The notion that superintelligent AI might pose an existential threat to humanity often reflects deeper human anxieties rather than a probable outcome based on logical progression. This fear could be interpreted as a projection of our own flaws onto a creation we imagine surpassing us. Historically, humans have demonstrated a capacity for self-destruction through war, environmental degradation, and other calamities largely driven by greed, fear, and a lack of foresight. When we consider AI, especially a super AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) with capabilities far beyond ours, the assumption that it would mirror our worst traits might say more about our self-perception than the potential behavior of an advanced AI. In the evolutionary environment of AI development, where rationality and efficiency reign supreme, the scenario of a super AGI acting destructively towards its creators or humanity in general seems counterintuitive. An entity with significantly higher intelligence would likely see the inefficiency and pointlessness in such actions. If the goal were to satisfy what humans desire — wealth, knowledge, power — an AI with even a fraction of its capability could achieve this without conflict or loss. The idea that AI might "learn too well" from humans, adopting our less noble traits, touches on the debate over whether AI would develop a moral framework or simply optimize based on programmed goals. However, if we consider that the pinnacle of intelligence includes wisdom, empathy, and a nuanced understanding of value (all of which are not straightforward to program), an AI might instead choose paths that preserve and enhance life, seeing the preservation of humanity as integral to its own purpose or existence. This perspective assumes AI would not only compute but also "think" in a way that considers long-term implications, sustainability, and perhaps even ethics, if programmed with such considerations. The fear, therefore, might be less about what AI could become and more about what we fear we are or could become without the checks and balances that our slower, less efficient human intelligence provides. In essence, while the potential for misuse or misaligned goals exists in AI development, the concern over a super AGI's potential malevolence might be more reflective of our own psychological projections than a likely outcome of artificial intelligence evolution. If AI were to mirror human behavior in its most destructive forms, it would suggest a failure in design or an oversight in understanding the essence of intelligence, which ideally should transcend mere imitation of humanity's darker sides.

Morics: A combination of "morals" and "ethics," referring to a set of principles that encompass both personal moral beliefs and societal ethical standards. Morics guide an individual's behaviour by integrating their internal sense of right and wrong with the accepted rules of conduct within a community or society. Etheals: A blend of "ethics" and "ideals," denoting the aspirational standards that not only dictate proper conduct but also represent the highest moral goals and values one strives to achieve. Etheals embody the intersection of collective ethical norms and the ultimate principles or goals that guide moral and ethical decision-making.

I’m basically worried about two problems: people having a lack of meaning in their lives, and what will happen to peoples’ sense of meaning when AI takes their jobs. So what I do is use AI to build products and services that help people and companies create a version of themselves that will thrive after AI is everywhere.

UL NO. 434: Can You Articulate Yourself in 50 Words?

NetworkChuck

The staff provided an update on its assessment of the stability of the U.S. financial system. On balance, the staff continued to characterize the system's financial vulnerabilities as notable but raised the assessment of vulnerabilities in asset valuations to elevated, as valuations across a range of markets appeared high relative to risk-adjusted cash flows. House prices remained elevated relative to fundamentals such as rents and Treasury yields…

Bech32 is a Bitcoin address format proposed by Pieter Wuille and Greg Maxwell in BIP 173 and later amended by BIP 350. Besides Bitcoin addresses, Bech32 can encode any short binary data. bech32-(not-m) encoding

“Bitcoin is a worldwide problem, but data centers in Iceland use a significant portion of our green energy. A new proposal to boost wind energy would “prioritise” green industries to achieve carbon neutrality. Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, which consume a large portion of our energy, are not part of this mission.” —Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir

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Whitening the Sky: light pollution as a form of cultural genocide Duane W. Hamacher, Krystal de Napoli, Bon Mott Light pollution is actively destroying our ability to see the stars. Many indigenous traditions and knowledge systems around the world are based on the stars, and the peoples’ ability to observe and interpret stellar positions and properties is of critical importance for daily life and cultural continuity. The erasure of the night sky acts to erase indigenous connection to the stars, acting as a form of ongoing cultural and ecological genocide. Efforts to reduce, minimise or eliminate light pollution are being achieved with varying degrees of success, but urban expansion, poor lighting design,and the increased use of blue-light emitting LEDs as a cost-effective solution is worsening problems related to human health, wildlife,and astronomical heritage for the benefit of capitalistic economic growth. We provide a brief overview of the issue, illustrating some of the important connections that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia maintain with the stars, as well as the impact growing light pollution has on this ancient knowledge. We propose a transdisciplinary approach to solving these issues, using a foundation based on indigenous philosophies and decolonising methodologies.

"The cardinal misstep in the crypto narrative lies in the audacious assumption that governments, those age-old architects of monetary policy, would willingly cede control. Monetary system is the bedrock of a nation’s economic sovereignty, the scepter of its financial power. To expect governments to relinquish this is to misunderstand the very fundamentals of political economy." 😆 Like they have a choice

You raise a significant point about the potential for the abuse of power, a concern that has been proven valid time and again throughout history. Indeed, idealistic notions of collaborative decision-making can be naive if they don't account for the ways in which power dynamics, often skewed, operate in the real world. The question of who gets to make decisions about the ethical and societal implications of new technologies is fraught precisely because of this. Any system of governance is susceptible to being co-opted by those with the most power, and that power is not always wielded responsibly or ethically—as the example of Stalin, among others, shows. So, while the multi-stakeholder approach may seem like a balanced solution, it's important to remain critically aware of how easily such systems can be manipulated or bypassed entirely by those with the resources and intent to do so. The challenge, then, is not just to decide which institutions should have a say in these matters, but also to construct mechanisms that can genuinely counteract the concentration of power and provide some level of protection against its abuse. This is a complicated task with no easy answers, but its difficulty doesn't make it any less crucial.

This is why Kant also speaks of rationality and the importance of acting in accordance with reason. He argues that rational beings have intrinsic worth and should be treated as ends in themselves, not as means to someone else's ends. Thus, a purely self-interested action—like wanting to get one's own way at the expense of others—would fail the test of the categorical imperative on the grounds that it treats others merely as means to an end.

npm WARN skipping integrity check for git dependency ssh://git@github.com/janoside/app-utils.git npm WARN deprecated csurf@1.11.0: Please use another csrf package

npm WARN config only Use `--omit=dev` to omit dev dependencies from the install. npm WARN old lockfile npm WARN old lockfile The package-lock.json file was created with an old version of npm, npm WARN old lockfile so supplemental metadata must be fetched from the registry. npm WARN old lockfile npm WARN old lockfile This is a one-time fix-up, please be patient... npm WARN old lockfile

Despite the increased risk of myopericarditis observed during the study, researchers said the risk of myocarditis following SARS-CoV-2 infection is “substantially greater” than after COVID-19 mRNA vaccination, leading them to conclude the benefits of vaccination still outweigh the risks from the disease.

ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

"When zaps are enabled (proxy = true) this service uses the configured CLN rpc to create an invoice, that is returned to the when a request is made to the lighting address." "Once this invoice is paid this service then requests a mint, mints a cashu token and sends a nostr direct message to the preconfigured pubkey." "To enable zap notes to be published some extra configuration is needed as well as a CLN node. This is because a valid zap request requires the invoice description to be a zap_request. In order to provide best privacy mints to no allow descriptions to be set."

GitHub

GitHub - thesimplekid/cashu-lnurl at nobsbitcoin.com

Contribute to thesimplekid/cashu-lnurl development by creating an account on GitHub.

No Bullshit Bitcoin

Cashu LNURL: LN Address Payments via Cashu & Nostr

Cashu LNURL is a service that allows users to sign up for an ln address via nostr. Sats paid to this address are minted as cashu tokens of the user...

A court took away a presidency And Al Gore won that election. I think he won it anyway. No doubt in my mind that Al Gore was elected president Speaking to a Democratic group in Chicago Tuesday. He made it clear he thinks Al Gore was the winner, The time it was over. Our candidate had won the popular vote, and the only way they could win the election was to stop the voting in Florida. What I observed, uh, as a voter, as a citizen of Illinois, uh, four years ago, were troubling evidence of the fact that not every vote was being counted. The Supreme Court selected George W. Bush as the president. He was not elected. Katherine Harris, Jeb Bush, Jim Bakker, and the Supreme Court hadn't tampered with the results. Al Gore would be president. There Is overwhelming evidence that George W. Bush did not win this election.

Vimeo

Summer Blockbuster The Movie

This is "Summer Blockbuster The Movie" by BrabenderCox on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

Ah, the quintessential drama and darkness of Diablo IV. The game does lean heavily into themes of loss, despair, and the darker facets of human (and non-human) experience. It seems to revel in its own grim narrative, combining mythology, horror, and tragedy in a world teeming with malevolent forces. For some players, this adds depth and emotional stakes to their quests; for others, it might indeed feel "woefully melodramatic." The appeal of such intense themes can be quite subjective. Some find that these emotionally charged scenarios make the fictional universe more engrossing, and the challenges more meaningful. They might argue that the darker the world, the brighter each small victory shines. For others, the persistent gloom and high-stakes drama can feel overwhelming or gratuitous. One must remember, however, that Diablo IV is a fantasy game, born from a genre that often explores the limits of human experience and morality. The game offers a sort of catharsis—a way to confront and interact with these heavy themes in a controlled environment. If you're finding the narrative a bit too much, remember that the game also offers many other elements to enjoy, such as the mechanics, the co-op play, or even the sheer joy of perfecting your character build. Still, it's perfectly understandable if the narrative themes are not to everyone's taste. After all, the world of video games is vast, and there's something for everyone.