WesternInfidels

The fallout across affiliate networks came fast

MegaLag's video was posted at the end of 2024. The affiliate networks reacted in 2026. Over a year later. That doesn't seem so fast to me.

The destruction of the book is done to mitigate some copyright concerns.

Can you explain? The First Sale doctrine means its OK to sell books after you're done with them. I would think it would be the scanning itself that could be a copyright problem, not the disposition of the physical book after.

I thought the real reason, the main reason, was, as the article says, "Destroying books is cheaper."

I agree that the concern over the destruction of physical books, and what impact that will have on their availability, is probably exaggerated. Heck, the actual importance of old books to the AI companies may be exaggerated, that seems to be their hype style.

You know what's even cheaper than destrucive scanning of old books?

Scaring a bunch of volunteers into scanning them for free.

I'm not saying that was the plan all along. But it might have been. It's plausible, with these jerks, isn't it?

The only members of the public who might reasonably be expected to offer some help finding a license plate are driving, and aren't supposed to be messing around with phones.

This built-in contradiction has always bothered me.

These days there are ALPR cameras everywhere, and it's very hard to imagine John Q. Public is going to have a hot tip before our dystopian AI panopticon does. It has seemed obvious to me that, whatever their intention, the Amber alerts primarily function as copaganda: Persuading us that we live in a dangerous, unpredictable world, and that only the police can save us. By asking us for help locating license plates, while we're at home asleep at 3AM.

Bear in mind that we only hear about the most egregious and / or dumbest cases like these. Like with all crimes.

I think it just means that the raw view count was never very important to YouTube. That's why they will have "engaged views" and "qualified watch hours" etc.

(Shakes fist:) Goddamm cloud! Git off my lawn!

I think Apple wants customers to be so completely accustomed to their Apple gadgets that customers feel distressed, panicked, almost naked and helpless without them. Like a myopic person without their glasses.

That's not my attitude at all.

The basic "they really are spying on you" issue at the heart of the Flock scandal has bubbled up before, abuses have come to light before, there was alarm and pushback before, and then nothing in particular changed before, and the surveillance came to be accepted as the status quo before.

I don't want this go the same way. How can we connect this version to a bigger picture of freedom and liberty, instead of letting the news story run its course, letting it fade away, as has happened every other time?

This was my attitude when I was younger. But as my financial arrangements have gotten more complicated, more intertwined with those of other people, as I've accumulated weird experiences straightening out banking problems, I can see that while there is wisdom in the rule, its never going to be enough. I'm human, I don't remember everything I need to remember.

The scammers don't send out "link to confirm your bank details" because zillions of people are stupid, they do it because everyone is a little stupid sometimes.

Maybe the way to fight GMail's outsized power is to stop using GMail. You can do that without going all the way to self-hosting.