iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

The world would have been such a different place today had Gore won. No Iraq War, probably a more strategic involvement and pull-out in Afghanistan. But then also possibly no Obama and the right-wing backlash to him that's culminated in our fall into fascism.

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I think everyone needs to stop thinking in absolutes and put forth the mental effort needed to perform cost-benefit analysis on a case-by-case basis, informed by their values.

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They're not chasing money alone. They're trying to secure influence over the future, for good or for bad. Make no mistake, we're in an arms race. That's why they're collectively turning to governments for regulation. Any mitigation needs to be applied against ALL AI companies. Worldwide.

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I think it's highly reductive to claim the motivation is greed. This is a technology that's going to cause seismic shifts socially, economically, politically. It'll be both an offensive and defensive weapon for corporations and countries alike. The disruption it will cause will be significant.

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Askme @askme99.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I don't know how these people sit there so professionally. I'd have looked him dead in the eyes and said, "Sir, you're a fucking imbecile."

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Reposted by Dave Mittner 🇺🇸

Eric Schmitt got every detail right about Jack Smith‘s basketball game. Except the team, the league, the gender, the city and the state. Magats constantly prove the infinite depth of their stupidity.

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When they're building them in the middle of a major city that can reach 120°F, has been in a regional drought for years, and has elderly people dying of heat because they can't pay their power bills... Yeah. That feels pretty fucking stupid.

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You lost me at "one word answer". Coercing reductive rhetoric to score political points is lame. Even if the answer actually does boil down to a "yes", forcing it inherently undermines the credibility and usefulness.

000

Yes and no. When persuasion fails and you're dealing with people who refuse to listen but insist upon pushing destructive messaging, really the only recourse left is the tried-and-true practice of social shaming. At least you may destroy their credibility enough publicly that nobody will listen.

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And there remains the fact that there are good and bad places to build them, good and bad ways to build them. The lack of regulation allowed a whole lot of "bad" because it's cheaper, and that's where a lot of blow back comes from.

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Moreover, AI capacity is already enough to give you the benefits you cite. It doesn't need to advance as fast as it is, demanding more and more compute that necessitates the constant datacenter build-out. You have to gauge the "big area" because that's what drives this level of datacenter demand.

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"Help" isn't "need". Society's functioned so far without it. We did fine without the internet before we had the internet. We managed without color TV before we had it. We don't *need* every new generation of technology until we've woven it into our lives that society collapses without it.

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Cost-benefit analysis. AI really isn't giving us anything we *need* today, so the value is negligeable while the costs are real. Especially when they build them in idiotic places where water is already scarce.

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What about those concerns aren't real? Especially electricity usage since the cooling models relied on to use less water usually boost electricity use by a good amount. The biggest problem I see is the mob mentality against AI and datacenters in general. Many of the specific concerns seem legit.

There's a special place in hell for seemingly casual video games that, after days of playing with no indication whatsoever that they exist, you get thrown into an inescapable boss battle.

000

Stupid character limits. Preventing clear, comprehensive thoughts to be expressed is just one more strike in the stupification of humanity.

010

What about the manufacturers of smartphones, cameras, camcorders, and every other thing that can record embarrassing things for the purpose of extortion? Targeting ONE mechanism of recording is stupid. It doesn't solve the stated problem.

000

The disease is the 1/3rd of the population that voted for him and the 1/3rd that didn't care. The core of the problem is stupid people. The rich are simply well positioned to exploit that stupidity.

010

Eh, not a party problem. Just a people problem. As far as I can tell, politics still generally reflects constituencies. We're still democratic enough that the Overton Window results in that much.

010

Without real, visible, viable opposition leadership? Probably next to nothing. We've already been getting choked so slowly that I'm not sure Martial Law will be a big enough shift to jar people into full scale action.

020

Yep. It's like dealing with fucking MAGA. Complete irrationality when irrationality is the greatest obstacle to the actually intelligent debate we need to confront the growing list of problems in the world. Frustrates the fuck out of me.

You're kidding, right? These glasses aren't covert at all. They're right there. On the person's face. Literally right where eye contact is made. That's the absolute LEAST covert camera imaginable. Meanwhile mini-cameras and microphones can be hidden ANYWHERE on a person's body. Ya'll are weird.

Dave Mittner 🇺🇸 @dave.mittners.net · 26/09/2026

If the concern is recording video in public then why are these glasses the only target and not smartphones, cameras, video recorders, etc.? Ya'll know all those things can record, right?

000

It's definitely not "most". And if you think it is, you're living in a bubble. This country is incredibly ideologically broken. The fact it isn't "most" is evidence of that. That's the real problem this country has.

Dave Mittner 🇺🇸 @dave.mittners.net · 26/09/2026

Always a fucking idiot. There's already a thing called "super intelligence". He thinks he's smart by saying we should call all animals dogs.

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Dave Mittner 🇺🇸 @dave.mittners.net · 26/09/2026

Don't be a dick. Just blip us out of existence. Or at least blip out the decent people. They don't deserve the panicked death of drowning. But it's alright if you want to drown the assholes.

000

"Republicans' fear of fake socialism in the United States is bringing about real fascism in the United States." Replace "socialism" with "communism" (which they basically use interchangeably) and you have the same recipe that lead to the Nazi takeover of Germany.

001

I've seen no actual evidence of that. At most people have a handful of statements that can mean a multitude of things, that they wedge into their biases for some confirmation. The US population is fucked up. We need to reckon with that or things will just keep getting worse.

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Biggie @biggienotsmalls.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

This. And the sooner we accept the truth, the better. We're never going to fix shit when we deny what the problem actually is: a fucked up American population. Anyone who wants change needs to realize where it needs to begin.

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Reposted by Dave Mittner 🇺🇸

Should be reposted every month....

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Conversely, an intelligent person may also resort to insults when arguing with a fool. Public shaming is a tried and true way to destroy a person's credibility and limit the reach of their foolish and potentially dangerous messages.

000

For the umpteenth time I've been blocked by someone for simply pointing out a falsehood in some argument they've made. That kind of fragility _does_ make it kind of hard to see the left actually capable of standing up in a real fight.

000

You very clearly stated that most Americans are capitalists. And that's a statement of intent. That they ALSO have no capital is a second point; not a qualifier.

100

You said: "The average American doesn’t know that they are not capitalists, and they have no actual capital." You said the average American doesn't know they're capitalists AND they have no actual capital. Meaning you said the average American is a capitalist. But true you did qualify "most".

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Uhm. The second you used it to continue your argument that Americans are all capitalists...

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No, but you also wouldn't call them intentional murderers or claim they lean on murder, either. "Being a capitalist" and "leaning on capitalism" are statements if intentional preference; claims of active support for the outcome.

100

But again, not really by intent. Most are just apathetic or unaware of how fucked up things are. They don't recognize the monopolies taking shape or the risk. Also, oligarch monopolies aren't just a capitalism thing. Even an autocratic socialist state could be considered one.

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Me at 2am: And there goes my internet connection. Guess the work day has ended.

000

Stargate Atlantis. Not Atlantis-Atlantis. From an episode where it's on a dead world.

Eh, I don't know about that. Americans certainly lean towards free market economics but I honestly doubt most give a shit about who owns businesses or how capital flows.

100

Or part of them realizes that, being the enormous equalizer that it is, the working class could actually use AI against their power structures. Seriously. Hate monopolies? It's never been easier to close the gap with the appropriate use of AI tooling to boost startup/competitor capabilities.

000

New take: Natalie Harp is actually ON OUR SIDE! She's manipulating Trump hard for the expressed purpose of demonstrating how dangerously gullible and malleable he is -- something the right has refused to see but now can't deny.

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Me at 9am: I got so much done yesterday that today should be light! Me at 9pm: If I just finish this ooonnnneee thing, maybe I'll get a couple hours of gaming in yet!

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