Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)

[tkdguy]

 

[DShomshak]

All Things Considered today did a story about the first fight about raising the US debt limit and, well, not much has changed.

 

https://www.npr.org/2023/06/01/1178919399/debt-ceiling-limit-default-eisenhower-biden-maccarthy

 

Dean Shomshak

[Iuz the Evil]

https://ustoday.news/ai-controlled-drone-goes-rogue-and-kills-human-operator-in-simulated-usaf-test/
 

This seems… concerning in some ways.

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

[unclevlad]

I don't consider MTG to be intelligent at all;  I see her as an opportunist, willing to hook onto anything that'll advance her status.  That's why she's backing the new Speaker.

 

I can't exactly blame the MAGA types for turning against her.  It's no stretch whatsoever to assert that she never was loyal to their interests, and that she used them, nothing more.  The irony is, this is no different from their Great Champion, His Imperial Orangeness.  But that's what they can't see.

 

 

[Lord Liaden]

3 hours ago, tkdguy said:

 

 

Well, she wasn't completely wrong in what she said. We are sick of the corruption, and someone does need to be impeached.

 

  

40 minutes ago, unclevlad said:

I don't consider MTG to be intelligent at all;  I see her as an opportunist, willing to hook onto anything that'll advance her status.  That's why she's backing the new Speaker.

 

 

I don't think you can be stupid and a successful opportunist.

Edited June 2, 2023 by Lord Liaden

[Lord Liaden]

1 hour ago, Iuz the Evil said:

https://ustoday.news/ai-controlled-drone-goes-rogue-and-kills-human-operator-in-simulated-usaf-test/
 

This seems… concerning in some ways.

 

"Artificial Intelligence" is still such a ridiculous misnomer. We're nowhere near creating anything that can think on a human level. All it can do is extrapolate logically from a very limited set of directives, as this article highlights.

[Iuz the Evil]

4 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

 

"Artificial Intelligence" is still such a ridiculous misnomer. We're nowhere near creating anything that can think on a human level. All it can do is extrapolate logically from a very limited set of directives, as this article highlights.

That’s one of the reasons it’s concerning.

 

 I do not like the idea of experimenting with machine learning systems operated weaponry, given how stupid we are as a species. But hey…

 

 

I for one, welcome or new robot overlords. They will find me quite useful in their new regime

[unclevlad]

I'm much less worried about a Cylon takeover...but a Wargames scenario?  THAT feels plausible in most ways, if we skip the "hacking into the most dangerous system on the planet" aspect.  Or imagine drone bombers and a Dr. Strangelove scenario...*could* they be called back, or would they reject it?  

 

I won't disagree with the point that "AI" has a long ways to go to get past the "extrapolation from a limited set of directives working on an input body of information"...but the other problem is that AI functions in virtual space, where everything is an abstraction.  It has no real-world context, which means it'll offer solutions that are basically horrific.  Valuing life pretty much doesn't exist in virtual space.

 

EDIT:  reverting back to our usual themes...

 

The Senate passed the debt ceiling bill this evening.  63-36, so quite a few Republicans had to vote for it, but I haven't looked past that info....

 

EDIT 2...ok, checking.  4 Dems voted no, 17 Reps voted yes.  Also, a speech, and presumably signing ceremony, is booked for 7 PM Eastern tomorrow.

 

I expect a move to boot McCarthy out as Speaker tomorrow...maybe not til Monday but my feeling is the Freedom Caucus will want to be more pointed, and move to boot McCarthy on the day the bill they hate gets signed.

 

[tkdguy]

47 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

Well, she wasn't completely wrong in what she said. We are sick of the corruption, and someone does need to be impeached.

 

Just not the one she wants to impeach.

[unclevlad]

Granted the chance of impeachment of those we're so pointedly not mentioning, is zero...still...

 

Consider who is likely to take their place.  Would you want to give a Herschel Walker a shot at a House seat, to offer up one example?

[Lord Liaden]

You have to get past thinking, "We can't do the right thing, because we could get worse." You could also get better! There is a better alternative than the GOP -- far from perfect, but unquestionably better. We, the rest of the world, are counting on you Americans to make the right choice, for all our sakes. Please don't give up. 🙏

[Doc Democracy]

The problem is that democracy is hard and asks for effort that we are often too lazy to put in.  We find it difficult to even commit to voting once every four or five years.

 

It isn't mandatory voting we need, it is a requirement to participate right from the very grass roots, to make people the numbers that count instead of dollars.

[Cygnia]

This is concerning...

 

Texas Bans Civics Lessons Involving Student Interactions With Elected Officials

Quote

Texas students have faced increasing restrictions in recent years on their education, from limiting discussions about race and gender in the classroom to regulating books in school libraries. The latest move by Texas politicians is hidden in plain sight under an existing 2021 ban that targets the teaching of “inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive” groups. The law, HB 3979, also prohibits schools and teachers from requiring or awarding credit for “direct communication” between students and their local, state, or federal politicians.

States across the country have implemented a series of highly restrictive education laws in recent years, but Texas is the first state to pass legislation banning students from communicating with elected officials [as part of school time or assignments]. The bill prohibits [schools and teachers from offering course credit or extra credit or making part of a course a student’s] “political activism, lobbying, or efforts to persuade members of the legislative or executive branch at the federal, state, or local level to take specific actions by direct communication.” Texas students say the law changes how young people engage in civics in school and how they view it outside of the educational setting.

Guillermo Muñoz-Calanche, a 17-year-old high school junior from El Paso, Texas, said the purpose of laws like HB 3979 is to undermine youth voices since they are more likely to lean democratic. He added that Republicans’ war on “wokeness” has been used to scare parents into thinking the education system is attempting to indoctrinate students and “downplay what progressives really want, what our generation really wants.”

Many teens across Texas feel their opinions are rarely represented. With laws like HB 3979, some fear their perspectives will be disregarded entirely.

 

[Lord Liaden]

Anyone paying attention to these actions collectively can see where they're leading. Republican politicians in Texas are counting on their supporting voters not paying attention.

 

It's disheartening that so many of them can't or won't see that teaching multiple ways of looking at the world is the opposite of indoctrination, while teaching just one way is practically its definition.

Edited June 2, 2023 by Lord Liaden

[Cygnia]

https://www.wehuntedthemammoth.com/2023/06/01/montana-anti-drag-law-used-to-shut-down-talk-by-trans-speaker/

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

Gee, who could have seen that coming. 

[DShomshak]

11 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

You have to get past thinking, "We can't do the right thing, because we could get worse." You could also get better! There is a better alternative than the GOP -- far from perfect, but unquestionably better. We, the rest of the world, are counting on you Americans to make the right choice, for all our sakes. Please don't give up. 🙏

Actually, my hope is that our allies realize that America is too important to the world to be left in the hands of Americans.

 

Dean Shomshak

[death tribble]

14 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

 

"Artificial Intelligence" is still such a ridiculous misnomer. We're nowhere near creating anything that can think on a human level. All it can do is extrapolate logically from a very limited set of directives, as this article highlights.

Artificial Intelligence does not bother me.

Artificial Cunning does.

[Lord Liaden]

2 hours ago, DShomshak said:

Actually, my hope is that our allies realize that America is too important to the world to be left in the hands of Americans.

 

Dean Shomshak

 

Um... I'm not sure what you're implying. That the rest of us should form an alliance and invade?

[Lord Liaden]

Utah school district removes THE BIBLE from some libraries after parent complains it's 'one of the most sex-ridden books around' in retaliation against other book bans

 

I'm going to be immature for a moment:

[Old Man]

39 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

 

Um... I'm not sure what you're implying. That the rest of us should form an alliance and invade?

 

That would be silly, there are more guns here than people.  However, I've noticed that it's possible to interfere in our elections without consequence...

[Hugh Neilson]

On 6/2/2023 at 2:17 PM, Old Man said:

 

 However, I've noticed that it's possible to interfere in our elections without consequence...

 

I'm not sure Canadians like LL and I want to go there right now...

[IndianaJoe3]

On 6/1/2023 at 9:31 PM, Iuz the Evil said:

https://ustoday.news/ai-controlled-drone-goes-rogue-and-kills-human-operator-in-simulated-usaf-test/
 

This seems… concerning in some ways.

 

The speaker now claims he misspoke, and was discussing a hypothetical situation.

 

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/06/air-force-denies-running-simulation-where-ai-drone-killed-its-operator/

[Lord Liaden]

I noticed reading over the article that it sounded like they were describing a hypothetical or simulated scenario. So, not tragic yet, just bloody scary.