Giorgio Sironi @giorgiosironi@qoto.org

You might have had the wrong impression e.g. from UK media that the Hollywood strike is based on some Black Mirror plot where actors likeness are generated by AI and they don't get a job anymore. This is more of an afterthought, the main issues being revenues (residuals) from streaming https://apnews.com/article/actors-strike-explained-2607dd29da6c16c0a406359a7e86d7fb

You might have heard science communicator,s or other sensible people, complaining how their Instagram stories or other content just does not reach their followers anymore. Cory Doctorow explains why this happens on purpose https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-platforms-cory-doctorow/?utm_source=pocket_saves

https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/3/23782607/social-web-public-apps-end-reddit-twitter-mastodon has it right on how difficult it is to use Mastodon, but also on how there are no alternatives in the current downfall of social media.

Lucid analysis of how Twitter and Threads are fighting for a space of recommendation of content. People like us on Mastodon are looking for a chronological timeline that ensure creators reach consumers, without being hidden by the latest algorithm change due to commercial needs https://stratechery.com/2023/threads-and-the-social-communications-map/?access_token=eyJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsImtpZCI6InN0cmF0ZWNoZXJ5LnBhc3Nwb3J0Lm9ubGluZSIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJhdWQiOiJzdHJhdGVjaGVyeS5wYXNzcG9ydC5vbmxpbmUiLCJhenAiOiJIS0xjUzREd1Nod1AyWURLYmZQV00xIiwiZW50Ijp7InVyaSI6WyJodHRwczovL3N0cmF0ZWNoZXJ5LmNvbS8yMDIzL3RocmVhZHMtYW5kLXRoZS1zb2NpYWwtY29tbXVuaWNhdGlvbnMtbWFwLyJdfSwiZXhwIjoxNjkxNjY5MjczLCJpYXQiOjE2ODkwNzcyNzMsImlzcyI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXBpLnBhc3Nwb3J0Lm9ubGluZS9vYXV0aCIsInNjb3BlIjoiZmVlZDpyZWFkIGFydGljbGU6cmVhZCBhc3NldDpyZWFkIGNhdGVnb3J5OnJlYWQgZW50aXRsZW1lbnRzIiwic3ViIjoiMmtaM013MnU4cXpkdktHaHVMc2p6RSIsInVzZSI6ImFjY2VzcyJ9.jUHtj8GON6xZRPlnhv8AkRgu5kaDTG-nN8ws0G-awf0WGAsXHwO8KhSri-zlXjJhImzXcg53B1M9NhF5yuwdTk0IWvtj3RuFjJVkk-mL0Mj8kvD7skzQJipWLpSLUCJW7C-_qzxMZP2eRWz8gjeITl6zvb21zB7qH1viOLjqUcZk9sdmmS43Hh7TF0lP5-vAdxO0to7f7pX-hhxA511v1e_pd4kYqrNsBKjYOhugDGB23iC3dk1JJNxmsXH9i2NELbGR5hwYoVtCCbQNrrRb_wm0vyuS_OOwMGahQNkDLUETreoEqW2ab9cnbWivHFP0dKjSspAP6UBgfm1sza5yzg&utm_source=pocket_reader

"This is a battle over information — over who makes it, how you access it, and who gets paid. But just because the fight is familiar doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter" https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/26/23773914/ai-large-language-models-data-scraping-generation-remaking-web?utm_source=pocket_mylist

"This is a battle over information — over who makes it, how you access it, and who gets paid. But just because the fight is familiar doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter" https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/26/23773914/ai-large-language-models-data-scraping-generation-remaking-web?utm_source=pocket_mylist

"This is a battle over information — over who makes it, how you access it, and who gets paid. But just because the fight is familiar doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter" https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/26/23773914/ai-large-language-models-data-scraping-generation-remaking-web?utm_source=pocket_mylist

Great overview of sustainability for IT operations. Where and when our batch jobs are run is going to increasingly matter, in a world of renewable or decarbonized electricity grids https://www.infoq.com/presentations/devsusops/

This is so clever, and also a whole product built on the fact that Instagram does not allow links in posts, and so you can resort to build a website that looks like an Instagram profile and link it from the bio, the only allowed link for each account. I wish you well folks. https://later.com/link-in-bio/
Instagram, you break the web and should be ashamed.

Grafana vs AI: it does not end well for the AI https://www.perplexity.ai/search/b5af15a2-c7cb-4a6d-8658-9a93fa93538c?s=c

It is Cambridge May Ball week, that traditional period of the year in which residents cannot sleep because of the special treatment colleges receive. Here's a guide to the next night in which you will be woken up and by whom https://www.whichcambridgecollege.com/balls/

Mozilla's Pocket and its stock Kobo app are fitting well my use case of "read this web page later on". Heck, it even goes beyond some paywalls and provides reasonable recommendations.

The Museum of Italian Emigration in Genoa (MEI) has a nice hanging contraption of passports. So much we associated with a standardized object - the whole issue of citizenship; and rights to reside, move, and work. Better than the floppy disk icon!

A city with a complex road network, and not falling in an American or British tech bubble: Genoa, Italy. A good test for how much we believe large scale Internet services (Google Maps) to tell the truth, which for me resulted in:
- locations of bus stops costantly off
- transit information like a metro being shown as running (it was suspended for expansion works)
- a museum being shown as closed (while it had extended hours due to summer time)
- walking from a stop to an airport on roads without sidewalks and crossing into direct traffic (they always had a problem with walking directions)
Soon to be brought to you by an AI made to be convincing, regardless of whether it can tell you the truth.