained funding to meet emerging security threats posed by increasing military cooperation between Russia and China, according to the UK Defence Journal.

...

Dr. Justin Bronk of the Royal United Services Institute described the next decade as “an acute period of risk,” citing Russia’s ongoing military buildup despite its heavy losses in Ukraine. He said European states need to strengthen ammunition supplies and airpower capabilities to avoid dependence on US intervention during potential future crises.

...

He also pointed to Japan’s central role in developing GCAP’s advanced features, given its proximity to China ... adding that Chinese weapons and sensors are likely to appear in Russian forces by the time GCAP’s Tempest fighter enters service in the 2030s and 2040s.

...

Bronk cautioned that conflicts involving Russia or China could trigger simultaneous crises ... “If war breaks out between Russia and NATO, the Chinese might decide that they will never get a better chance to go for Taiwan.”

...

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5470907

Experts have urged that the United Kingdom’s Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) receive full and sustained funding to meet emerging security threats posed by increasing military cooperation between Russia and China, according to the UK Defence Journal.

...

Dr. Justin Bronk of the Royal United Services Institute described the next decade as “an acute period of risk,” citing Russia’s ongoing military buildup despite its heavy losses in Ukraine. He said European states need to strengthen ammunition supplies and airpower capabilities to avoid dependence on US intervention during potential future crises.

...

He also pointed to Japan’s central role in developing GCAP’s advanced features, given its proximity to China ... adding that Chinese weapons and sensors are likely to appear in Russian forces by the time GCAP’s Tempest fighter enters service in the 2030s and 2040s.

...

Bronk cautioned that conflicts involving Russia or China could trigger simultaneous crises ... “If war breaks out between Russia and NATO, the Chinese might decide that they will never get a better chance to go for Taiwan.”

...

If link is not working: https://archive.is/lG1Cm

Update: after a longer break, we've released a bugfix for the framework-scheduler component, primarily addressing issues related to the upgrade process. If you’re already using Safebox, you can access the update in the Notifications menu.

Hi everyone, we’ve been working on Safebox, an open-source framework that helps you install, manage, and access self-hosted applications such as Home Assistant, Nextcloud, and Jellyfin ect. Safebox runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows (supporting both x86 and ARM64 architectures, even Raspberry Pi, Banana Pi hardwares also tested). It manages domain and subdomain setup, Let's Encrypt certificates, DNS configuration, and reverse proxy (nginx). It also includes a WireGuard-based remote access feature and a geo-redundant backup system (currently in development). The project is in beta, and we’re looking for people interested in testing and sharing feedback. All information about Safebox and beta testing can be found in our Discord channel. Try it using Docker: docker run --rm -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock safebox/framework-scheduler

Then open: http://localhost:8080/

Links: Website: https://safebox.network/ GitHub: https://github.com/safeboxnetwork/framework-scheduler Discord: https://discord.gg/aBP8bz6N8J

We’d really appreciate any feedback or ideas for improvement.