@pluralistic@mamot.fr on the AI bubble.
#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #AIBubble #economy #Nvidia #OpenAI #Anthropic #Microsoft #Oracle #Google #ElonMusk #Grok #capitalism #grift
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Niklas Pivic
@pivic@kolektiva.social
mastodon 4.6.8I love freedom, people, music, video, and reading. I review books. At work I'm a technical writer. I collect interesting web pages about AI here: https://readwise.io/reader/view/a76a9027-4900-476f-be49-7bf97646fbcd
919 Followers
471 Following
50 Posts
Joined December 02, 2022
blog:
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music and other stuff:
I am not, according to the test. I agreed with 11% of tech-bro sentiments. Thank Bog.
Ticketmaster and Live Nation lose antitrust trial in New York: https://apnews.com/article/live-nation-ticketmaster-antitrust-trial-f0ffdd20dd4f64e8b4bb9d97134b826f
'Context: OpenAl is shutting down its Sora Al video generation app and API approximately six months after its September 2025 launch. The app is closing amid rising safety concerns over deepfakes, high computational costs, and a strategic pivot toward enterprise Al, robotics research, and profitability ahead of a potential IPO'
#sora #meme #capitalism #deepfake #ArtificialIntelligence #grift
https://thoughts.pivic.com/television-see-no-evil
Television free our minds. At least this kind of Television.
This album influenced so many, many musicians and opened minds. It's fun, great, and makes you think. It's also super melodic and makes you want to fly. The guitars are so clean. The sound is so well-conceived and *works*, unlike so much punk/avant-garde stuff that was made in the same period as the album from where this track is taken.
Yikes, this is so fucking great.
#music #MusicTips #Television #TomVerlaine #RichardHell #rock
Free Ebooks: Abolish ICE, Abolish the Border: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/blogs/525-free-ebooks-abolish-ice-abolish-the-border
'In solidarity with all those standing up for our communities against the brutality of immigrant detention and ICE occupation, we're offering free ebooks of three crucial books about migrant justice and border abolition.'
#books #reading #HaymarketBooks #ice #politics #USA @books@newsmast.community @bookstodon@fedigroups.social
https://reviews.pivic.com/jamie-fisher-nobody-broke-your-heart
I've reviewed what is most likely the non-fiction book of the year: Jamie Fisher's 'Nobody Broke Your Heart: an intimate biography of Elliott Smith'.
This is a book that is greater than the sum of its parts. It actually widened my thought world about Smith's music, something I can say about very few music books.
Do not miss this book! Order a copy now.
#book #BookReview #JamieFisher #books #reading #ElliottSmith #music #MusicTips @bookstodon@a.gup.pe @bookstodon@fedigroups.social
https://pivic.blog/blog/death-and-ai/
What words are there to use to describe your sorrow over your father's death?
Would you let AI decide what you feel?
This is what a former colleague did. He let AI write memorials for his dead father.
I can't help but feel my former colleague is more dead than his father. I'm not trying to be funny.
Big Win for Open Source as Germany Backs Open Document Format: https://itsfoss.com/news/germany-digital-stack-mandate/
'Speaking on the subject, Florian Effenberger, Executive Director of The Document Foundation, stated that:
"This is not a recommendation or a preference, it is a mandate. Germany’s decision to anchor ODF at the heart of its national sovereign stack confirms what we have argued for years: open, vendor-neutral document formats are not a niche concern for some technology specialists and FOSS advocates.
They are a fundamental infrastructure for democratic, interoperable and sovereign public administrations."'
Google's Android Developer Verification program requires government ID, signing keys, and a fee for any developer who wants their software installable on Android. The EFF calls app gatekeeping "a pathway to censorship." over 67 organizations have signed an open letter to oppose this. @keepandroidopen@techhub.social #KeepAndroidOpen https://keepandroidopen.org
Live Nation and TicketMaster are leeches who profit over having artists beg for scraps to play their venues, and they own most of them.
These recordings clearly show why they must be broken up and dismantled.
#TicketMaster #LiveNation #BenBaker #cartel #capitalism #illegal #music #BrokenRecord #UMAW
When people ask me why I don't use Meta products, or those of any other surveillance-capitalist company, this is one good reason.
The other good reasons are fairly well summed up by Shoshana Zuboff's 'The Age of Surveillance Capitalism'.
'Meta, which also owns WhatsApp, suffered a landmark court defeat alongside Google last month after being accused of failing to protect its users from harm.
A court in Los Angeles found the companies liable for a woman’s childhood social media addiction, in a ruling which could have widespread ramifications for the way the platforms are operated in the future.'
#facebook #meta #instagram #whatsapp #security #privacy #surveillance #SurveillanceCapitalism
Johnny Marr plays the acoustic guitar he used to compose 'There Is a Light That Never Goes Out'.
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/03/19/perplexity-apple-health-integration/
Perplexity with health-data access? What could possibly go wrong?
https://www.wired.com/story/perplexity-is-a-bullshit-machine/
A Cave of Wonders: Alexander Hacke of Einstürzende Neubauten on the Record Shop that Made Him: https://thequietus.com/culture/books/a-cave-of-wonders-alexander-hacke-of-einsturzende-neubauten-on-the-record-shop-that-made-him/
#AlexanderHacke #EinsturzendeNeubauten #Berlin #Germany #TheQuietus #music
https://thoughts.pivic.com/a-brief-comment-on-louis-theroux-inside-the-manosphere
I've recently seen 'Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere', the first documentary that Theroux has made for Netflix. Here are some brief thoughts on the doc.
https://www.sevenstories.com/books/4716-a-genocide-foretold
Free ebook! Don't snooze on this, the book is only available for free for a short while.
This is 'A Genocide Foretold' by Chris Hedges. It's his latest book.
'With a searing urgency, Chris Hedges brings readers face to face with Israel’s devastation of Gaza. A Genocide Foretold is a scathing denunciation of the long violence of the Zionist project and its U.S. and European backers. The writing reflects his deep experience as a correspondent from Central America to Bosnia and his passionate moral outrage against both war and the hypocrisy that justifies it. Fast-paced and dazzling, the book gives first-hand accounts of the horrors of war and the courage of those resisting it.'
– Aviva Chomsky
#book #books #reading #SevenStoriesPress #eBook #free @bookstodon@fedigroups.social #ChrisHedges #AvivaChomsky #Gaza #Palestine #FreePalestine #genocide
https://sm4l4nd.bandcamp.com/album/oro-och-ltande
The new album by Småland is out today. Expect synths, analogue sounds, gnarly instrumentals, little adventures. 50% of Småland is also in the Swedish due synth band Kite.
Småland are on Anna von Hausswolff's record label.
#Småland #music #MusicTips #AnnaVonHausswolff #Kite #analogue #synth
When people ask me why I don't use Meta products, or those of any other surveillance-capitalist company, this is one good reason.
The other good reasons are fairly well summed up by Shoshana Zuboff's 'Surveillance Capitalism'.
'Meta, which also owns WhatsApp, suffered a landmark court defeat alongside Google last month after being accused of failing to protect its users from harm.
A court in Los Angeles found the companies liable for a woman’s childhood social media addiction, in a ruling which could have widespread ramifications for the way the platforms are operated in the future.'
#facebook #meta #instagram #whatsapp #security #privacy #surveillance #SurveillanceCapitalism
Imagine if someone had told you ten years ago that company high-ups would be happy to pour $150K/month into your using AI to create code that might not work in a short while from now while you pivot from a programmer to become a minder for autocorrect on steroids
https://thoughts.pivic.com/nikel-pallat-the-destruction-of-a-table
A short excerpt from David Stubbs's grand book 'Future Days', where a discussion show on German TV turns destructive in a physical way. Video of the event is included.
#TonSteineScherben #NikelPallat #Germany #TV #video #EinsturzendeNeubauten #BlixaBargeld #DavidStubbs #book #politics #reading
Finally: Einstürzende Neubauten have revealed their new bassist!! Josefine Lukschy, last in Crashpad.
https://thoughts.pivic.com/luke-howard-galileo
I'm listening to Luke Howard's new EP, 'Galileo', and I like it. Piano à la jazz. How the fuck did I end up liking this?
Instagram drops end-to-end encrypted chats: What it means: https://proton.me/blog/instagram-end-to-end-encryption
#Instagram #privacy #Surveillance #SurveillanceCapitalism #meta
https://album.link/tinariwen-hoggar
The new album by Tinariwen drops today! Try this Saharan Tuareg group, their music is hypnotic and wondrous.
#music #MusicTips #Tinariwen #Sahara #Algeria #blues #rock #ReleaseFriday
Nordic countries want nothing to do with US tech: https://proton.me/blog/nordic-alternative-us-tech-survey
'82% of Swedish respondents believe Europe is very or extremely dependent on US technology companies, with 81% expressing concern about this dependence.'
https://thoughts.pivic.com/alessandro-cortini-live-at-slaktkyrkan-stockholm-2026-04-08
Alessandro Cortini live at Slaktkyrkan killed it yesterday.
#AlessandroCortini #LiveMusic #music #MusicTips #drone #instrumental #Slaktkyrkan
https://album.link/sanaya-ardeshir-hand
Big wow to this album. Brilliant musician and songwriter.
'Hand of Thought is the first full-length release by Indian composer Sanaya Ardeshir under her own name — introducing a parallel practice that exists alongside her work as electronic producer Sandunes. The album examines matrilineality – the tracing of kinship through the female bloodline – and its manifestation as intuition and wisdom through the trans-generational currency of music and her primary instrument - the piano. The album title is inspired by Kosho Uchiyama’s Opening the Hand Of Thought - a seminal work in the development of Buddhism throughout East Asia.'
#music #MusicTips #SanayaArdeshir #piano #ElectronicMusic #instrumental
https://thoughts.pivic.com/sunn-o-have-a-new-album-out
If you've not yet heard Sunn O))), you're in for a treat.
https://thoughts.pivic.com/the-twenty-most-often-picked-criterion-closet-films
Criterion do a thing called Criterion Closet where celebs come in, pick films from the Criterion collection, and talk about the films. Criterion recently posted the list of the twenty films/boxes that most often are picked from their closet. Here's the list.
#video #film #Criterion #CriterionCollection #cinema #list #letterboxd
'It has also occluded something deeper: the human decisions that led to the killing of between 175 and 180 people, most of them girls between the ages of seven and 12. Someone decided to compress the kill chain. Someone decided that deliberation was latency. Someone decided to build a system that produces 1,000 targeting decisions an hour and call them high-quality. Someone decided to start this war. Several hundred people are sitting on Capitol Hill, refusing to stop it. Calling it an “AI problem” gives those decisions, and those people, a place to hide.'
#KevinTBaker #Iran #ArtificialIntelligence #war #WarCrime #massacre #USA #palantir #evasion #bullshit #politics #bomb
https://thoughts.pivic.com/charif-megarbane-and-ali-tirakat
You need to hear this extremely soulful, funky, extremely well-made and -produced album right now.
Thank bog for Charif Megarbane, Ali, and Habibi Funk.
#music #MusicTips #CharifMegarbane #Ali #funk #soul #HabibiFunk
https://album.link/girl-scout-brink
Dreamy indie-pop rock à la Alvvays? Swedish band Girl Scout got you.
#music #MusicTips #GirlScout #indie #IndieRock #Alvvays #rock #ReleaseFriday
"Saputjiji" by Tanya Tagaq: https://record.club/releases/albums/tanya-tagaq-saputjiji
For those who like Xiu Xiu, Death Grips, and Diamanda Galás, dig this.
#music #MusicTips #TanyaTagaq #XiuXiu #DeathGrips #DiamandaGalas
https://thoughts.pivic.com/aesop-rock-mystery-fish
Aesop Rock is a very good rapper and writer. Here's a song I love: brilliant synth intro, beats, horns, and rap.
#music #MusicTips #AesopRock #rap
Brilliant author Gellert Tamas. I adore him for writing radiant books about humanitarianism, anti-racism, and how Sweden is changing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherish_(Madonna_song)
This is a near-perfect pop song to me.
The lines 'Romeo and Juliet/they never felt this way, I bet' are perfect.
'Burt compared the song and Madonna's delivery of the lyrics with the dialogues spoken by Shakespeare's Juliet, and found similarity in the, "Sweet so would I, Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing" from the play, with the lyrics of "Cherish".'
#Madonna #PatrickLeonard #WilliamShakespeare #music #MusicTips
https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/lundintoppar-riskerar-langa-fangelsestraff
English translation:
The prosecutor is seeking sentences of ten and six years, respectively, for Ian Lundin and Alex Schneiter for aiding and abetting gross crimes against international law in Sudan in the Lundin Oil case.
"This involves participation over a long period, through several sub-stages, and complicity in crimes against civilians where a great many civilians had their lives completely destroyed in the company's and the defendants' pursuit of profit," prosecutor Henrik Attorps said during closing arguments in the Stockholm District Court on Thursday.
He is also requesting that both men be taken into custody when the verdict is announced.
Lundin and Schneiter, the former chairman and CEO of Lundin Oil respectively, are suspected of aiding and abetting gross crimes against international law in southern Sudan from 1999 to 2003, during the time the Swedish company was active in the civil war-torn country.
People were displaced
According to the indictment, they were aware of and contributed to the military and regime-aligned militias killing and displacing people to create the necessary conditions for the company's oil exploration in an area that had long been controlled by rebels.
The offensives, which were intended among other things to enable the construction of new roads, were carried out from 1999 to March 2003, according to the investigation. In connection with this, the military and militias committed gross crimes against international law (war crimes).
Civilians were reportedly subjected to airstrikes, fired upon from helicopters, and stabbed or shot to death by soldiers. Furthermore, homes and healthcare facilities were looted and burned down, according to the charges.
Prosecutors argue that the company executives contributed by entering into agreements with and making demands on the regime, which meant the military needed to create the conditions for the company to operate in those areas. These demands, the prosecutors claim, were made with the knowledge that the warfare constituted crimes against international law.
Questioning war crimes
Both Ian Lundin and Alexander Schneiter deny any wrongdoing. The defense has, among other things, denied that the company and the regime had the alleged relationship and questions whether war crimes were committed in the manner shown by the investigation.
However, the prosecutor maintains that the defense's objections lack support in what has been presented in court.
"When we look at the evidence and the defendants' statements, the conclusion is that the prosecution's case is proven in its entirety," he said.
The trial has been ongoing since September 2023 and is expected to conclude in May.
#Sweden #LundinOil #CrimesAgainstHumanity #crime #trial #WarCrimes #Sudan
Starting to read Christopher Clark's 'A Scandal in Königsberg': https://thoughts.pivic.com/starting-to-read-christopher-clarks-a-scandal-in-konigsberg
The book kicks off nicely.
#ChristopherClark #book #reading @books@newsmast.community @book@beige.party
https://album.link/underscores-u
Imagine DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ on amphetamines and you have this album.
That line aside, the album is very well written. Loads of melodies and great song structure and composition.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=TS7Otq_V_hU
Soulwax presents: Abbey Road After Hours! 50 minutes of DJing from Soulwax, a.k.a. 2 Many DJs!
#music #MusicTips #Soulwax #DJ #AbbeyRoad #2ManyDJs #live #dance
https://thoughts.pivic.com/tomma-intet-tidod
This track has two things going:
-
It's a sweet rock song; sounds like it's made by a Californian cult that have been forced to play covers of The Radio Dept. songs.
-
It calls out the Tidö parties, the right-wing extremists of the Swedish government, in a year when Sweden is having government elections.
https://thoughts.pivic.com/74-of-independent-artists-make-less-than-1000-usd-per-year-survey-shows/
The Ditto Independent Music Report 2026 results are out. Over 5,000 independent artists have answered the Ditto survey that shows some major problems for independent artists.
I've quickly written a few thoughts on the matter. I think music-streaming should be regulated, that we should avoid bad platforms, I recommend that we buy music as often as possible, and push our politicians to make a difference!
Today's Bandcamp Friday btw, let's buy music!
#music #MusicBusiness #BrokenRecord #streaming #BandcampFriday #regulation
https://thoughts.pivic.com/girl-scout-brink
The new Girl Scout album is really good.