RE: https://mastodon.social/@RobertaFidora/117009649175709327

Mic check! We're presenting a fresh double episode Animation Array as a watch party during #NHAMFest26. More material is needed.

Are you, or do you know a visual artist in the animator, illustrator, stop motion, puppeteer, mixed media and adjacent realms with weird, wild, wonderful short form video?

Get the word out, have a look and submit some clips for a wicked fun community show. Tell friends and creative connections far and wide. ARRAY!

https://animationarray.com

#Animation #Fediart #boost

Does Europe still believe in human rights? In an op-ed in EUObserver, I warn that the undermining of the rights of LGBTI people serves as the tip of the spear in a broader backlash against human rights protection overall. #WorldPride
https://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/-/attacks-on-lgbti-people-are-the-warning-sign-of-a-wider-backlash-against-democracy

The #AI hyperscaler datacentres craziness comes to #Leeds

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/prevent-construction-of-microsoft-hyperscale-datacentres-in-leeds

This needs stopping, water and electricity is already pretty expensive and this will make things far worse

Found via @openrightsgroup

📣Accessible Recreation Spotlight: How DCR Beach Wheelchairs Work! 🌊♿

🗣️Did you know Massachusetts offers free beach wheelchairs at state beaches so everyone can enjoy the waterfront?

🌈 At Triangle, Inc.’s Beach:Accessibility Day at Constitution Beach in East Boston, I caught up with Rachael Lee from the Mass DCR Universal Access Program. In this quick walkthrough, Rachael breaks down the key differences between sand and floating wheelchairs, essential safety tips, and how you or a family member can find and reserve them at DCR beaches across the state.

🌐 Find beach wheelchair locations & availability across MA: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/beach-wheelchairs

📲 Please like, comment, and share this video! Spreading the word helps ensure more families and community members know these free resources are available.

#UniversalAccess #BeachWheelchairs #Boston #Massachusetts #AdaptiveRecreation #Inclusion #AccessibilityMatters #CommunityCare #Summer #outdoors #beach #fun

The Wikimedia Foundation hasn’t just refused to recognize their workers’ unions; they’ve also hired one of the most notorious union-busting firms out there. https://medium.com/regarding-wikipedia/the-wikimedia-foundation-hired-the-union-busters-its-own-encyclopedia-warned-about-42b7142a5cd1

#1u #unions #TechUnions

Not only was this made with an LLM, it breaks so many other things but If you use this font to protect your text from AI, it also blocks *me, a human* because I use a screen reader. I did try the demo. If you want me to remove your RSS feed, this is the best font to prevent blind people from reading your blog/words. That timer is an inaccessible solution. https://shieldfont.org/#hero #AI #LLM #Accessibility #A11y

This is the best summary of the facehugger 'hack' incident.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpTw9z5RIM8

@androcat @Natasha_Jay archive.org has got all our backs:

https://web.archive.org/web/20260731132113/https://www.amnesty.org.uk/knowledge-hub/all-resources/the-anti-rights-movement/

RE: https://dair-community.social/@emilymbender/117016420622784045

Today!

Ok so things have taken an interesting turn. There are two hogs having a bit of a contretemps (more likely a one-sided courtship) and one just backed into my feet, prompting me to lift my feet up. There’s much chuffing going on under the table next to me now. It’s dark and getting cold but I daren’t get up and disturb them.

Here’s a way you can help #Owncast by doing almost nothing.

If you have any plans to go to a FOSS-adjacent conference or event at any point, contact me beforehand and I’ll send you a pack of stickers, pins, etc to drop off at the event.

Share this with others who might be attending events in the future. This small favor would make a large difference! Thank you!

Still getting a kick out of the fact that J.K. Rowling ripped off "The Worst Witch" from Jill Murphy, and had to...

...wait for it...

change the gender of the youngsters from girls to boys.

Anyway, since I’m always annoying my own brain by trying to come up with clearer and more specific wording for my own opinions:

I reject the notion that LLMs can be deployed “responsibly” at scale and believe that anybody claiming otherwise is fooling themselves, conning you, or possibly both

From Altman proclaiming the “singularity”, to the Guardian publishing blather about possible AI consciousness, to OpenAI and Anthropic blaming their cybercrimes on “rogue models” the nonsense is coming fast and thick these days and much of the media is lapping it up. Time for another Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 livestream with me and @alex:

Monday, August 3, noon PT
https://twitch.tv/dair_institute

Been working on this little hobby project for several weekends. It's ready to show my friends.

Most sky apps tell you what's up. Dark Hours tells you the truth: whether tonight is worth it, when, and which way to look, and "honestly, no, stay in" when that's the answer.

Real astronomy, live weather, error bars printed where the numbers are. Free, no account, anywhere on Earth.

https://darkhours.io

#astronomy #stargazing

@Ayzacoder: Attention if you have a Gmail account:

Google's AI now scans your emails and attachments, bank statements, tax files, medical letters, all of it. It turned on by default, and there's a class-action lawsuit over how.

Here are 5 moves to shut it off, the switch is hidden in two places:

#Google #Email #Privacy #AI

The #Odyssey behind the scenes photos are still under NDA, so please enjoy these post-filming photos of sailing Draken back to Norway.

"So the key findings of Amnesty's report was that these anti-rights groups have massive funding, that it comes largely from far-right christian groups in the US, and that they're abusing UK charity law to misrepresent themselves as pro-rights organisations."

Important thread on the #amnesty report that #jkrowling censored. I don't blame Amnesty at all - the unlimited number of lawsuits JKR offered to fund would have ended them. This is another example of her using the political power that her money gives her to destroy other people's rights, in this case Amnesty's right to freedom of speech.

Screenshots are from the censored Amnesty report. #alt4me #trans #transrights #transrightsuk

https://bsky.app/profile/valerie.vg/post/3mry6buaaik2r

From AI Forensics' investigation of Hugging Face's top image models:

- 73% of monitored requests were sexual in nature.
- Of those, 83% sought to undress or otherwise sexualize a person
- 95% targeted women
- 6.7% targeted a minor (if fulfilled, these requests would constitute CSAM).
- Only 3% of audited Spaces showed any evidence of output moderation.

https://aiforensics.org/work/hugging-face-ncii

#NCII #AI #Privacy #Abuse

If, like me, you love 1990s Web sites, back when the internet wasn't enshittified by Big Tech yet, have a look at Wiby, a Web 1.0 search engine.

Click on "Surprise me…" for random discoveries, often personal Web pages about obscure niche subjects, but sometimes you find a hidden gem…

https://wiby.org

#web #internet #online #RetroComputing #RetroTech #VintageComputing #retro #history #computing #IT #1990s #tech #technology #vintage #nostalgia #digital